Alpha male mountain gorillas are usually referred to as a silverbacks because they tend to have white-tipped fur on their backs. This guy was no exception, although from this angle you can’t tell. This particular troop of gorillas was unusual because it was so big — twenty three members. And there were two silverbacks, but one clearly outranked the other. I was told that eventually the younger of the two would challenge the elder and most likely take half the troop. At the moment this photo was taken, however, it was time to just sit back, relax and enjoy some figs. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/500th of a second
Just a canal zone tree frog sitting on a leaf in El Valle, Panama. The internet doesn’t provide much info on these guys, so let’s just leave it at that. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 105mm macro lens, ISO 200, f/25 at 1/60th of a second, two Nikon SB-900 flash units
There’s a single beach on Saunders Island in the Falklands where it’s possible to see four different species of penguin — the Magellanic, macaroni, rockhopper and gentoo. Rockhoppers live together in a hillside colony, along with an occasional and rare (and most likely lost) macaroni trying to fit in as if hoping no one will notice. Magellanics are less social and live in single family burrows that can be found almost anywhere on the landscape surrounding the beach. The beach itself, is ruled by the gentoos. This gentoo seemed to be sounding some sort of alarm to anyone who would listen. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 240mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/1000th of a second
My guide and I had to climb pretty high up a steep slope to capture images of this puma surveying her territory. She eventually spotted a small group of guanacos and made an unsuccessful run down the hill. I was hoping to get her positioned on the ridge line, but that wasn’t to be. Fortunately, however, my high vantage point did enable me to capture the distant snow capped mountains in the backdrop, giving a sense of the Patagonian landscape in which these amazing cats thrive. Being springtime for us, it was fall for the southern hemisphere and you can see all the rust-colored leaves dotting the mountainsides. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1600th of a second
Quolls were my favorite animal that I photographed in Tasmania. And I didn’t really know what one was until I started researching the trip. There are two species, the eastern and the spotted and they are both carnivorous marsupials, like their cousins the Tasmanian devil. I was able to photograph both species, but only the eastern in the wild. They are strictly nocturnal, making it a bit more difficult to capture decent photos. This one was out on his nightly hunt in the northern forests of Australia’s island state. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 380mm) ISO 500, f/6.3 at 1/200th of a second. Two Nikon SB-900 flash units
A three-toed sloth clings to a tree on a misty afternoon in Soberania National Park in Panama. I had to keep waiting for the wind to clear the worst of the mist out so that I could even see this guy. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 350mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/80th of a second
One of the more fun names to say in the animal kingdom — the blue-footed booby. I’ve posted a few of these guys in the past. This one was about to make a landing on an offshore rock in the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. His/Her blue feet on full display, but almost blending in with the blue sky in the background. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 300mm) ISO 400, f/8 at 1/2500th of a second
The indri, also called the babakoto, is the largest living lemur and can grow to about three feet tall and weigh more than twenty pounds. It can also turn that head around 180 degrees. It was a bit unnerving to see them in the trees and on the forest floor with their backs to me, but staring directly at camera. I photographed this one in the wilds of Andasibe-Mantadia National Park, which of course, is in Madagascar. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/60th of a second
I like when I can get a dark background in a scene that has plenty of light on the subject. Here a rockhopper penguin takes a moment to preen while standing in front of a shadowy cliff on Saunders Island in the Falklands. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 170mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/8000th of as second
This green rosella was enjoying a snack of purple thistle weed just outside the room I was staying at on Maria Island, which itself is just off the coast of Tasmania. The green rosella is one of the twelve endemic bird species that call Tasmania home. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/1250th of a second
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Alpha male mountain gorillas are usually referred to as a silverbacks because they tend to have white-tipped fur on their backs. This guy was no exception, although from this angle you can’t tell. This particular troop of gorillas was unusual because it was so big — twenty three members. And there were two silverbacks, but one clearly outranked the other. I was told that eventually the younger of the two would challenge the elder and most likely take half the troop. At the moment this photo was taken, however, it was time to just sit back, relax and enjoy some figs.
