It’s getting to be that time of the year when I wish I was in Yellowstone. Winter has always been my favorite time of year to visit America’s greatest wildlife park. Bighorn rams are almost guaranteed sightings deep into the Lamar Valley in the north eastern corner of the park.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 350mm) ISO 500, f/4 at 1/1250th of a second
The Bornean white-bearded gibbon is a different species from the white-handed gibbons that I saw in Thailand. This one, also known as the Bornean agile gibbon or southern gibbon, was photographed on my trip to Indonesia back in 2009. He was hanging around a troop of orangutans in Tanjung Puting National Park and was rather habituated to the presence of people in the area.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 360mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/250th of a second
This trumpeter swan was enjoying a late afternoon snack on Tern Lake on the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska. It’s chick can be seen out of focus in the background. Trumpeter swans are the largest waterfowl in the world with a wingspan that can reach ten feet.
Here’s another of the Malayan porcupines that I was able to photograph at night while camping in Kaeng Krachan National Park on the Malay Peninsula in Thailand.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 500, f/8 at 1/100th of a second, two Nikon SB-900 flash units
Just a simple shot today of a mother bison and her calf in Yellowstone National Park. Young bison are always this orangish color, but they eventually grow into the more dark brown tone of the adults.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/250th of a second
I liked the simple composition of this one. All that soft blue background and a single bear standing in the water, trying to get a better angle on a salmon dinner. Brown bears can be quite tall when standing upright. Just across the water from where I photographed this one is the island of Kodiak, which has the largest of the coastal brown bears — males have been known to stand taller than 10 feet tall. This was a female in Lake Clark National Park on the mainland of Alaska, and considerably shorter than that, but still somewhere in the 7 foot range.
Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 270mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/1250th of a second
I remember how exciting it was to find these turtles when I was a kid growing up in central Connecticut. We also had snapping turtles and painted turtles, but they were more common. The real prize was the eastern box turtle. I came across this one many years later in southern Indiana — still a pleasure to watch them slowly make their way across the forest floor.
Nikon D200 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 200, f/2.8 at 1/160th of a second
As common as they can be on safari, I never grow tired of photographing zebras. This one was strutting with purpose across the flooded plain of the Linyanti concession in Botswana.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 400, f/6.3 at 1/1600th of a second
Here’s a rare non-wildlife photo. Actually four photos. All from Khlong Saeng in Thailand. This is an incredibly beautiful location and these photos can only hint at what this place is actually like. Back in 1987, the construction of a dam flooded this area that had, for the most part, been previously unnavigable. You can still see many old tree trunks rising from the water. And all around ancient coral reefs rise sharply from the water and are now limestone crags, or karst, covered in thick jungle. It is the domain of a wide variety of animals, including clouded leopards, marbled cats, slow lorises and many other rare species of southeast Asia. I didn’t see any of those three creatures, but did see plenty of gibbons, langurs and hornbills while exploring by boat. And boat is really the only way to go in Khlong Saeng. All exploration is possible due to the water. Even the hotels are made possible by the vast lake and its many arms and tributaries and are actually floating lodges, a few of which you can see in the first and third images. The second image shows one of the boats that ferries tourists around, as well as the swallowed-up trees that rise from shallower depths. In the last photo, my guide, boat captain and I entered a watery alcove where a troop of langurs were putting on a bit of a show.
First Photo — Nikon D810 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 135mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/800th of a second
Second Photo — Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 35mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/500th of a second
Third Photo — Nikon D810 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 70mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/800th of a second
Fourth Photo — Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/400th of a second
I mentioned in a recent post that nothing beats the keel-billed toucan for its brilliant color amidst all the green of the Central American rainforest. The scarlet macaw, however, sure does come close. These large parrots are adorned with a generous amount of all three primary colors — red, yellow and blue. Some individuals even have a bit of green mixed in. This guy was feeding on figs, high in a tree along the coastline of Drake Bay in Costa Rica.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/500th of a second