The snow monkeys (or Japanese macaques) of Jigokudani Springs near Nagano, Japan are certainly one of the more photogenic species I’ve had the pleasure of working with. There is only one ryokan (a traditional Japanese inn) at the springs, and you have to hike in about 40 minutes, carrying your suitcase or backpack, to reach it. This could be tricky in bad weather, but it was a nice day when I hiked in as well as when I hiked back out three days later. Spending a few nights at the ryokan, gave me the opportunity to photograph the macaques after the day tourists had gone for the night. Many of the macaques sleep around the ryokan, some even up on the roof. This was one of those macaques that didn’t bother retreating into the forest before falling asleep. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 190mm) ISO 400, f/3.2 at 1/50th of a second
On my polar bear trip back in 2010, I saw a lot of bears, but not a lot of other wildlife. I did, however, have a few precious seconds with this short tailed weasel before it scampered off to hide its lemming. I’ve had quick glimpses of weasels before but they never seem to stick around long enough to get their picture taken. In the summer, their coats are brown, but they turn completely white (with the exception of the black tail tip) when winter sets in. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/400th of a second
Sometimes I don’t even realize what I’ve captured in a shot until months later. Thus is the case with this Tasmanian nativehen and her chick. I thought I was just photographing the mother and had no idea that the little head was sticking out of mom’s shoulder. Reviewing images the other day, I was pleasantly surprised. I actually found several photos of different nativeness doing the same thing. The Tasmanian nativehen is one of the twelve endemic bird species that can be found only in Tasmania. It is a flightless bird that has, so far, bucked the trend of flightless birds falling prey to extinction at the hands of human activity. The nativehen is actually doing quite well and I saw many of them throughout the island. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/640th of a second
I decided to go tight on this one to highlight the skin on an elephant’s torso. Elephants are so big and you can get so close to them (when in a safari vehicle, of course) that it was easy to go edge to edge with the cropping. An elephant’s skin can be more than an inch thick. This particular elephant was in the Olare Orok Conservancy, a private concession just north of Kenya’s Masai Mara Reserve. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/6.3 at 1/320th of a second
I remember being quite excited to see black swans on my first visit to Australia. Turns out, they’re fairly common in many areas of the country, including Tasmania. This particular swan allowed me a pretty close approach and I was able to get an eye level perspective by lying face down at water’s edge on Bruny Island. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/6400th of a second
Using a fisheye lens held over my head, plus an off camera flash, I was able to create this spotlit view of a mixed colony of rockhopper penguins and imperial shags. The colony was still quite active just after the sun had gone down on Saunders Island in the Falkland Island, with both species jockeying for position before settling down for the night. The combination of lens, flash and exposure were used to create somewhat of a planetary view of the colony. Nikon D800 with Sigma 15mm fisheye lens, ISO 1600, f/5.6 at 1/60th of a second
When in bloom, pasque flowers have either broad white or purple petals with a yellow interior. They can be quite striking when blanketing the alpine meadows of Mount Rainier National Park, mixing in amongst the bluebonnets, lupine, indian paintbrush and daisies. That being said, I much prefer the furry, “Cousin It” looking balls of hair they become after the petals drop. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 360mm) ISO 200, f/5.6 at 1/400th of a second
I know invertebrates aren’t everyone’s favorite, but for the bug lovers out there, here’s a hercules beetle I photographed in the cloud forest of Ecuador, not too far from Quito. These guys are really big. Hard to tell scale, but this one was about six inches long. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 1600, f/8 at 1/60th of a second
This little cub wanted to play but mom was a bit too tired to oblige. They were nestled into a pile of fallen tree trunks along a river in the Masai Mara of Kenya. Another ten or so lions were also in the pride and resting and playing nearby. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 300mm) ISO 800, f/6.3 at 1/400th of a second
I’ve posted a few black and white ruffed lemurs before. Here’s another. I used flash to illuminate the lemur, backlit by the sun. This one was taken on Lemurs Island, just outside of Andasibe-Mantadia National Park in eastern Madagascar. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 400, f/10 at 1/60th of a second, two Nikon SB-600 flash units
We use cookies to enhance your experience while using our website. If you are using our Services via a browser you can restrict, block or remove cookies through your web browser settings. We also use content and scripts from third parties that may use tracking technologies. You can selectively provide your consent below to allow such third party embeds. For complete information about the cookies we use, data we collect and how we process them, please check our Privacy Policy
The snow monkeys (or Japanese macaques) of Jigokudani Springs near Nagano, Japan are certainly one of the more photogenic species I’ve had the pleasure of working with. There is only one ryokan (a traditional Japanese inn) at the springs, and you have to hike in about 40 minutes, carrying your suitcase or backpack, to reach it. This could be tricky in bad weather, but it was a nice day when I hiked in as well as when I hiked back out three days later. Spending a few nights at the ryokan, gave me the opportunity to photograph the macaques after the day tourists had gone for the night. Many of the macaques sleep around the ryokan, some even up on the roof. This was one of those macaques that didn’t bother retreating into the forest before falling asleep.
