Only two primates have blue eyes. The blue-eyed black lemur and us. I don’t usually post captive animals, but this is a rare exception for this very rare animal. Blue-eyed black lemurs are classified as critically endangered. This means that, in all likelihood, they will soon be extinct in the wild. The current estimate is that there are less than a thousand individuals remaining in the forests of Madagascar. Loss of habitat due to slash and burn farming is the main culprit. I photographed this female (males are completely black) in a free range zoo on the east coast of Madagascar. Nikon D40X with Nikkor 18-55mm lens (at 46mm) ISO 400, f/5.3 at 1/60th of a second
This southern sea lion wasn’t quite buying what I was selling. Still, he posed for a few quick shots before taking his business elsewhere. I was hiking along a remote coastline on Carcass Island in the Falklands where these sea lions are usually pretty timid. I had to be very still while photographing this large male. The males, as I mentioned in a previous post, really live up to their name with that mane of thick lion-like hair. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) f/6.3 at 1/800th of a second
This was at sunset on Sea Lion Island in the Falklands. The gentoo penguins were all arriving back at the colony after an afternoon swim. I took a lot of these starburst/pseudo-silhouette shots. This was the only one that the rainbow ring showed up on. At first I didn’t like it, but then decided I did. To accentuate the starburst effect, I stopped my aperture all the way down to f/22 and made sure that the light was hitting the hard edges of the penguins and the sand. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 78mm) ISO 800, f/22 at 1/640th of a second
This is a pitcher plant. It eats meat. Mostly in the form of small insects, but it hunts them down with the merciless guile of the world’s top predators. Inside the cup of the pitcher plant is a deadly liquid. When ants and other insects climb up, lured by the attractive, yet slippery lip of the plant, they quickly fall to their death. The liquid drowns the insect which gradually dissolves before being absorbed by the plant. There are many different species of pitcher plant and I saw quite a few of them in Indonesia. This one was right outside my lodge door in Tanjung Puting National Park — nature’s bug zapper. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 200, f/6.3 at 1/4 second
Peacocks can be pretty striking when you see them in their natural habitat — in this case, on a raised perch in a hardwood forest in India’s Bandhavgarh National Park. The Indian, or blue peacock as it is also known, is the species that we most commonly see running wild in zoos. You get so used to seeing them this way that you almost forget that they actually come from somewhere where they live in the wild. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/7.1 at 1/125th of a second
I mentioned in a previous post that if I had to pick a favorite penguin, it would be the rockhopper. Their fiery personalities are hard to beat. And they are very determined when they set their mind to something. This guy wasn’t going to be deterred when it came time to building his nest. Other penguins were pecking and bickering at him while he carried rocks, one by one, into the middle of the colony. He just ignored everything around him and went about his business of building a home for himself, his mate and their unhatched egg. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/2000th of a second
The wolf snake is a very small snake that lives in India and other areas of southeast Asia. It is primarily nocturnal, and I found this one near our camp, shortly after eating dinner one night in India’s Kanha National Park. It is a non-venomous snake, but will bite if threatened. It gets its name from a set of rather large front teeth that resemble those of a canine. It uses those teeth to prey on lizards, frogs, geckos and other local delicacies. Being so small, I was able to photograph this wolf snake from directly overhead using my 105mm macro lens and a couple of flash units. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 105mm lens, ISO 500, f/8 at 1/60th of a second, two Nikon SB-900 flash units on a RRS bracket
As the snow continues to fall outside (at least here in the northeast) I thought I’d brighten the day with this one I took in Italy back in May of 2010. Hang in there people, the flowers will be blooming again here soon. For this shot, I was lying on my back in a field of poppies somewhere along the side of the road in Tuscany. Oh to be lying on my back in a field of poppies somewhere along the side of the road in Tuscany right now. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 200, f/18 at 1/400th of a second
I was directly under this lemur when it jumped from one tree to another. This species is the rather pedestrian named, common brown lemur. They were very habituated to people at this particular location and were jumping all around me. I used a flash to illuminate the under side of the lemur while still exposing for the much brighter sky in the background. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/100th of a second
On my last day in the Falkland Islands, I got up before the sun to photograph the penguins with the full moon. The gentoos and the kings both get up early and head down to the shoreline. This gentoo was at the top of the dunes, just before waddling down to the water. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 160mm) ISO 400, f/22 at 1/25th of a second, two Nikon SB-900 flash units fired using Pocket Wizard controllers
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Only two primates have blue eyes. The blue-eyed black lemur and us. I don’t usually post captive animals, but this is a rare exception for this very rare animal. Blue-eyed black lemurs are classified as critically endangered. This means that, in all likelihood, they will soon be extinct in the wild. The current estimate is that there are less than a thousand individuals remaining in the forests of Madagascar. Loss of habitat due to slash and burn farming is the main culprit. I photographed this female (males are completely black) in a free range zoo on the east coast of Madagascar.
