This is what butterfly lust looks like. I spotted these two lovers (genus heliconius) doing their thing near my tent in Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 105mm macro lens, ISO 800, f/5 at 1/80th of a second
Waterbucks are a pretty big — their stocky build accounts for the fact that they are among the heaviest antelopes in Africa. The males have those nice spiraled horns which the females lack. I photographed this curious guy in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/800th of a second
As I mentioned in a few recent posts, I took a new compact camera underwater while in Belize. Being the first time I used it, there were plenty of mistakes to be had. The main screw up being that I kept inadvertently hitting the video record button while snorkeling, thinking that I was taking stills. I ended up with lengthy video clips of unusable (and unexpected) footage. But amidst all the shots of nothing-in-particular, there were glimpses of fish, sharks, stingrays and turtles. I cut together the bits that made sense into this short video of Shark Ray Alley. Music be Neil Young for no particular reason other than I like the song, it seems to fit the slow motion vibe and it’s called “On the Beach.” Next time I’ll take an intentional video and see how it goes. (Sony RX100 V with Fantasea underwater housing with wide angle wet lens attached.)
Another one of the black howler monkeys that we saw at the Caracol Mayan ruins deep in the western rainforest of Belize. Note the way the baby has its tail wrapped tightly around mom’s.
Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/320th of a second
This is probably the most common North American tree frog. It can come in many colors depending on location — like chameleons, they have the ability to change depending on their environment (although not quite as spectacularly). As the name implies, they can appear anywhere on the gray to green spectrum. They are predominately found in southern Canada and the US states east of the Mississippi, although I spotted this one just west near the town of Waterloo, Iowa.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) with Canon 500D close up filter, ISO 160, f/16 at 1/60th of a second, two Nikon SB-800 flash units
These curious hippos were photographed in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda. Despite the fact that they are mainly vegetarian, hippos can be the most dangerous animals in Africa due to their territorial ways. Getting in the way of their route into and out of the water is never a good idea.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 300mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/400th of a second
Back to Belize and Shark Ray Alley for this one — a Pacific green sea turtle feeding on the underwater grasses. You can see another shark silhouetted back there to the left.
Sony RX100V in Fantasea housing and wide angle wet lens, 8.8mm (24mm equivalent) ISO 125, f/10 at 1/100th of a second
Time for the yearly rabbit post. This time a young cottontail, photographed on a hike one morning in the hills above Malibu, California. Hope everyone had a great day.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1250th of a second
When we weren’t in the water, the main creatures that we observed in Belize were the black spiny-tailed iguanas. These guys were always around, sunning themselves on the grounds of our hotel. They were particularly fond of watching the hotel guests swim in the pool. They’d sit patiently all day watching the action. Occasionally they would bob their heads up and down, perhaps as a defensive warning aimed at the big bald photographer recording their every move. Male black spiny-tailed iguanas can reach a length of four feet three inches. Females are slightly smaller. With the ability to run over 21 miles per hour, they are the fastest lizard species on earth.
Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens at 270mm, ISO 400, f/4 at 1/100th of a second
With my extreme wide angle lens, I wasn’t able to get any true close ups of fish, although I’ve always liked the landscape-y wildlife shots better anyway, even underwater. This one was taken at the Hol Chan Marine Reserve in Belize, a beautiful place full of spectacular coral gardens. One small fish that kept allowing me a close approach on my free dives was the bluehead wrasse. At only about 4 inches in length, they pack a lot of color into such a small body. Interesting fact about the bluehead wrasse is that females can change sex later in life and become males. As for all those other fish in the background, they are blue-striped grunts. There’s also a little yellowtail damselfish swimming out of frame to the lower right in the shadows.
Sony RX100V in a Fantasea housing, 8.8mm (24mm full frame equivalent) with wide angle wet lens, ISO 125, f/4 at 1/320th of a second