I’m usually not much of a high-key guy when it comes to wildlife photography and blowing out the highlights, but occasionally I find something that works. I liked this painted turtle popping its head above water framed by the bits of out of focus foliage to the right. Photographed somewhere in Florida. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/640th of a second.

I missed the boat on Groundhog Day. A day late, but here’s a marmot. All marmots aren’t groundhogs, but all groundhogs are marmots. The guy pictured above is a hoary marmot (Marmota caligata) as opposed to a true groundhog (Marmota momax). Photographed years ago at Mount Rainier in Washington. There wasn’t any shadow that day either — as if any of us actually thought winter would be over before the middle of March. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/250th of a second.

I always like to include the subject’s environment if I can. Usually that means getting close with a wide angle lens, but sometimes it means using a long lens to compress space. The latter was the case with this prairie dog in Badlands National Park. I used a 600mm lens but from quite a distance to bring the background closer. I also had to stop down to f/22 to record detail in what otherwise would have been a blur of color.Nikon D700 with Nikkor 600mm f/5.6 manual focus lens, ISO 400, f/22 at 1/80th of a second.

The razorbill is the only species in the genus Alca. It’s relative, the great auk, went extinct in the mid 19th century. They are monogamous birds and spend the vast majority of their lives at sea, coming ashore only to breed. This mated pair appears to be doing just that. Photographed on Machias Seal Island off the coast of Maine. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/6.3 at 1/2000th of a second.

The camera trap has been quite silent for the past month. So here’s one captured back in September when it seemed like bears were showing up every few days or so. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 500, f/8 at 1/125th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and remote flashes.

A northern green frog takes cover in the duckweed at Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge in Indiana. Northern green frogs are commonly sold as pets. I, of course, prefer them in their natural habitat. I took this shot before I owned a macro lens and instead used a close-up filter screwed to the end of my 70-200mm. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm with Canon 500D close up filter) ISO 200, f/4 at 1/180th of a second.

Here’s another of the salamanders I found in the woods behind my house back in October. I had originally misidentified these guys as dusky salamanders, but they are actually red-backed salamanders, which can occur in several color phases, including a more grayish tone, mottled with just a bit of blue and red, known as “lead back.” Nikon D850 with Nikkor 105mm macro lens, ISO 800, f/14 at 1/125th of a second.

My deer friend came back for a visit during our snow storm a few weeks back. The camera was barely above the snow line for this one. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 500, f/14 at 1/200th of a second, Cognisys camera box, triggering system and flashes.