I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, few creatures on this planet are as cute as sea otters. Normally shy, this otter allowed me a very close approach and carried on with the daily activities of eating and cleaning. As with most of my sea otter photos, this one was taken in Elkhorn Slough in Moss Landing, California.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/5 at 1/125th of a second
I met this vervet monkey on my first day in Uganda. The little guy was hanging out with the rest of the troop in a city park in the town of Entebbe. Entebbe isn’t too far from Kampala and is home to the international airport that I flew into. It was cool to see several different species of monkey living in the park — sort of their version of a squirrel I suppose.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 220mm) ISO 400, f/4.5 at 1/250th of a second
I took this one down in Everglades National Park in southern Florida. You can get very close to the gators from the safety of a series of boardwalks along the popular Anhinga Trail. I used my long lens to capture this close up of the gator’s eye.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/320th of a second
Just a simple portrait of an Atlantic puffin calling. This one was taken on Machias Seal Island off the coast of Maine. The island is claimed by both the United States and Canada. Every summer, thousands of Atlantic puffins, as well as razorbills and a few other birds, return to the island to nest.
Nikon D200 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 200, f/4 at 1/640th of a second
The only thing better than one eastern quoll is two eastern quolls. These guys were at the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary near Hobart Tasmania, a rescue center for many native species and one of many captive breeding centers for Tasmanian devils. Quolls are carnivorous marsupials, related to the devils.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 1600, f/4.5 at 1/250th of a second
Sometimes you pop around a corner and come face to face with a leopard. That’s what happened on this occasion in the Olare Orok Conservancy, a private concession of the Masai Mara in Kenya. We had seen this female earlier in the day, but lost sight of her until she suddenly appeared just in front of our safari vehicle.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/400th of a second
Always a pleasure to view and photograph kingfishers. They come in many varieties and can be found worldwide. This little guy is the Amazon kingfisher. I spotted him while searching for jaguars in the Pantanal of Brazil (I was the one searching for the jaguars, not the kingfisher). The kingfisher was doing what kingfishers do — sitting quietly above the water, waiting to dive bomb an unsuspecting fish of some sort. I rarely use a teleconverter, but I did on this shot to extend my 400mm zoom lens out to 550mm.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens with 1.4 teleconverter attached (for 550mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/250th of a second
Warthogs don’t get a lot of respect from the safari-going crowd, but they’ve always been one of my favorites. Something about the way that they strut proudly across the savanna despite their decidedly unsexy appearance. This one was doing its thing in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/5 at 1/400th of a second
This tadpole was fresh from the water. It’s an hourglass tree frog, also known as the pantless tree frog (I think I like the latter name better). I spotted the little guy on a night hike while in Pavones, Costa Rica.
Nikon D200 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 160mm) and Canon 500D close up lens attached, ISO 400, f/18 at 1/60th of a second, two Nikon SB-800 flash units
Kangaroos jump. It’s what they do. So here are two shots of eastern grey (locally known as the forester) kangaroos doing just that. One going parallel and one coming right at me. Both were taken in Narawntapu National Park in Tasmania.
Top Photo — Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 350mm) ISO 400, f/5 at 1/1000th of a second
Bottom Photo — Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 220mm) ISO 800, f/5 at 1/6400th of a second