Eastern Quoll in Tall Grass
I saw two species of quoll while I was in Tasmania, the eastern and the spotted. This is the eastern (even though it has spots). Eastern quolls come in two main color variations — a darker brown, almost black and a lighter, sandy color. This is obviously the latter. They are strictly nocturnal and I captured this image on a late-night spotlighting mission. The light was provided by the headlights of our vehicle and not a flash. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 3200, f/4.5 at 1/320th of a second.
Ground Hornbills
A pair of ground hornbills were having a conversation — perhaps about whether frog or bugs were on the menu for dinner. I loved the faces on these large birds as they carried on as if we weren’t there. Photographed in the Masai Mara of Kenya. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 330mm) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/320th of a second.
Black Giant Squirrel
I went all the way to Thailand to photograph squirrels. Well, actually I was there to photograph all sorts of amazing creatures, but didn’t expect to get as excited about these giant black squirrels as I did. It’s tough to get a sense of scale from a picture like this but they are much larger than the grey and red squirrels we have here in the US. That two-tone coloring is also pretty cool. I only had a few sightings, including this one in Kaeng Krachan National Park. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/320th of a second.
Burrowing Owl
Unlike most owls, burrowing owls are active during the day. They also are unique in that they live in burrows in the ground. They can be found in a variety of habitats including open grasslands, deserts, agricultural areas and any other wide open spaces. This little guy was photographed down on the west coast of Florida. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 380mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/160th of a second.
Penguin and Sheep
Technically not my best photographic effort, but this one has amusement value. On certain of the Falkland Islands, the domestic sheep seemed to be as common as the penguins. This Magellanic penguin appeared to have something to get off his chest and was bending the ear of whoever would listen. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 360mm) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/2000th of a second.
Juvenile Mountain Gorilla
When trekking for mountain gorillas on my most recent trip to Uganda, this youngster was the first of the troop to come tumbling out of the thick vegetation. He/she (too early tell gender) appeared as surprised to see us as we were to see him/her. Photographed in Mgahinga National Park. Nikon D850 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 98mm) ISO 1600, f/2.8 at 1/1250th of a second.
White-Tailed Mother and Fawn
Deer are fairly regular visitors to my backyard camera traps at night. Usually it’s a single deer tripping the shutter, so it was nice to capture this image of a fawn following Mom through the woods. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 20mm lens, ISO 500, f/14 at 1/200th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and remote flash units.