When the tide recedes, ochre sea stars are a common sight along the shoreline in Olympic National Park in Washington state. They come in varying hues of purples and orange, clinging to the volcanic rock. A misty day combined with a slow shutter speed added to the atmosphere of this image captured at Rialto Beach. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 200, f/20 at 8 seconds.
The zebras were getting understandable nervous as these three cheetah brothers went on the prowl. About twenty minutes later they made an unsuccessful sprint while attempting to capture one of the young zebra calves. Photographed in the Ol Pajeta Conservancy in Laikipia, Kenya. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/250th of a second.
Along with the Cobb’s wren, the Falkland steamer duck is the only endemic bird to the Faulkland islands, occurring nowhere else in the world. It is a large duck and also flightless. This is a mated pair, the male to the left and female to the right. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/14 at 1/500th of a second.
Koalas have three fingers and two opposable thumbs on each of their two front paws. Both the fingers and thumbs have sharp pointed claws to assist in climbing, holding onto trees and gripping food. On the back paws, they have a grooming claw. Photographed at Hanson Bay on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 600mm f/5.6 manual focus lens, ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/30th of a second.
You can see just how much bighorn lambs blend in with their surroundings in Badlands National Park. Bad for any would-be predators. Very good for the lambs. These two were having a good old time chasing each other up and down the sides of these eroded buttes, the dominant landscape feature in the park. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/320th of a second.
This is a species of milkweed bug. I think. Let me know if you have a better guess. Photographed in Ankarafantsika National Park in Madagascar. Just one of many interesting insects I saw while in the country. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens (at 200mm with Canon 500D close up filter) ISO 100, f/22 at 1/60th of a second, two Nikon SB-600 flash units.
There wasn’t much light left when I came across this troop of African bush elephants in Samburu, Kenya. The Samburu elephants are considerably more red and less gray than their counterparts elsewhere in Africa. But that’s only because of the red dirt in the area that they spend all day tossing over their bodies. When the light is low, the effect is that they seem to glow. Nikon D850 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 70mm with graduated neutral density filter) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/125th of a second.
It was pretty early in the morning when I first saw this white-handed gibbon in Kaeng Krachan National Park in Thailand. She stuck around for awhile and eventually there was enough light to get some decent photos. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/200th of a second.
Like black bears, brown bears can vary in color. This young male had a lighter coat than any of the other bears we saw at Lake Clark — more of a blondish brown. He was doing a bit of a dance as we drove past on our way back to the lodge. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1000th of a second.
Haven’t seen a single fox in my area of Connecticut this summer. At least not yet. But here’s one hunting for voles along the treeline in Lake Clark National Park in Alaska that I photographed a few years ago. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 250mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/640th of a second.