I met this spotted quoll just outside of Cradle Mountain National Park at a captive breeding center for the critically endangered Tasmanian devil. There are two species of quoll in Tasmania, the eastern and the spotted. Like devils, quolls are also carnivorous marsupials. It was getting very dark when I took the photo so I had to crank the ISO up to 6400.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 160mm) ISO 6400, f/2.8 at 1/500th of a second
For this photo, I got up close to the wombat and used a fisheye lens to get as wide a view of its vast environment as I could. I also wanted to get in all those stormy clouds above the distant mountains.
Nikon D800 with Sigma 15mm fisheye lens, ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1600th of a second
These two photos are from Maria Island in Tasmania, Australia. The patters in the rock were caused by groundwater which seeped down through the sandstone thousands of years ago and left behind iron oxides which stained the rock.
Top photo — Nikon D800 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 100, f/18 at 1/4th, 1/15th, 1/8th, 1/2 and 1 seconds
Bottom photo — Nikon D800 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 100, f/18 at 1.6, .4, 1/10th, 1/5th and .8 seconds
I was able to capture several shots of this white wallaby out in the open, but there was something about this particular shot of the wallaby deep in the woods that I really liked. This is a rare white morph of the Bennett’s Wallaby. Bennett’s wallabies are common on Bruny Island in Tasmania, but it’s still unusual to see anything other than the usual brown variety.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 270mm) ISO 3200, f/4 at 1/100th of a second
While in Tasmania, I spent an afternoon driving up to Ben Lomond National Park, which is in the northeast corner of the state. The light wasn’t great, but a fisheye lens can be quite forgiving, and I was able to capture this almost aerial view of the mountainous landscape.
Nikon D800 with Sigma 15mm fisheye lens, ISO 400, f/8 at 1/800th of a second
This wombat was scurrying along as the sun hit the horizon late one afternoon. I was on Maria Island, a bit of a Noah’s Arc of Tasmanian wildlife, just off the southeast coast.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/400th of a second
Here’s another Bennett’s wallaby from my Tasmania trip. These guys are active during the day, but are even more active at night. I captured this shot well after the sun had set over Narawntapu National Park on the extreme northern coast. I used a slow shutter speed and high ISO to record the ambient light, while using a flash to freeze the wallaby.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 98mm) ISO 1600, f/5.6 at 1/30th of a second, Nikon SB-900 flash
I caught this Bennett’s wallaby mid stride on a misty morning in Cradle Mountain National Park in Tasmania, Australia.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 1600, f/5.6 at 1/1000th of a second
This will be me last post for about a week as I head to Panama early tomorrow morning for six nights. Hopefully I’ll be back next week with some great new shots, including some nocturnal creatures like this brushtail possum from Tasmania. One of the nice things about a lot of the animals in Tasmania is that they were very accepting of my presence and didn’t spook very easily. This gave me time to really get my lighting just the way I wanted. I usually use two flashes, but in this case, and for most of my night shots in Tasmania, I used one flash on a tripod which I was able to set down in one spot, and then take my camera to another spot to get the photo. In this case, I was probably twenty feet from the flash, and twenty feet from the possum — me the possum and the flash forming a bit of a triangle. I use remote controlled units on camera and flash to be able to separate the two without using cables.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/6.3 at 1/160th of a second, Nikon SB-900 flash
Freycinet is one of the most popular national parks in Tasmania. Sleepy Bay is accessed via a short hike within the park. There are a few big boulders at the shoreline that have eroded into perfect little domed caves — ideal for sitting in and watching the sunrise. The greenish lichen on the pinkish granite is a departure from the characteristic orange that is so prevelant in this part of Tasmania.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 100, f/20 at 1/8th of a second