The black bear activity in our yard this year has definitely been a lot less exciting than it was last year. Hopefully things will pick up now that the bears will be gearing up for winter. This shot is from last October. I loved the lighting and posted a similar shot of the same bear a while back. I used three flash units, but the key flash is mounted on a tree directly behind that visible tree to the left of the bear. It provided the strong top and backlighting. Two low-powered flashes in front of the bear added just a little extra dimension to the image. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 500, f/11 at 1/160th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and remote flashes.
When lion cubs are young, they seem to be all head and very little body, like this one photographed in the Masai Mara of Kenya. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 360mm) ISO 800, f/6.3 at 1/320th of a second.
Black-capped chickadees are pretty common birds in our yard, but they don’t often fly in front of my camera trap. I caught (or should I say my remote triggers caught) this one at just the right time. The lowered power settings of my flash units were able to freeze the action against the dark backdrop of the forest. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 500, f/14 at 1/160th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and remote flashes.
Who knows what this gorilla was thinking, but they sure do share a lot of our facial expressions and body language (not to mention we are 98% identical on a genetic level). This was from my first trip to Uganda to photograph the endangered species. Back then there were only 800 estimated in the wild and they were listed as “critically endangered” by the IUCN. Today that number has risen to over a thousand and they have subsequently lost the “critically” part of their designation. A rare bit of good news in the wildlife conservation community and the world at large. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/4.5 at 1/160th of a second.
Two mountain goat kids hang out in their high-altitude terrain. It’s always nice to visit Mount Evans, about an hour and a half from Denver. Even if the mountain goats and the bighorn don’t show up, the views are always spectacular. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 70mm) ISO 200, f/6.3 at 1/1250th of a second.
The red eft is the juvenile phase of the eastern newt (also sometimes called the eastern red-spotted newt). While in the red eft phase, they turn a bright orangish red and spend their time on land. I photographed this one in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in New Jersey. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm with Canon 500D close up filter attached) ISO 800, f/5 at 1/20th of a second.
Always a treat to capture grooming interaction between mother cats and their young. I photographed this lioness and her two cubs (the other is hidden behind Mom) on my first trip to Kenya and the Masai Mara. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/6.3 at 1/250th of a second.
I spotted this honey badger on the prowl well after the sun had set on the Kalahari Desert of Botswana. I was forced to use a low shutter speed in the dim light, but he/she stopped just long enough to allow me to capture a portrait. The lack of light, combined with the dry desert conditions, made for an almost monochromatic exposure. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/60th of a second.
Just a simple shot of a pronghorn being a pronghorn while grazing in his environment in Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 98mm) ISO 800, f/2.8 at 1/320th of a second.
Looks like I caught these two giant river otters in the middle of some sort of illicit activity. In reality, they were simply grooming each other while stopping for a moment to watch our boat float past. Photographed along the banks of one of the many rivers of the Pantanal in Brazil. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 360mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/200th of a second.
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The black bear activity in our yard this year has definitely been a lot less exciting than it was last year. Hopefully things will pick up now that the bears will be gearing up for winter. This shot is from last October. I loved the lighting and posted a similar shot of the same bear a while back. I used three flash units, but the key flash is mounted on a tree directly behind that visible tree to the left of the bear. It provided the strong top and backlighting. Two low-powered flashes in front of the bear added just a little extra dimension to the image. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 500, f/11 at 1/160th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and remote flashes.
