I think I took as many photos at night in Tasmania as I did during the day. So much life comes out as soon as the sun goes down. One of those species is the brushtail possum. This mother and her joey posed for a few portraits before moving on into the forest. Using two flash units off camera and to the side, allowed me to capture the possums without any eyeshine. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/14 at 1/250th of a second, two Nikon SB-900 flash units

Wombats spend the majority of their waking hours eating. And all they eat is grass. They are so focused on the task of munching down as much as they possibly can that it can be a challenge to photograph them with their heads up. So for this image, I got below the grass. Photographed at Cradle Mountain, Tasmania, Australia. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/200th of a second.

There are four species of echidna. This is the short-beaked, which can be found throughout Australia and portions of New Guinea. It’s the most widespread native mammal in Australia. Unlike many other Australian mammals which are marsupials, the short-beaked echidna is a monotreme. Monotremes are one of the three main groups of mammals on earth, along with placentals and marsupials. But there are only five living species of monotreme — the four echidnas and the platypus. Their distinguishing characteristic is that they lay eggs. I photographed this echidna somewhere in central Tasmania. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/160th of a second.

Eastern grey kangaroos are known locally as foresters in Tasmania. These two were getting into a bit of a scuffle late in the afternoon. As soon as they started, it seemed they were back to grazing side by side again. Photographed in Narawntapu National Park. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 350mm) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/320th of a second.

I used just a touch of off camera flash to illuminate this Tasmania pademelon coming out of the darkness on a pre-dawn morning on Maria Island, which is just off the east coast of Tasmania. Pademelons are very small macropods (the family that kangaroos and wallabies belong to). Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 260mm) ISO 800, f/8 at 1/160th of a second.

It’s a little messy down there in the undergrowth, but that’s the way echidnas like it. These Australia natives seem to always have that snout in the ground routing around for ants. Echidnas are monotremes, one of the three groups of living mammals — the other two being marsupials and placentals. Platypus are also monotremes and like the echidna they do something that no other mammal does — they lay eggs. I photographed this one in northern Tasmania while on a hike. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/200th of a second.

These guys are big, robust lizards with short limbs. And they have a pretty cool tongue. Actually a really cool tongue. You can kind of see it in this picture taken at the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary in Tasmania. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 105mm macro lens, ISO 800, f/4.5 at 1/250th of a second.

Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary is a rehabilitation center in Tasmania for orphaned and injured animals. During my visit, I was able to get some nice daytime pics of the usually nocturnal eastern quoll. Their cute appearance belies the fact they are a carnivorous marsupial in the same family as the Tasmanian devil. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 1600, f/4.5 at 1/400th of a second.

Even though they waddle along at their own pace, short-beaked echidnas can be hard to photograph because they rarely lift their snouts from the ground. This one seemed to have hit the mother load of ants somewhere inside that mossy patch. Photographed near Cradle Mountain National Park in Tasmania, Australia. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 35mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1000th of a second.

Eastern rosellas are another of Australia’s many spectacularly plumed birds. There are six species with many more subspecies of these colorful parrots. I actually spotted this one on the grounds of the airport in Tasmania’s capital city of Hobart, just as I was about to return my rental car and fly home. The low angle actually hides some of the color — there’s more green and red behind the blur of grass. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/400th of a second.