Some of you might remember a close up photo of this guy that I posted several years ago. For this shot, I backed up a bit to show the flowers that the juvenile Madagascar reed frog was hiding in. When little (and I mean little — this frog was less than an inch in length) Madagascar reed frogs are completely yellow, but as they age, their backs turns light blue. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens (at 86mm) ISO 100, f/22 at 1/60th of a second, two Nikon SB-800 flash units
Here’s another in my gentoo sunburst series that I took on Sea Lion Island in the Falklands. These gentoo penguins had just come in from their afternoon swim and were taking a break at the top of the beach just as the sun was setting. I was able to get low to record the sun as a starburst on the horizon. I dialed in enough exposure compensation so that there was some detail in the penguins and it wasn’t a complete silhouette. A tiny aperture helped with the sunburst effect. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens at 220mm, f/32 at 1/400th of a second
Last week I posted a landscape shot from Mount Rainier in late summer when the high alpine wildflowers were still in peak bloom. Here’s a tighter shot from that same trip of a red fox in amongst the flowers. It was getting pretty dark by the time I took this photo (well past sunset). I used a very slow shutter speed when the fox stopped moving for a few seconds. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/15th of a second
The red howler is a subspecies of howler monkey found only in Bolivia. I photographed this one from a canoe on Lake Chalalan in Madidi National Park in the Bolivian Amazon.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/320th of a second
As many of you know, my day job is as a creative director for a New York advertising agency. One of my accounts is the National Park Service. Today is the launch of our new campaign “Find Your Park,” which will help to redefine what a Park can be — not only places of unspoiled natural beauty where furry beasts like to roam, but also places of historical significance, places of recreation, places of remembrance and more. I, of course, prefer the unspoiled-natural-beauty parks. One of my favorites being Mount Rainier in Washington state. If interested you can watch a commercial that sums up the campaign at this link (you might recognize some of the photos from previous posts to this blog). Or you can check out the campaign website at findyourpark.com.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 19mm) ISO 200, f/18 at 1/25th of a second
Tussock grass fringes many of the islands in the Falklands. You can see it here in the background behind these two young elephant seals. It can grow to well over six feet tall. Walking through clumps of it can be like walking through a maze — and you never know where a 20 foot long, 9000 pound elephant seal might be hiding. The two seals pictured here are adolescents that were play fighting at low tide on Sea Lion Island. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/2500th of a second
I was on a boat, floating down a river at night, when I met this double-eyed fig parrot in Daintree National Park in Queensland, Australia. This is one of those birds that gets quite a few names. In addition to double-eyed fig parrot, they also go by blue-faced fig parrot, red-faced fig parrot, dwarf fig parrot, and two-eyed fig parrot. Unlike most other parrots which use existing tree-cavities to nest in, double-eyed fig parrots excavate their own, usually in rotting trees. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 200, f/2.8 at 1/60th of a second, two Nikon SB-800 flash units
Okay, one more cutest-on-the-African-plains contender before switching continents. Lion cubs are certainly worthy of being on anyone’s short list. This little guy was photographed just north of the Masai Mara in Kenya.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 270mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/320th of a second
After yesterday’s post of the baby elephant, someone mentioned that certain big cat babies also challenge for cutest animal on the African plains. I wholeheartedly agree. I especially like baby cheetahs. Here’s one curled up with its mom as the setting sun lights up the tall grasses of the Masai Mara in Kenya. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 360mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/200th of a second
I mentioned earlier in the week that you won’t find anything on the African plains much cuter than a baby giraffe. I left the door open a bit because there are a few legitimate contenders. Baby elephants being one of them. I met this little guy in Botswana on my last trip to Africa. The poor little thing had a foreshortened trunk, perhaps a birth defect, but more likely the result of an encounter with a predator. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/8 at 1/250th of a second
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Some of you might remember a close up photo of this guy that I posted several years ago. For this shot, I backed up a bit to show the flowers that the juvenile Madagascar reed frog was hiding in. When little (and I mean little — this frog was less than an inch in length) Madagascar reed frogs are completely yellow, but as they age, their backs turns light blue.
