Giraffes and elephants make great subjects for environmental shots due to their large, iconic shape. Plus, it’s hard for either animal to hide and disappear into the landscape. Here, a reticulated giraffe continues to forage as the sun sets on another day in Samburu in Kenya. Nikon D850 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/2.8 at 1/200th of a second.

As we close in on our second week of quarantine, I long for mornings like this, just two months ago out on the Mara plains in Kenya. Stay safe everyone. Nikon D850 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 400, f/2.8 at 1/8000th of a second.

There were several red-bellied parrots nesting in tree cavities right outside my tent in Samburu National Reserve in Kenya. Most of the shots that I captured show the gray wings and topside of the bird. For this image, I was able to get the green legs and orangish/red chest that give the parrot its name. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/1600th of a second.

There are no apparent animals in this photo, but plenty of evidence of their whereabouts. Those balls hanging from the acacia tree are weaver nests. Several species of weavers live in Samburu. They are seed-eating birds named for their ability to weave a nest out of grass. A tree like this one is often called an African Christmas tree due to all the nests hanging like ornaments. Photographed at sunrise in Samburu National Reserve.Nikon D850 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 70mm) ISO 1600, f/2.8 at 1/6400th of as second.

The kori bustard is the largest flying bird in Africa (the ostrich, of course, doesn’t fly). We saw this one strutting across the savanna early one morning in Samburu National Reserve in Kenya. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/2000th of a second.

There were lots of young babies in Samburu, Kenya on this recent trip, including these two with their mother. Nikon D850 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 130mm) ISO 200, f/5.6 at 1/1250th of a second.

We watched this leopard as she climbed a tree to get a better (more stealthy) look at whatever prey might be out there. She grew very intense, fixing her sight on something that we didn’t see. It quickly got dark so we left her to her hunt. Nikon D850 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/250th of a second.

This white bearded wildebeest seemed to be quite impressed with the leaping skills of the impala. Just another afternoon in the Maasai Mara. Nikon D850 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 150mm) ISO 400, f/2.8 at 1/1250th of a second.

The hadada ibis lives in sub Sahara Africa. The species is named for its call while flying, which usually consists of three to four notes, which I guess sounds like hadada. I didn’t hear this guy, only saw him/her perched in a tree outside of my tent in Samburu, Kenya. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/250th of a second.

There are around thirty species of mongoose. These guys are banded mongooses. Yes, the plural is mongooses (not mongeese) and a group of them is called a mob (or sometimes a pack). They look a lot like meerkats and are, in fact, in the same family. This mob of mongooses was photographed in the Maasai Mara of Kenya. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/8 at 1/500th of a second.