Some of you might remember this black-handed gibbon from Borneo, also known as the agile gibbon. He was quite curious — perhaps because he thought that I had something to eat in my camera bag. I was able to get several shots with my wide angle lens. These gibbons live in the same range as the Bornean orangutans in Tanjung Puting National Park. Tomorrow, I’m off to a much different environment — Yellowstone for the weekend for a little winter wildlife photography. It’s been a while since I’ve been there in the dead of winter. Here’s hoping I return on Tuesday with a decent wolf photo or two.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 800, f/2.8 at 1/500th of a second

When I first saw this group of bearded piglets in Borneo, they ran into the forest to be closer to the safety of their mother. Then, one by one, they crept back toward me, seemingly fascinated with the clicking of my camera. Eventually, this little guy went snout to glass. I posted a similar photo a few years back, but in this one, the young pig is even closer to my wide angle lens. Bearded pigs live amongst orangutans in the rain forest, following closely behind them to forage for their left over scraps of food. They get their name thanks to the impressive beards worn by adults. Here’s a shot of a full grown bearded pig that I previously posted.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 800, f/4.5 at 1/400th of a second

Apparently, the art of subtlety is lost on the proboscis monkey. I didn’t stick around long enough to see if this rather forward approach with the ladies of the species resulted in any success. Either way, this one goes out to my friend Garth, who yesterday requested said monkey, no doubt identifying with its equally impressive facial proboscis.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 350mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/60th of a second

I post a lot of black crested macaques. But then again, they are the best monkeys on the planet. This baby was calling out to its mother in the forests of Tangkoko National Park on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/3.5 at 1/125th of a second

Yesterday’s bee eater photo was one of my least popular posts in a while. Total clicks were down and it got zero comments. What does that mean? Time for an orangutan mother and baby. It was either that or a baby bear. Hope you like my choice of a mother orangutan and her baby girl who were checking out the action in Tanjung Puting National Park in Indonesian Borneo.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 190mm) ISO 800, f/4.5 at 1/80th of a second

Male Bornean orangutans have faces that are more dish-shaped than the females. They also have huge cheek flaps that extend from the face, almost like horse blinders. This guy was the alpha male at Tanjung Puting when I visited there a few years back. He was the only orangutan that even the guides would steer well clear of. Lucky for me, I had the equivalent of 600mm of optics between myself and those lovely cheek flaps.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/200th of a second

I went to Borneo to photograph orangutans, but I also really wanted to see a few of these proboscis monkeys — especially the males with their potato like noses. I ended up seeing quite a few of them as we meandered up and down the rivers of Tanjung Puting National Park. This handsome fellow had a particularly impressive snout.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/200th of a second

When I was visiting Sumatra, I took a few night walks in the jungle by myself to see what I could find. Spotlighting on your own can be difficult because you need to flash a light on the subject, then focus the camera and then shoot. Usually the animal will run off before you can get do all that. This civet, however, was a bit curious as to who this strange man was walking around in the dark. I was able to grab three or four shots before the civet disappeared back into the forest.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 500, f/10 at 1/60th of a second, Nikon SB-800 flash unit

It’s been about a year since I last posted a photo of my favorite primate species, the black-crested macaque. These guys are listed as critically endangered due to the continued loss of their habitat. They live only on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. This young macaque was just catching a bit of the late day sun on his face when I snapped the shutter.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 150mm), f/2.8 at 1/100th of a second (-0.67 ev) ISO 1600