This one is a good example of the early morning ritual of the king penguins that I talked about previously. A few leaders go down to the shoreline and contemplate getting into the water, while the rest of the group hangs back, waiting to see what happens. It goes on like this for several hours as the penguins slowly make their way down the length of the beach before finally getting up the nerve to go for it. Once the first one goes in, the rest quickly follow. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 70mm) ISO 400, f/5 at 1/3200th of a second
The photo above doesn’t look like much. Until you look a little closer. Toward the bottom of the tree on the right side, you can see the head of a mossy leaf-tailed gecko blending into the bark — its hand is visible to the left. Pretty amazing camouflage. This is the way that these geckos spend the day while at rest. They have dermal flaps that can break up their outline, and they can change color to match their surroundings. When awake, they can look somewhat like the giant leaf-tailed gecko below (I posted a close up of this guy about two months ago). This particular gecko is doing quite the opposite — trying its best to stand out and scare off potential danger (me) with its bright red mouth. Note the tail that gives these geckos their name. Leaf-tailed geckos can also jump from tree to tree, and this one had just leaped from a tree that better suited its particular skin color and pattern. Top photo: Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 400, f/2.8 at 1/60th of a second, two Nikon SB-800 flash units.
Bottom photo: Nikon D200 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 400, f/4.5 at 1/60th of a second, two Nikon SB-800 flash units.
This odd little creature is called a greater hedgehog tenrec. Despite the descriptor in the name, and the appearance, tenrecs are not related to hedgehogs. I found this guy on an afternoon walk in Maroantsetra, Madagascar. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 100, f/5.6 at 1/60th of a second, Nikon SB-800 flash
This is a Johnny Rook. At least that’s what the Falkland Islanders call them. Their more official name is the striated caracara, and this one was having a heck of a time trying to break open a gentoo egg that had been pilfered from a nearby penguin colony. All the Johnny Rooks, in fact, seemed to have poor technique when it came to cracking eggs. The other main egg burglars in the Falklands, the skuas, had no problem completing the task. They would impale the egg with their pointed beaks in a single stab. The Johnny Rooks, however, have hooked beaks and therefore employ a far less effective strategy by using their talons. It was as if they were playing soccer, as they kicked the egg from one bird to the other, each trying to keep it to themselves and each failing to crack what appeared to be a very hard egg. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 210mm) ISO 400, f/5 at 1/2000th of a second
The eastern, or red spotted newt goes through a stage when young when it is called a red eft. At this time, it is a very brightly colored orangish red and it lives on dry land. For the rest of its nearly 15-year life span, it remains in the water. I came across this little guy one rainy day while hiking in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in northwestern New Jersey. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 150mm with Canon 500D close up lens diopter) ISO 200, f/10 at 1/60th of a second, two Nikon SB-800 flash units
Despite their beautifully colored coats, large cats like leopards, jaguars and tigers all blend in quite nicely with their respective habitats. The alternating dark and light fur provides perfect camouflage amidst the light and shadows of the grasses and shrubs. This particular leopard is the one year old that I posted about a year and a half ago. We came upon a very rare find on safari — a pangolin (see post here for more on that encounter) and I was very excited to get out of the vehicle and down on the ground for some great eye-level action of one of Africa’s most elusive creatures. I couldn’t believe my bad luck when the guide told me that I had to stay in the vehicle — because there was a leopard stalking in the nearby grass. The leopard was right next to our vehicle and I didn’t even see him. How dare he ruin my shot. Of course, I quickly realized that it was actually amazing luck — not only to photograph a pangolin, but one being stalked by a leopard. We stayed there and watched them play their game of cat and mouse (the pangolin, of course, in the unfortunate role of the mouse) until the sun went down. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 240mm) ISO 400, f/5 at 1/250th of a second
The grey crowned crane, or crested crane, is certainly one of the more interesting looking creatures to be found in east Africa. It is a large bird standing three and a half feet tall and weighing in at almost eight pounds. It spends the entire day foraging for a variety of both plants and animals, including seeds, grains, worms, frogs, snakes, fish and eggs. This particular crane was winding down its day before heading to a tree to rest and sleep for the night. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 00-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/200th of a second
These two bat eared fox pups were getting to know each other a little better. Of course, they should have been quite familiar with each other as they were most likely from the same litter. We came across them late one afternoon in the Masai Mara of Kenya. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 360mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/100th of a second
Of the 22 different species, the black browed albatross is considered medium sized by albatross standards. The largest albatrosses have a wingspan of 11 feet. The black browed variety only gets to about 8 feet. Still, that’s a pretty impressive spread. This particular bird seemed to be at least that as it soared along the cliffs of Saunders Island in the Falkland Islands. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/4000th of a second
Giant tortoises are the oldest living land animals on earth — which I figured was appropriate as I turn 50 today — not yet halfway there if I was the average tortoise. This Galapagos giant tortoise was photographed in the Santa Cruz Highlands in the Galapagos Islands. Happy birthday to me. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/250th of a second
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This one is a good example of the early morning ritual of the king penguins that I talked about previously. A few leaders go down to the shoreline and contemplate getting into the water, while the rest of the group hangs back, waiting to see what happens. It goes on like this for several hours as the penguins slowly make their way down the length of the beach before finally getting up the nerve to go for it. Once the first one goes in, the rest quickly follow.
