This Tasmanian devil appears to be letting out a blood curdling scream, but in reality, he was just a bit sleepy and letting out a good yawn. I photographed devils both in the wild (at night as they are mostly nocturnal) and at a few of the many captive breeding centers around Tasmania. The countrywide captive breeding program is vital to the survival of the species as the deadly and highly contagious facial tumor disease is bringing the current wild populations to the brink of extinction. This particular devil was at a place called Devils@Cradle, a rehab and reintroduction sanctuary at the base of Cradle Mountain National Park.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 2200, f/4 at 1/160th of a second
This is a long-tailed macaque mother with her baby, photographed last November in Thailand. It goes out to all the mothers, human and otherwise, especially my own mom, wishing you all a Happy Mother’s Day weekend. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1000th of a second
This little lion cub was taking a bit of a rest upon the safe confines of Dad’s well-fed torso. This was from my visit to the Kalahari Desert in Botswana. I didn’t expect to see as many lions as I did in the Kalahari, but got lucky with a pride that had just finished devouring an oryx kill and then proceeded to make their way over to a water hole where they all had an after dinner drink. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 380mm) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/250th of a second
The light wasn’t great on this one, but I liked the outstretched wings of this Madagascar flying fox just after it came in to roost. Shouldn’t be a surprise from the picture, that flying foxes are actually bats — the largest in the world. They also go by the name of fruit bats. Their diet consists mostly of juice from fruits that they squeeze into their mouths. This one was part of a colony of about a hundred, roosting high in the trees of Berenty Reserve in the south of Madagascar. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 600mm 5.6 manual focus lens, ISO 400, f/8 at 1/125th of a second
This is a male long-tailed meadowlark that I photographed on Carcass Island in the Falkland Islands. The blurred out yellow in the background is the gorse flowers that were growing all over the island when I was there. The female long-tailed meadowlarks are less colorful in appearance than the males, but they excel in other areas, such as nest building. They construct their nests in the tall grass, close to the ground. This allows them to exit the nest by first descending to the ground and then walking six or so feet before taking to the air. They arrive back at their nests in the same manner — landing in the grass six feet out and then hoofing it the rest of the way. They do this so that would-be predators can’t find their nests. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4.5 at 1/1000th of a second
I was only able to get out to the desert for one night while in Los Angeles for business last week. I was hoping for bighorn sheep in Anza-Borrego State Park so I got up very early for a pre-sunrise hike through Palm Canyon. The hike was spectacular, but the animals were nowhere to be found. I saw a few birds, a couple of antelope squirrels and only a single jackrabbit (usually I see lots of jackrabbits at this location). But I did stumble upon this curious little insect. At first I thought it was just a tiny piece of cotton-y plant blowing around in the sand. Upon closer look, however, I realized that it was a hairy insect. I had no idea what kind, but I mounted my macro lens to my camera and got up nice and close. The insect, which I have now identified as a thistledown velvet ant, was moving very quickly so it was difficult to get proper shots with the narrow depth of field afforded by the macro. I was able to get a few keepers, however, including this extreme close up. These guys (or should I say girls — this is the female) are very small. About the size of the average ant, but apparently, despite the name, they aren’t ants at all, but rather wasps. In fact, they are known to deliver quite a painful sting so I was glad that I never handled it and had my lens blocking my hands. From what I’ve read, the white hairs are a camouflage adaptation to look like creosote bush seeds. Certainly fooled me — for a while at least. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 105mm macro lens, ISO 800, f/10 at 1/250th of a second
This mountain goat kid was enjoying the view, up above the clouds on Mount Evans near Denver, Colorado. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 35mm) ISO 800, f/20 at 1/160th of a second
It has come to my attention that yesterday was “Wild Koala Day.” I figured better a day late than not at all. So here is a koala that I met back in 2007 on Kangaroo Island in Australia. He/She was enjoying a eucalyptus snack… Like always. Hope you had a great day, koala, and that it was appropriately wild. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 600mm lens, f/5.6 at 1/80th of a second
The silver gull is the most common gull in Australia, being present in all six states. These two were photographed in Freycinet National Park in Tasmania, and as you can see they were attempting to make the species even more common. When you’re a silver gull, there’s nothing quite like a little pluck to the head feathers to show how much you care. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/5000th of a second
I spent quite a bit of time with this troop of stump-tailed macaques on the Malay Peninsula of Thailand. They were very accepting of my presence and I was able to get quite a few intimate portraits, such as this nursing mother and her baby. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/250th of a second
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This Tasmanian devil appears to be letting out a blood curdling scream, but in reality, he was just a bit sleepy and letting out a good yawn. I photographed devils both in the wild (at night as they are mostly nocturnal) and at a few of the many captive breeding centers around Tasmania. The countrywide captive breeding program is vital to the survival of the species as the deadly and highly contagious facial tumor disease is bringing the current wild populations to the brink of extinction. This particular devil was at a place called Devils@Cradle, a rehab and reintroduction sanctuary at the base of Cradle Mountain National Park.
