I saw quite a few snakes last week in Costa Rica, including four eyelash vipers. Eyelash vipers are a small, but deadly pit viper and they come in many colors, including red, yellow, brown, green and pink. Of the four I saw, two were green and two were yellow. I was told that if bitten, you have up to four hours to get to a hospital before succumbing to the poisonous venom. These snakes are nocturnal, but easy to spot during the day while at rest. This guy was pretty high up in a tree and I was shooting through heavy foliage, but had just enough of an opening to frame the snake with all that out of focus green. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/5 at 1/50th of a second
These butterflies are of the genus heliconius. I’m not sure of the exact species — after all, there are some 20 thousand different species of butterflies and moths in Costa Rica. One of the things that I loved about this recent trip is that I was able to use all my lenses equally — my telephoto zoom, my mid range zoom, my wide angle and my macro lens — which was the choice for this photo. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 105mm macro lens, ISO 800, f/8 at 1/25th of a second
One of my favorite parts of any wildlife trip is encountering the unexpected. Thus was the case when we came across a porcupine resting in a tree early one morning. In this case, the spiny rodent is a Mexican hairy dwarf porcupine — or as they are also called, the Mexican tree porcupine. I prefer the former. Being nocturnal, I didn’t expect to see one in such good light, but there it was just hanging out, very casually watching me as I snapped off a series of photos. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 330mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/25th of a second
Just back from seven days in Costa Rica. All in all, a solid week of shooting. As always, there were some disappointments — I went back to the place where I photographed a puma six years ago, hoping for another look. No luck there — or with a few other mammals that I had hoped to see. The main reason I went back to Corcovado National Park, however, was for the tapirs. The Sirena Ranger Station has a reputation for being one of the best places in Costa Rica to see this rare and endangered animal. There are five different species of tapir that live in jungle and forested regions of either Central America, South America or Southeast Asia. The Baird’s tapir is the species that lives in Costa Rica. They look a bit like a small elephant, but their closest relatives are actually the horse and the rhinoceros. They are the biggest mammals in Latin America, and I was lucky to photograph this one from just a few feet away with a wide angle lens. Much more on these guys in future posts. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 30mm) ISO 3200, f/2.8 at 1/200th of a second
One more post before Costa Rica, this one a bit self serving, but the end goal is more photos. I entered a competition that has a people’s choice prize of a trip to Namibia. Please click on the link below (or cut and paste) and vote for my polar bear image and help me get back to Africa. You can vote once per email so vote, send to your friends, post on Facebook, whatever. It’s a bit tricky. You have to click the vote button when you get to the photo, then they send you an email and you have to click it to confirm the vote. I know a pain, but I’m dreaming of that trip to Namibia. Thanks for the support. I believe that today is the final day for voting.
This will be the last post for a week, as I head to Costa Rica on Saturday in search of new photos of the day. In the meantime, here’s a black bear who stopped for a few pictures before moving on his way. See you all in a week. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 140mm) ISO 1600, f/2.8 at 1/320th of a second
This Galápagos sea lion didn’t seem to want to have his picture taken. The location is a great little spot on Santiago Island where the sea lions, Sally Lightfoot crabs and marine iguanas (many of which you can see in the background) all hang out together on the black volcanic rock. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 800, f/4.5 at 1/2500th of a second
A friend asked me about yesterday’s post of the tallgrass prairie, wanting to know if he should be looking for a rattler or a spotted hare somewhere in the photo. I didn’t see any rattlers or spotted hares that morning, but I did see this nice little cottontail that was hiding in the grass. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 340mm with Nikon 1.4 teleconverter) ISO 200, f/5.6 at 1/160th of a second
I was looking through my files tonight and found this old one from South Dakota that I never posted to the blog. Spring and summer are a great time to be on the tallgrass prairie of Badlands National Park in South Dakota. On this particular morning, I was on my way to photograph prairie dogs when I was compelled to stop and take a few shots of the early morning landscape. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 200, f/18 at five shutter speeds
I figured it was about time for a new puffin post. I took this one on my first trip to Machias Seal Island in Maine (or New Brunswick, Canada depending upon who you’re talking to — both the US and Canada claiming ownership of the small island). During the summer months, puffins and razorbills nest on the rocky shoreline. This puffin had a mouth full of krill that she was bringing back to her nesting chicks. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 100, f/5.6 at 1/1000th of a second
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