Gorilla Nap
This silverback mountain gorilla was taking an afternoon nap in the ferns of Mgahinga National Park in the Virunga Mountains of Uganda. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens, ISO 2800, f/2.8 at 1/250th of a second.
Young Yacaré Caiman
Sometimes called the southern spectacled caiman, these crocodilians are endemic to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay. I photographed this one in the Pantanal of Brazil where some 10 million live, up considerably since the 1980s when they were hunted for their leather. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens. (at 350mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/500th of a second.
Yellow-Billed Stork
The yellow-billed stork is widely distributed throughout sub-Sahara Africa. That said, they exist in greater numbers in East Africa. Interesting fact about these guys — they hunt by their sense of touch rather than sight. They’ll dip their beak into the water and start moving it around until it comes in contact with prey (mostly small fish, but they also eat crustaceans, frogs, worms, insects and the occasional small mammal or bird). Once prey is detected, a rapid snap bill reflex occurs and the beak slams shut, the stork raises its head and swallows. This stork was resting along a river in the Masai Mara of Kenya. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 280, f/5.6 at 1/2000th of a second.
Portrait of a Baboon
Just a simple portrait of an olive baboon resting at the edge of a cliff in Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve. The sun was still relatively low in the sky and when the baboon turned his head slightly, his orange eyes were illuminated by the light. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 360, f/5.6 at 1/250th of a second.
Dark Tamandua
I’ve posted a few photos of this guy before — a rare dark morph of the southern tamandua. Also known as the lesser anteater. It was nice to have come upon him while he was actively moving from tree to tree looking for termites and ants. In this image, he stopped for a few quick scratches with those giant claws (check out the one oversized claw on that left hand). Photographed in the northern Amazon basin of Peru. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/6.3 at 1/320th of a second, Godox V860iii fill flash.
Cheetah Cubs in Action
It was a lot of fun photographing these cheetah cubs as they chased each other all over the place in Samburu National Reserve. There were four of them and we saw them on three different occasions. This was early morning as the sun was starting to make its way into the sky. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 1100, f/5.6 at 1/1250th of a second.
Bear Claws
Yesterday I posted an opossum that came by my fallen-tree camera trap set up. Here’s one when a few bears came by. It’s usually disappointing when I see a bear or bobcat with the head just out of frame, but sometimes it works. In this image, the focus is very clearly on the claws, and the bear in the back added a bit of depth. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 20mm) ISO 500, f/14 at 1/160th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and remote flash units.
Virginia Opossum
In the fall and winter of 2020, I had a camera trap set up on a fallen ash tree in the woods behind my house. Raccoons and opossums regularly crossed over it and I was able to experiment with the lighting, capturing quite a few shots like this where the main light was behind the animal. It’s been a couple years, I think I need to try that log again. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 20mm) ISO 500, f/7.1 at 15 seconds, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and remote flash units.
Common Wombat
The common wombat also goes by coarse-haired wombat and bare-nosed wombat. But whatever you call them, they are grass-eating machines. If there’s a large population in an area, it can look like a well-groomed golf course. I photographed this one on Maria Island, off the coast of Tasmania, Australia. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/2500th of a second.
Northern Elephant Seal
This is an old one from back in 2008. I was driving down the California coast from San Francisco to Los Angles and stopped off at Año Nuevo State Park to see what I could find. It was first thing in the morning and this elephant seal had the beach to himself, waiting for females to arrive for the yearly mating and birthing season which takes place from December through March. Since then I have spent many hours photographing both northern elephant seals in California, as well as their larger cousins, the southern elephant seals down in the Falkland Islands. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 35mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/250th of a second.