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
The Falkland Islands are known for penguins. But there are also a lot of geese. And when I say a lot, I mean it. Kelp geese, upland geese, and these guys, ruddy headed geese were everywhere. Always nice to get flight shots, and I captured this one late in the day on Carcass Island. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/8 at 1/500th of a second
And now for something a little more frightening. You can see why they call these guys devils. This one looks like it was trying to cast some sort of spell. It was photographed late one night on Maria Island, off the southeast coast of Tasmania. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 110mm) ISO 800, f/8 at 1/250th of a second
As the weather just keeps getting colder and colder here in New York, seemed appropriate to post these two polar bears who were having a good old time in the cold. They were basically wasting time — play fighting while waiting for the Hudson Bay to freeze over so that they could go out and hunt for seals. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 360mm) ISO 800, f/5 at 1/500th of a second
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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.
