Penguins are true monogamists, usually mating for life. When one of a pair dies, the surviving penguin will carry on alone. A mated pair will often touch beaks as a precursor to preening. I photographed these two king penguins on my final day in the Falkland Islands at Volunteer Point — the most accessible place in the world to see them (not that it was particularly accessible).
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 24mm) ISO 400, f/6.3 at 1/2000th of a second
This common brown lemur didn’t seem too pleased to be having his picture taken. Or maybe that big bushy tail of his friend was getting on his nerves. Photographed in central Madagascar back in 2007, I was using my backup camera for some reason that I can’t recall, and its often times deadly pop up flash. It seemed to work okay in this instance though because I was so close to the lemur and there were no distracting branches in the way.
Nikon D40x with Nikkor 18-55mm lens (at 55mm) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/60th of a second, on camera flash
Marine iguanas were my favorite animal that we encountered in the Galápagos Islands. They were on every island that we visited but were slightly different in size and color depending upon which island the species evolved on. They spend most of the day lounging on the black lava rock of the majority of the islands, but head out to sea when they want to eat the vegetation found beneath the surface of the water.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 800, f/4.5 at 1/4000th of a second
I only saw one owl while in Tasmania — the southern boobook. It was hiding in an old dilapidated barn on Maria Island when I inadvertently interrupted its daytime sleep.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/125th of a second
It’s always exciting to see a leopard. This mother of a one year old cub kept finding her way in front of my camera. Over a two day period, we saw her lounging in a tree, stalking prey from a termite mound, prowling through the tall grass of the Botswanan savanna, and filling up at a water hole.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/1000th of a second
There are four species of bettong in Australia. The one that occurs in Tasmania is called the eastern bettong (also sometimes called the southern bettong or Tasmanian bettong). As a group, bettongs are often referred to as rat kangaroos, which is a pretty apt description, although they are quite a bit bigger than rats, and I’d say a good deal more attractive. Like many marsupials, they are nocturnal, but I was able to see this one in daylight at the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary, a rehabilitation center for rescued animals that will eventually be re-released into the wild.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm (at 330mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/640th of a second
Here are a couple of photos of purple sea stars to close out Prince week (apologies to the purple honeycreeper who will have to wait until the next purple week). These guys are also called ochre sea stars, and as you can see, they aren’t always purple — some have a bright orange coloring while others are different combinations of the two colors. Like the sea urchins I posted earlier in the week, they were photographed in Olympic National Park in Washington.
Top Photo — Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 400, f/20 at 25 seconds
Bottom Photo — Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 400, f/20 at 6 seconds
I don’t post many flowers, but seeing as it’s day four of Prince week, and I photographed these purple harebell flowers in Minnesota, it seemed only appropriate. I was on my way back to Minneapolis after photographing black bears in the northern part of the state, when I stopped for a short hike. I didn’t see any wildlife on that hike, but did see quite a few spring flowers.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 105mm macro lens, ISO 800, f/4 at 1/2000th of a second
For day three of Prince week we have the purple gallinule. The purple gallinule is a swamp hen in the rail family. They breed along the southeastern United States and tropical regions of Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. I captured this one on a walk along Anhinga Trail in Everglades National Park in Florida.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 320, f/4.5 at 1/400th of a second
For day two of Prince week, we have the purple sea urchin. These guys live near the shoreline in the Pacific Ocean from Ensenada, Mexico up to British Columbia in Canada. This shot was taken in Olympic National Park in Washington. Interesting fact of the day: purple sea urchins are important in biochemical research, because believe it or not, even though they lack a head structure, they share 7,700 genes with humans. Many of those shared genes are involved in sensing the environment. Oddly enough, they also have almost the same life expectancy as humans at just over 70 years.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 400, f/9 at 1/400th of a second