Thought this one would be appropriate for the last post before the holiday — a sea otter floating in front of the reflection of a Christmas tree. Photographed in Moss Landing on the central California coast. Happy Holidays everyone.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 1600, f/3.5 at 1/30th of a second
Trogons and kingfishers are among my favorite bird species. Both are present worldwide and both come in many varieties depending on location. I wasn’t expecting this guy when I was hiking through the forest of Tangkoko National Park in Indonesia in search of tarsiers and black-crested macaques. But there it was — a green-backed kingfisher — which exists only in the forests of central and northern Sulawesi and a few surrounding islands. Well worth the effort to stop for a few quick shots before resuming the search for primates.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/2.8 at 1/40th of a second
A female leatherback turtle after having just spent the past few hours laying eggs. She will rest for a few minutes, worn out by the effort, before returning to the sea. What she leaves behind is a hundred or so eggs — only a small fraction of which will survive the gauntlet of dangers that lay ahead and eventually make it to adulthood.
Nikon D800 with Sigma 15mm fisheye lens, ISO 400, f/5 at 1/160th of a second
After yesterday’s brief foray into the abstract world of flower anatomy, I’m back today with something a bit more familiar — baby animals. In this case a Galápagos sea lion pup. Karen and I chartered a half day private tour to the tiny island of La Fe, mainly for snorkeling in the surrounding water. We landed our boat on the only sandy patch of land on the island. There were about eight sea lions waiting to greet us as we arrived — including this inquisitive youngster.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/500th of a second
Something a bit different today — a macro shot of a flower. Actually many flowers. The yellow spike in the middle of a calla lily is called the spadix. It’s made up of many male and female flowers. The male flowers reside on the tip of the spadix and will eventually produce pollen, whereas the female flowers are at the base. I used a very narrow depth of field to bring focus just to the uppermost male flowers. The white area surrounding the spadix is called the spathe. This is the leafy, trumpet-shaped part of the calla lily that we generally consider the flower. I’ve posted a few landscape shots of this very picturesque location before. It’s in Garrapata State Park in California — where a little spring leads down to the ocean. On each side of the spring, the calla lilies grow from the swampy ground.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 105mm macro lens, ISO 400, f/4 at 1/800th of a second
It’s hard to capture the rugged beauty of Torres Del Paine in a photo. I tried my best in this shot and was at least able to capture a few of the elements that make it such a spectacular location — the ubiquitous guanaco on a hillside, the massive peaks in the backdrop, and the mist along with the occasional rainbow that seem to appear out of nowhere before vanishing yet again.
Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 240mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/2500th of a second
A bison calf leads the herd over a hill on a frosty morning in Yellowstone National Park.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 70mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/400th of a second
I’ve obviously been on a bit of a marsupial kick lately. Here’s one more. A Bennett’s wallaby hanging out in the rain. These guys are all over Cradle Mountain National Park in Tasmania — an incredibly beautiful place and highly recommended if you’re ever in the area.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/4.5 at 1/100th of a second
This image was a bit of a mistake. I was photographing critically endangered black-crested macaques on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. When I saw this macaque sitting in the middle of a charred field — the result of an illegal slash and burn fire — he seemed as if he was crying out at the short-sighted practice of his fellow primates. I quickly grabbed my second camera with wide angle lens attached and took the shot without realizing that I had left a filter holder screwed in, causing extreme vignetting at 17mm. But the result seemed to work, as if the macaque was at the wrong end of a gun, with little hope for survival if local villagers continue to encroach upon his rapidly dwindling habitat.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 800, f/3.5 at 1/400th of a second
Here’s another marsupial from Tasmania. This time a wild Tasmanian devil imp — the name for young devils — from a healthy population that was introduced to Maria Island a few years ago. Maria Island has become a bit of a safe breeding ground for the devils, away from the facial tumor disease that is decimating the population on mainland Tasmania. Many of the devils on Maria Island, however, are then captured and brought back to the mainland in an effort to repopulate the critically endangered species. Researchers are finding that wild devils, like the ones on Maria Island, have a better chance of survival than those bred in one of the many captive programs.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 310mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/250th of a second, two Nikon SB-900 flash units