Hope everyone had a great 4th of July holiday (at least everyone from the US). Here’s another group of king penguins doing their king penguin thing first thing in the morning as the sun rises on another day in the Falkland Islands.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/2.8 at 1/2500th of a second
Karen and I will be away for a few days, so this will be the last post until after the holiday weekend. Until then, here’s a brown capuchin monkey worrying about the future of Brazil’s palm nut industry.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 340mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1600th of a second
Seemed like a good day for a lion mother and her cub sharing a nice moment in the bushes. I’ve posted other shots of these two lions before. They were separated from the rest of the pride and the mother had just dragged her zebra kill into the bushes. The cub seemed a bit anxious to get back to the rest of the family and kept alternating between rubbing up against mom and coming out into the open to investigate us.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 250mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/500th of a second
I usually only honor requests from those under ten years of age, but my boyhood friend Lonnie Quinn requested an orca the other night and an orca I shall deliver. In fact, here are two shots of orcas — hunting close to shore on Sea Lion Island in the Falklands. The light changed from the orange hues of sunset to the blues of twilight as the orcas patrolled vigilantly for careless sea lions and elephant seals.
Top shot: Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/5.6 at 1/1600th of a second
Bottom shot: Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/500th of a second
Not much going on here. Just a gentoo penguin giving me the stare down — probably wondering what I was doing lying face down on the beach. This photo was taken at the Neck on Saunders Island in the Falklands. The Neck is an amazing place — a sandy isthmus connecting two mounds of land. All five penguin species that are typically found in the Falklands, including the seldom seen macaroni penguin, can be seen in this one spot.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/1600th of a second
I photographed this African wild dog a few years back in the Linyanti swamp area of northern Botswana. Wild dogs are one of the most sought after species by seasoned safari goers, and Linyanti is one of the most reliable places to see them. Even so, they are far from a guarantee. I was lucky enough to see a pack of about 12 one afternoon as they were winding down a day of hunting. Unfortunately, they are an endangered species due to habitat loss, human overpopulation, and other factors.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 260mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/400th of a second
This is a white chested emerald. And yes, that is its tongue. Previously thought to suck up liquid via capillary action, ornithologists recently discovered through high speed video that hummingbirds actually use their long tongues to trap nectar by curling around it. This guy was at rest and obviously not sucking up nectar, so was probably just cleaning his tongue. Either that or he didn’t like getting his picture taken.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 500, f/4 at 1/500th of a second
It was a beautiful night on Trinidad’s Grande Riviere beach when three nests of leatherback hatchlings emerged from the sand and began their long journey to the ocean. I was just inches from this little guy with my fisheye lens. Nice when being so close is actually good for the animals, as no vulture dared come close as I escorted the turtle to the sea.
Nikon D800 with Sigma 15mm fisheye lens, ISO 1600, f/2.8 at 1/320th of a second
I had a request for an equine tonight. A baby impala doesn’t exactly fit the bill, but it is a hoofed quadruped just like a horse so close enough. We came across this little one while on safari in Kenya. She was temporarily separated from her mother, but after a bit of romping around in the rain, found her way back home.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 220mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/400th of a second
In addition to having an impressive eight foot wingspan, the black-browed albatross also has very cool looking eyes. In this close up, you can see the dark feathers amidst all that white that give the bird its name. From a distance, it almost looks like a smudge of ash across the eye. These birds are very tame in the Falkland Islands and getting extreme close ups like this was no problem.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/4000th of a second