The hour I spent photographing mountain gorillas in the jungles of Uganda still ranks as one of my favorite wildlife experiences. I’d love to get back some day and try again. Due to their status as critically endangered, tracking permits only allow you to stay with the gorillas for an hour once they’ve been tracked down. The tracking down part, however, can take up to eight hours as they are always on the move. We got lucky and found them in less than an hour. It was a big troop too, of about 23 individuals. There were three babies, including this young one resting on his mother’s chest as she took a carefree glance over at me. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/2.8 at 1/160th of a second
The slender mongoose is a crafty little carnivore widespread throughout sub-Sahara Africa. The species also happens to be a dead ringer for my good friend Tony who got engaged last night. So this one goes out to you Tony and Shardae — for the engagement — and for looking like a slender mongoose. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/1250th of a second
My favorite part of this photo is not the main subject — a dusky langur — but the second langur which I didn’t notice until I was reviewing these photos. You can see him/her up there to the left, hiding in the tree. Dusky langurs were one of the two langur species that I photographed in Thailand. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/80th of a second
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
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The hour I spent photographing mountain gorillas in the jungles of Uganda still ranks as one of my favorite wildlife experiences. I’d love to get back some day and try again. Due to their status as critically endangered, tracking permits only allow you to stay with the gorillas for an hour once they’ve been tracked down. The tracking down part, however, can take up to eight hours as they are always on the move. We got lucky and found them in less than an hour. It was a big troop too, of about 23 individuals. There were three babies, including this young one resting on his mother’s chest as she took a carefree glance over at me.
