Like yesterday, here’s another sunset shot, but with a completely different animal in a completely different part of the world — a prairie dog in the Badlands of South Dakota. I liked that there are three almost evenly distributed colors in the composition. I used a graduated neutral density filter to hold the color in the sky while exposing for the foreground.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 250mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/2500th of a second
It’s been a while since I posted anything from the California tide pools. I photographed this bat star in the seagrass a few years back in Montana De Oro State Park in Los Osos, along the central coast. It’s hard to think of sea stars as animals, let alone fighters, but they will often battle each other when crossing paths. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see this guy flex his muscles, as any would-be challengers were nowhere to be found.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 200, f/16 at 1/20th of a second
A young fox can either be called a pup, a kit or a cub. I usually go with pup. Being a canine it just seems right to me. These two little guys were having some early morning fun while mom was out hunting for breakfast in Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/400th of a second
There was no Africa trip this year, and I didn’t get out with the camera with the frequency of some previous years, but 2014 was still a great year for me and wildlife. The time that I did spend in the field yielded some excellent sightings, even when I was only able to get away for a day or two. The following photos represent some of the highlights of the year — all new shots that I haven’t shared yet. Enjoy, and thanks for continuing to check out my posts on a daily basis.
Things started a bit slow in Yellowstone back in February. I’ve been to Yellowstone many times, still hoping for better looks at wolves. It didn’t happen this time, but I did have some great opportunities with bighorn, pronghorn, bison and all the other usual suspects. This ram was working hard to find grass beneath the thick bed of snow.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 380mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/8000th of a second
I went to Costa Rica for a long week in March, hoping to photograph tapirs and photograph tapirs I did. In fact this one I photographed from only about a foot away, as I remained very quiet, on the ground, with my wide angle zoom.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 3200, f/2.8 at 1/320th of a second
In May, Karen and I took a five day trip to Tulum, Mexico. It was mostly a beach holiday, but I got away one afternoon and headed to the Punta Laguna Nature Reserve where I was able to photograph spider monkeys.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 310mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/640th of a second
In June, I headed out to the great parks of southwestern South Dakota. Badlands is one of my favorite parks in the country and never seems to disappoint. It was the time of year for baby prairie dogs and I saw many of them.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/400th of a second
In July, I had to be in Los Angeles for business. I was able to get away for a night over the weekend so I headed to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. This was the 122 degree day that I’ve talked about in several posts. I love photographing black-tailed jackrabbits and have posted a few from this trip. My mother had asked about whether or not their ears are ever down. Well, here you go. When relaxed and at rest, the ears are down, but when they hear something or are on alert, the ears stick straight up.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/1000th of a second
And finally, my big trip of the year was to the Falkland Islands in October/November. I’m still going through all the photos from this trip — two awesome weeks with five different species of penguin and assorted other creatures. I photographed these four king penguins at twilight at Volunteer Point, on the main island of East Falkland.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 35mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/320th of a second
This one is from my trip to the scorching hot southern California desert earlier this year. During the heat of the day, it reached 122 degrees in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. There was no life to be found. As soon as the sun went down, however, the jackrabbits and coyotes started to creep out from their daytime resting spots. This guy stopped for a quick peek at me before continuing the hunt for food (or more likely, water) with three other coyotes.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/800th of a second
Here’s another one from Saturday night, just outside our apartment in Brooklyn. This time I included some wildlife — the flock of gulls settling in for the night on top of the old pilings.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 180mm) ISO 400, f/18 at 13, 3, 6, 25 and 30 seconds
I was relaxing by a campfire at a friend’s cabin near Waterloo, Iowa back in 2008 when a couple of these gray tree frogs decided to stop by for a late night visit. I quickly grabbed my macro filter and a few flash units from my car and took a few quick shots.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm with Canon 500D close up filter attached) ISO 160, f/16 at 1/60th of a second, two Nikon SB-800 flash units
I very rarely take photos in my own backyard. And it just so happens to be the neighborhood that many consider the most picturesque in all of New York — Dumbo in Brooklyn. I vow to change that and get out a lot more when I’m not traveling around chasing down wildlife. This image was taken between Pier 1 and 2 in Brooklyn Bridge Park, where old pilings stick out of the East River. The recently completed Freedom Tower (One World Trade Center) can be seen to the right, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. I worked the location for about an hour, alternating between shots of the pilings and shots of the Statue of Liberty (which is just to the left of frame, cropped out of this particular composition). The light went from the fiery reds and yellows of sunset, to the cool blues of twilight. This 5-frame exposure was captured well into the blue period, just before I packed it in and walked the three minutes back home.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 19mm) ISO 400, f/14 at shutters speeds from 1 to 30 seconds
It’s been a while since I posted a landscape minus any creatures. This field of alpine wildflowers was taken at Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state a few years ago at the end of the summer. Most wildflower blooms in the country are long gone by mid summer, but at higher elevations at Rainier, late August can be the peak time.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 200, f/18 at .4 seconds
It just seemed like kind of a duck day today. This female mallard was coming in for an icy landing with a few of her friends walking below. I was in the town of Delta, British Columbia, just south of Vancouver. (Good luck today Dad).
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/4.5 at 1/1000th of a second