This is what late springtime can look like in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. This image was taken while I was driving from one park to the next several years ago in late May. Happy New Year everyone. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/160th of a second.
I let the local robins know that it’s okay to start taking down the holiday ornaments. A flock of them happily obliged, dining on the holly berries in our side yard this afternoon. Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 1600, f/5.6 at 1/200th of a second.
It’s not always easy being a lemur. At least not by the look of this ring-tailed’s body language. These lemurs love the sun and come out to bask in it every morning in southern Madagascar. So in this case, looks are likely deceiving. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 100, f/4.5 at 1/640th of a second.
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.
The best ornaments find their own trees. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone. This is the same saw-whet owl I posted a few weeks ago, spotted by Jackson Staley while shopping for a Christmas tree with his Dad. Nikon D850 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 1600, f/5.6 at 1/80th of a second.
One of the specialties of Sax Zim Bog in Minnesota is the pine grosbeak. They prefer much more northern territory but will venture to the tropical paradise of northern Minnesota in the winter months. There are many species of grosbeak, which translates from French to “thick beak.” The top photo is the more uniformly red male and the bottom photo shows the female with her splotches of yellow, most notably on the head, but also on the back, which you can’t see in this photo.
Both Photos: Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/4000th of a second.
Here’s a non-camera trap shot of one of the bears that passed through the yard in October of 2020. Always nice when I actually get to see them in person when they pay a visit. This guy really liked that tree and didn’t seem to want to let it go. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/6.3 at 1/500th of a second.
It was the end of the day when this young orangutan was swinging through the forest in Tanjung Puting National Park in Indonesian Borneo. The backlighting provided a nice bit of rim light to the red hair. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 280mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/500th of a second.
The sun was setting on a scorcher of a day on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. This young eastern grey kangaroo had wandered off from his mom and was intrigued by the clicking of my camera. Hopefully this post makes it through. I was hacked and have been having issues with my email settings, etc. (note I’m going back to my old email address of sean@seancrane.com). Nikon D200 with Nikkor 600mm manual focus lens, ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/8th of a second.
Here’s one more great gray owl to end the week. It was very early in the morning, very cold, very windy and very much blizzard-ing. Which made for a very monochromatic, moody image. The owl didn’t seem too concerned with the storm and was going about its business of hunting for mice and voles just like any other morning. Photographed at Sax Zim Bog in northern Minnesota. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 1600, f/5.6 at 1/50th of a second.