This one goes out to all the mothers. I know it’s a day late, but seeing as I don’t post on Sundays I had to save my mother/baby tribute for today. This was taken at a little spot along the central California coast that I try to visit every few years or so. It’s a deserted stretch of beach that I stumbled upon one day that turns into an elephant seal nursery every January. There were a few stray males in the area, but mostly mothers and their single pup. It seemed every seal on the beach had one. In this photo, behind the main subject, you can see another mother and baby out of focus in the background. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 270mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/250th of a second
Roseate spoonbills are at the top of many birders must-see list. Especially when taking a trip to Florida, where I photographed this one. I’ve posted a few shots of these guys before, but this particular photo really gives a good look at that peculiar bill. While feeding, they swing their head back and forth through shallow water, using the spoon-shaped bill to easily sift through the mud in search of food. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/5 at 1/320th of a second
Baird’s tapirs are an endangered species, mainly due to habitat loss and pressure from hunting. Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica — where there has never been any hunting or human habitation — is one of the best places to photograph them in the wild. In four days in the park, I saw five different tapirs, including this large male crossing a river. I had my 200-400mm lens but decdied to go a bit wider, at 80mm, to frame the tapir with all the rain forest vegetation. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 80mm) ISO 3200, f/2.8 at 1/125th of a second
Here are my favorite reptiles again — the Galápagos Islands marine iguanas. These two were lounging on the lava rock on La Fe Island, posing as a single two headed beast. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/8 at 1/400th of a second
I took this one at the end of the day in Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island in Florida. Ding Darling is world famous for its birds. I’ve been there many times and it never seems to disappoint, although I’m never quite sure what I’m going to see. On this particular evening, it was white pelicans. They were settling in for the night on a small sandbar in the middle of the bay. I got the camera down low in order to silhouette the pelicans against the sky’s red/orange reflection in the water. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/125th of a second
The gaur — also known as the Indian bison — is the largest living bovine species on the planet. This guy is a fairly young male. Those horns will become much more formidable as he ages. I took this photograph in Kanha National Park in central India and thought it would be appropriate today for all those Tauruses (or is it Taurii) out there. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/100th of a second
The double crested cormorant is a rather ordinary looking sea bird. With the exception, of course, of that extraordinary emerald eye. This particular cormorant was very tame, allowing me to fill the frame with a nice head shot. I was hiking along the popular — and justifiably famous to birders — Anhinga Trail in Everglades National Park just south of Miami. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 340mm) ISO 200, f/6.3 at 1/640th of a second
Here’s another look at a genet. They are commonly called genet cats, but aren’t really cats at all and are more closely related to mongooses. This one came creeping around our camp one night in Botswana. We were actually at dinner and luckily, I brought my camera along in case of just such a thing. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 640, f/4 at 1/60th of a second, two SB-900 flash units on off camera bracket
It was early spring when I photographed this bull moose in a field of out-of-focus lupine in northern Colorado. Like all male deer (yes, a moose is a deer) a new set of antlers is grown each year before being shed in the winter. Throughout most of the growing season, the antlers are covered in velvet. Once fully grown, the velvet will shed, and soon thereafter, the antlers will be dropped. This guy is also displaying a nice dewlap — that fancy flap of skin hanging from beneath the chin. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 340mm) ISO 400, f/5 at 1/500th of a second
This was the first red-eyed tree frog that I saw in the wild, and the very first exposure. It was about six years ago in Tortuguero National Park in Costa Rica. Very exciting at the time, as these colorful frogs were at the top of my wish list. I ended up seeing quite a few more of them on that trip but this initial shot is still one of my favorites. I remember hesitating for a second, making sure that all my settings were correct because I didn’t know if the frog would jump away never to be seen again. As it turned out, like most frogs, red-eyed tree frogs are very patient subjects. Still, I don’t like to take too many shots because the flash is obviously not a pleasant experience for any creature of the night. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 200, f/11 at 1/60th of a second, two Nikon SB-800 flash units attached to an off camera bracket
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