It’s always fun to photograph mountain goats because they conveniently prefer to hang out in spectacular alpine settings. I met this young goat a few years back not too far from Denver in Colorado. We were both up above the clouds as the day came to a close. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 35mm) ISO 800, f/10 at 1/800th of a second.

I took this one on a trip to Yellowstone a few years back. It was late September and the rising sun added some interesting flare to the backlit mountain bluebird. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/3200th of a second.

A little burrowing owl was having a nice stretch with that right leg. These diurnal owls that live in the ground are fairly widespread throughout the Americas. An especially large population of them live in Cape Coral, Florida in and amongst all the suburban population. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 280mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/160th of a second.

It was about this time back in 2017 when I visited Silver Salmon Creek up in Alaska. The coastal brown bears would forage mostly on the marsh grasses, but would also come out to the shoreline at low tide and try their best to catch coho salmon. Obviously, this mother was successful and she brought the fish back to her two cubs who were waiting not so patiently on a nearby sandbar. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 330mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/1600th of a second.

As a lot of other people in our area have noticed, this was a very slow year for chipmunks. On the other hand it was a big year for hawks. The presence of, and constant sound of hawks screeching, is no doubt the culprit for the drop in numbers of chipmunks, squirrels and rabbits. I took this shot a few summers ago when the chipmunks were plentiful and the hawks were not. Such is the nature of nature. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/9 at 1/250th of a second.

Seems I keep just missing this bobcat. The top photo — with vole — was taken last week on September 12th, while the bottom one was taken on July 27th. Both shots were at ISO 500, f/14 at 1/200th of a second, Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 19mm) Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and remote flash units. I’ve adjusted my trigger hoping that the next time the bobcat takes this same path, I can get him walking into frame rather than out of frame.

Here’s another one from the backyard last week. This spotted fawn has been hanging around all summer and occasional stops by the photo booth to take a few self-portraits. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 19mm) IS0 500, f/14 at 1/200th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and remote flash units.

A quick interruption of the Africa picks to report on this week’s activity up at the camera trap. Lots of deer, raccoons and rabbits, but also a bobcat and this young(ish) black bear. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 19mm) ISO 500, f/14 at 1/200th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and remote flash units.

My ad agency is doing some pro-bono work for the US Horse Welfare and Rescue Center in Avon, Connecticut where my wife volunteers. The mission is pretty straightforward — the center rescues horses who need rescuing. Along the way, a fair amount of human healing takes place as well. More on this in a future post as well as info on the east coast premier of a documentary on the plight of our wild horses. While looking for images for our marketing efforts, I took a deep dive back into my collection and found a series of shots from Navajo Nation in the desert southwest where they still roam free. I captured this mustang standing in front of the iconic landscape of Monument Valley just as the sun was about to set. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/3.5 at 1/400th of a second.