Sprawled face down in the sand, this black tailed jackrabbit seemed exhausted by the desert heat — which, as I mentioned in a post last week, reached 122 degrees. Those long ears, in fact, are an adaptation to the extreme conditions of the desert. The large surface area of each ear is loaded with blood vessels that release heat and thereby cool down the core body temperature of the rabbit. I, of course, was also face down in the sand enabling a ground level perspective. My ears, however, had little effect on my core body temperture.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/100th of a second

Bison are great as landscape subjects because their shape is so iconic. Here are two bison rim lit by the setting sun in Badlands National Park. This shot is similar to one I posted about a month ago, but different enough to warrant another look.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4.5 at 1/1000th of a second

A quick break in all the 100 degree desert action for the complete opposite. This was the first polar bear that greeted me when I arrived at Seal River Lodge in northern Manitoba, Canada. He was nice enough to pose for a few portraits before moving on.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/400th of a second

Of course, if we’re to believe Looney Tunes, wherever there are roadrunners (see yesterday’s post), there are sure to be a few wily coyotes just around the corner. According to Wikipedia, however, coyotes have not been known to successfully attack roadrunners as prey — which, now that I think about it, would be pretty consistent with old Wile E’s success rate in the cartoon. These coyotes were some of the skinniest that I have seen, but they were also pretty good looking — lean and clean with nice coats and not mangy or scraggly like others I’ve come across in desert areas.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) f/4 at 1/1600th of a second

In addition to jackrabbits, I also photographed roadrunners last weekend in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. I was able to get my camera onto the ground for this one as the roadrunner ran across the desert floor in search of a meal. By getting the camera low, not only was I able to get a much more pleasing perspective of the bird, I was also able to bring out the blurred pastel colors of the desert. Like the jackrabbit yesterday, roadrunners seem to have a special charm, perhaps born of their harsh existence in the desert. They are also known as the chaparral cock, ground cuckoo, and snake killer. I kind of like that last one.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 270mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/640th of a second

I just got back from a two week business trip to Los Angeles. I had some down time last weekend and was able to get out to the desert for a night. It was hot. Very hot. 122 degrees hot. Too scorching for even the usual desert wildlife to make an appearance. As soon as the sun hit the horizon, however, the jackrabbits, coyotes and roadrunners all came creeping out of hiding. The next day, I got up before the sun and had a good time photographing the jackrabbits. This particular rabbit was eyeing me through a hole in the dried up desert flora. With their enormous ears, jackrabbits have always been one of my favorite subjects to photograph. They can be skittish and don’t usually stick around long enough to get decent shots, but I had good luck this time — perhaps because they were too hot to make much of an effort to run away. I’ll be posting a few more of these guys in the coming weeks.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 360mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/1250th of a second