A male hairy woodpecker triggers the camera trap. Getting wide angle shots of birds has been one of the unexpected pleasures of my remote camera. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 400, f/14 at 1/160th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and flashes.
Top Photo: Wild Burros (aka donkeys), Moreno Valley, California. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 240mm) ISO 400, f/7.1 at 1/640th of a second. Botton Photo: African Bush Elephants, Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. Nikon D850 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 35mm) ISO 400, f/8 at 1/1000th of a second.
We had a flock of cedar waxwings stop by this weekend to feed on the red berries in our backyard. The ideal shot of waxwings is a back profile, where you can see the red tips on the feathers and the yellow tail tip. That said, I liked the background (and berry) in this image. And you can kind of see the red and yellow. Hopefully they’ll be back again sometime this week and I’ll try again. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/1250th of a second.
This was one of the very first lemurs I saw when I got to Madagascar. Been thinking more and more about this magical place and wanting to get back before what I remembered from back in 2007 is gone. Most lemur species are critically endangered due to habitat loss. Eco-tourism is vital to preserve the remaining forest but like most everywhere else, travel has been restricted by Covid. Unlike some other parts of the globe that have been re-wilding as a result of the pandemic — from what I hear — that hasn’t been the case in the land of the lemurs. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 200, f/3.5 at 1/500th of a second.
This leopard had her eyes locked onto an antelope as she slowly stalked her way through the tall grass in Samburu National Reserve in Kenya. Nikon D850 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 175mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/500th of a second.
I found this tiny garter snake the other day when I was looking for salamanders. Couldn’t have been more than 8 inches long and thinner than a pencil. I used my macro lens without flash, so I had to open up the aperture to get enough light, making for a very narrow depth of field. I love the way you can see that thin line of focus as it slices through the image from the snake’s body to the left of its eye, then through the eye and onto the right side of the body and then up onto that stick just to the right of the snake. No more than a quarter of an inch of focus on a single plane running from the lower left to upper right. Nikon D850 with Nikkor 105mm macro lens, ISO 1600, f/4.2 at 1/50th of a second.
On Friday night another of the solitary young adult bears paid a visit. This time I was able to get a second flash hidden behind that tree. In fact, he/she (based on those ears this one appears to be either a female or a young male) is looking straight at the hidden flash about four feet up and attached to a second tree just behind the visible tree. This setup allowed for some nice back/side lighting and illuminated the misty rain drops. 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 flashes.
I got out into the woods behind the house today with my macro lens. Turning over a few fallen tree trunks revealed a nice assortment of salamanders, among other creatures considerably smaller than bears. I believe this to be the dusky salamander (correct me if I’m wrong as it’s just a guess based on an internet search). He/she allowed a few photos before scampering away under the leaf litter. Nikon D850 with Nikkor 105mm macro lens, ISO 800, f/14 at 1/80th of a second.
We saw a lot of these Nazca boobies throughout the Galápagos Islands. Quite a few of them were tending to their eggs. This photo was taken on Genovesa Island. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 400, f/11 at 1/500th of a second.
Of the black bears that have walked through my camera trap, this is the only one that I’ve never actually seen. The white on the chest kind of reminds me of the Asian black bear or sun bear, both of which sport a similar patch of white fur. I captured, or should I say the bear captured, this image about three weeks ago. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 20mm) ISO 500, f/8 at 1/125th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and flashes.