I came across this rather handsome treefrog—known as Elena’s treefrog or Boophis elenae—on a night hike in the town of Perinet, Madagascar. Back then I was using a close-up filter on the end of my 80-200mm lens for macro work, as well as a two flash bracket. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens (at 145mm with Canon 500D close-up filter) ISO 100, f/22 at 1/60th of a second, two Nikon SB-600 flash units.
I used my inverted monopod technique to get this low-angle shot of two white rhinos turning toward each other in Nairobi National Park. We’ll be back this June and I’m looking forward to visiting the park, and the rhinos, on our first day in Kenya. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 24-70mm lens (at 65mm) ISO 450, f/5.6 at 1/1000th of a second.
Another one from the archives. This is a black and white ruffed lemur that I got up close and personal with in Madagascar back in 2007. The photo was taken at an island for rescued lemurs, thus they were quite habituated to humans. Still, I was caught off guard by the close approach but luckily had my little back-up camera with kit lens and pop up flash handy and was able to get a few shots.Nikon D40x with 18-55mm lens (at 18mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/60th of a second, on camera flash.
Behold the cassowary, declared by the Guinness Book of World Records to be “the most dangerous bird in the world.” The distinction is mainly due to its huge claws that it uses to defend itself, usually aiming for the torso of would be intruders, human or otherwise. Native to northeastern Australia and Papua New Guinea, it is the third largest bird in the world behind the ostrich and the emu. Like those birds, it is flightless, and it can grow to over 6 feet tall and weigh more than 150 pounds. Lucky for me I had a 600mm lens on my camera and could photograph from a safe distance. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 600mm manual focus lens, ISO 200, f/5.6 at 1/5th of a second.
I haven’t been up to check on the camera trap in a while because of all the ice. But the bobcat has been up checking on it, or at least walking around in front of it. And leaving no prints on that hard, crusty surface of the snow. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 20mm) ISO 500, f/14 at 1/250th of a second, Cognisys camera box, remote trigger and flash units.
The red-chested sunbird was one of the brightly-colored birds I photographed on my first trip to Uganda. This is the male. The females are more uniformly brown and lack the bright colors. This one was hanging out in the bushes just inside the entrance to Queen Elizabeth National Park in the southwestern corner of the country. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 350mm) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/100th of a second.
Here’s another old one (and a repost) from my trip to Madagascar in 2007. One of my favorite of many chameleon shots from that trip. This one being a panther chameleon I found on the grounds of the lodge I was staying at. I was supposed to move on to my next location but due to a major tropical storm, I was stranded in the town of Maroantsetra for a few days. Thanks to the local wildlife, I certainly made the best of it. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 35mm) ISO 100, f/14 at 1/60th of a second, Nikon SB-600 flash.
If you photograph wildlife long enough, eventually some of the species you captured were named something different when you captured them than they are now. This is the Gursky’s spectral tarsier, but when I photographed it back in 2009 on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, the Gursky part was not yet in the name. In recent years, the species previously known scientifically as Tarsius spectrum has been changed to Tarsius spectrumgurskyae because of observed vocalization differences and distinctly different pelage (the fur, hair or wool of a mammal). Perhaps more than you ever wanted to know about the tarsier. That said, they are one of my favorite wild species I’ve had the pleasure to photograph over the years. Also of note, I took this photo at night without flash, but rather using a very slow shutter speed, a tripod, and the light from a full moon. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/4.5 at 1.3 seconds.
Here’s another one that goes back quite some time. I went to Australia in December of 2006. It was my first trip with a digital camera and I was blown away by the convenience of being able to change ISO whenever I wanted without having to back a roll of film carefully out of the camera. Or tell a developer I wanted to “push process” if I shot at a different speed value than that of the film. Everything got so much easier. Long lens auto focus and vibration reduction would revolutionize things for me yet again a few years later. And now, with mirrorless systems and their subject detection eye tracking, those old days seem pretty archaic. Who knows what’s next. As for the subject of the photo, this is a red kangaroo, captured in Flinders Ranges National Park in Southern Australia on a beautiful late afternoon. A low angle combined with a 600mm lens was a great combination for subject isolation. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 600mm f/5.6 manual focus lens, ISO 200, f/5.6 at 1/40th of a second.
I photographed this distracted hoary marmot years ago while I was hiking in the alpine tundra of Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 340mm) ISO 400, f/8 at 1/1250th of a second.