You never know what you might find in a bison’s fur. In this case, a male and female cowbird — the female on the left, male on the right. I found it amusing that they always seemed to be looking in the same direction at the same time. As for the bison, he was just happy to be going about his business of eating grass, oblivious to the new tenants on his back. This is another one from the Badlands trip. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/500th of a second
It seemed about time for another lion cub post. Here’s one from the Masai Mara in Kenya. This little guy was one of six cubs in the pride and appeared to be the smallest of the bunch. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 310mm) ISO 800, f/6.3 at 1/320th of a second
When it comes to wildlife, my sister Mo knows what she likes. Frogs. And seeing as today is Mo’s birthday, a frog it is. And not just any old frog — a high fiving tree frog. At least that’s what this hourglass tree frog appears to be doing. I came across the little guy on a nocturnal walk in Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica. Hourglass tree frogs are also sometimes called pantless tree frogs. What I like most about this trouserless specimen is that if you look close, you can see the reflection of his hand in his eyeball. Happy birthday Mo — from me and the frog. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 105mm macro lens, ISO 400, f/14 at 1/60th of a second, two Nikon SB-900 flash units on a bracket
I took this photo late one afternoon down in the Okefenokee Swamp of southern Georgia. The last rays of the sun were illuminating a mixed assortment of shorebirds as they settled into a tree for the night. Amongst the flock were little blue herons, white ibis and snowy egrets. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1600th of a second
Bison are always great subjects for landscape shots because of their distinctive shape. I photographed this one grazing on a ridge line early one morning on the recent Badlands trip. As with several other of the Badlands shots, I took five exposures and blended them in Photomatix Pro in order to retain the detail in both the foreground and the sky — which is another great thing about bison, they usually don’t move very fast. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 70mm) ISO 400, f/20 at 1/100th, 1/400th, 1/200th, 1/50th and 1/25th of a second
I photographed this hummingbird in Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana last year. It’s a female broad tailed hummingbird. The males are much more colorful with a red throat and green head and body. This young lady was among several other species of hummingbird that were fluttering around a feeder in the back yard of the refuge headquarters.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 250mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/4000th of a second, Nikon SB-900 flash
There are four crocodilian species in the Americas. This is the American crocodile and it was photographed in Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica (they range from southern Florida to northern Peru). Crocodiles have a much longer snout than alligators. You can see the tip of this guy’s snout, peaking above the water a foot and a half or so in front of the eyes. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/3200th of a second
Here’s another photo of the baby prairie dogs I met while in South Dakota. These two youngsters were in Wind Cave National Park and were giving each other a little kiss while playing around the burrow. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 340mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/3200th of a second
This one goes out to my young friend Rourke (rumor has it that Rourke is a big fan of the hippos). This rather rotund specimen was none too happy with my close approach. In Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda, it’s possible to explore parts of the park on foot and I was at river’s edge with my guide for a few quick shots before quickly getting back to the relative safety of higher ground. Hippos have a well earned reputation for being among the most dangerous creatures on the continent and the last thing I wanted to do was get their attention. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 300mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/640th of a second
Hope everyone had a nice long weekend. Thought I’d start out the work week with a creature that hasn’t been seen on the blog in over four years. This is a fanaloka (also known as the Malagasy civet), and it was photographed in a rain forest in central Madagascar in Ranomafana National Park. Fanalokas are nocturnal and usually very secretive. This one was looking for scraps near a picnic area. These guys are about the size of a house cat, but are a bit more fox like in appearance. They are neither a feline or a canine, however, and are more closely related to the mongoose. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens (at 92mm) ISO 200, f/5 at 1/60th of a second, Nikon SB-800 flash unit
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You never know what you might find in a bison’s fur. In this case, a male and female cowbird — the female on the left, male on the right. I found it amusing that they always seemed to be looking in the same direction at the same time. As for the bison, he was just happy to be going about his business of eating grass, oblivious to the new tenants on his back. This is another one from the Badlands trip.
