This is the puma that was the most tolerant of our presence and therefore the most photogenic. We spotted her on two separate days and she acted as if she didn’t even see us while going about her business of resting in the grass, drinking from water holes and stalking guanacos — the lama-like creatures that were seemingly everywhere. Often times I’m trying to get closer to wildlife for tighter shots. In Patagonia I was constantly going wider to include more of the habitat and scenery. Thus was the case for this shot as the puma stopped for a moment to survey her territory before heading down the hill to feast on a guanaco kill she had hidden at the bottom. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1250th of a second
Just back from my journey to the bottom of South America. And quite a journey it was, starting with the fact that my flight was cancelled and rebooked five times just a few days before I was scheduled to depart — this courtesy of a prolonged, day-to-day crew strike on Latam Airlines. It was looking like I’d have to cancel the trip altogether, but I was finally able to find alternate flights on other airlines, albeit with multiple lengthy layovers. But I finally made it there and Chilean Patagonia with its spectacular Torres Del Paine National Park did not disappoint. And this despite the fact that of my roughly 140 hours in the park, it rained and sleeted and gale force winded for about 135 of them. But that didn’t stop my search for pumas. And the glorious few breaks in the weather had a knack for showing up at precisely the same time the pumas did. All in, I saw eight cats — a mother with three cubs and four solitary females. This young female was the second of my sightings, but the first I was able to get a good look at. It was the very end of a frustrating and very wet first day in the park and the light was fading fast. We scrambled blindly up a hill per the radio-signaled instructions of our excellent tracker, who was on an adjacent hill and monitoring the action from above. All I saw was black bush everywhere (that’s literally the common name for all that dark scrub surrounding the puma — Mata negra — black bush in Spanish). For the life of me I couldn’t see what my guide was telling me was 20 yards in front of me. And then she nervously popped up, regarded us for about ten seconds before disappearing in the other direction. Being a new cat to the tracker and appearing a bit scared, we decided to let her go without any further pursuit. Artistically, this isn’t the best photo of my trip, but it was my first decent shot of a puma in the wild and I love that sweet look on her face. You know… sweet for the most lethal predator in Patagonia. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 2500, f/4 at 1/160th of a second
Just a quick post — of two Japanese macaques sharing a moment — before I head off on my next adventure. I’ll be heading down to the extreme southern tip of South America this weekend for a week of puma trekking in Chile’s Patagonia region. Hopefully all goes well (my flight was cancelled and rescheduled five times already this week due to an airline strike on Latam Airlines). I finally found a ticket on another airline but it wasn’t easy. Lot’s of long layovers, including 24 hours in Santiago, but eventually I’ll get there. And I’ll be back posting again on the 25th. Hopefully a puma or two. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 200, f/4.5 at 1/160th of a second.
The American wigeon is a fine looking duck, especially the males with the green patch around the eye. They are also known by a few nicknames — one being the baldpate due to the white patch of feathers on the head, and the other being the poacher, due to their tendency to grab and steal vegetation brought to the surface by other diving water birds. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1000th of a second
This is what butterfly lust looks like. I spotted these two lovers (genus heliconius) doing their thing near my tent in Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 105mm macro lens, ISO 800, f/5 at 1/80th of a second
Waterbucks are a pretty big — their stocky build accounts for the fact that they are among the heaviest antelopes in Africa. The males have those nice spiraled horns which the females lack. I photographed this curious guy in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/800th of a second
As I mentioned in a few recent posts, I took a new compact camera underwater while in Belize. Being the first time I used it, there were plenty of mistakes to be had. The main screw up being that I kept inadvertently hitting the video record button while snorkeling, thinking that I was taking stills. I ended up with lengthy video clips of unusable (and unexpected) footage. But amidst all the shots of nothing-in-particular, there were glimpses of fish, sharks, stingrays and turtles. I cut together the bits that made sense into this short video of Shark Ray Alley. Music be Neil Young for no particular reason other than I like the song, it seems to fit the slow motion vibe and it’s called “On the Beach.” Next time I’ll take an intentional video and see how it goes. (Sony RX100 V with Fantasea underwater housing with wide angle wet lens attached.)
Another one of the black howler monkeys that we saw at the Caracol Mayan ruins deep in the western rainforest of Belize. Note the way the baby has its tail wrapped tightly around mom’s. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/320th of a second
This is probably the most common North American tree frog. It can come in many colors depending on location — like chameleons, they have the ability to change depending on their environment (although not quite as spectacularly). As the name implies, they can appear anywhere on the gray to green spectrum. They are predominately found in southern Canada and the US states east of the Mississippi, although I spotted this one just west near the town of Waterloo, Iowa. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) with Canon 500D close up filter, ISO 160, f/16 at 1/60th of a second, two Nikon SB-800 flash units
These curious hippos were photographed in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda. Despite the fact that they are mainly vegetarian, hippos can be the most dangerous animals in Africa due to their territorial ways. Getting in the way of their route into and out of the water is never a good idea. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 300mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/400th of a second
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This is the puma that was the most tolerant of our presence and therefore the most photogenic. We spotted her on two separate days and she acted as if she didn’t even see us while going about her business of resting in the grass, drinking from water holes and stalking guanacos — the lama-like creatures that were seemingly everywhere. Often times I’m trying to get closer to wildlife for tighter shots. In Patagonia I was constantly going wider to include more of the habitat and scenery. Thus was the case for this shot as the puma stopped for a moment to survey her territory before heading down the hill to feast on a guanaco kill she had hidden at the bottom.
