Tag: Wildlife

Steller's Sea Eagle 1

Steller’s Sea Eagle 1

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My favorite part of my recent Japan Wildlife Photography Tour was photographing the Steller’s sea eagles. This involved getting up at 4am, boarding a boat at 5am, then motoring out to the pack ice in the dark in order to be in position for first light. It was also very cold, something like -20°C. Once we arrived at the ice edge, the crew then proceeded to attract the eagles by placing and throwing fish on to the ice. Within a short time, we had tons of seagulls, crows, white-tailed eagles, and Steller’s all around us. There was so much action in the chaos that it was hard to figure out what to shoot. I blew the gorgeous sunrise light the first morning, but focused on dramatic flight shots the second morning. That is when I photographed this dynamic eagle coming in for a landing with its talons out.

Japanese Macaque 3

Japanese Macaque 3

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A little over one week ago, I returned from co-leading my Japan Wildlife Photography Tour and have been busy editing my images. This is one of my favorites of a Japanese macaque, also known as a snow monkey, taken at Jigokudani Monkey Park near Nagano. We spent 3 days photographing the monkeys at the famous hot springs where they enjoy soaking in the man-made hot tub. It was a beautiful experience to spend so much time so close to these photogenic animals, but it was definitely not a remote, wilderness experience like I am used to. Fresh snow would have enhanced the photography, but none fell during our visit. So, I spent my time observing and waiting for something interesting to happen. This female was one of the only macaques that dipped her head below the water’s surface while swimming in the pool. When she popped back up, she had this crazy hair dew which I found very compelling to photograph.

Vava'u Humpback Whale Breach 3

Vava’u Humpback Whale Breach 3

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If I could do one thing every day for the rest of my life, it would be to go out on the water to photograph whales for the day. They are simply the most amazing creatures that I am fortunate to regularly photograph. My favorite images of humpback whales are created when they breach. This behavior is an impressive display of emotion and power. You can see my entire gallery of photos of humpback whales breaching. Two of the things that make my breaching pictures stand out are; I shoot from small boats, close to the water so that the whale erupts above the horizon and I am close enough to my subject to use my 70-200mm lens. This image is a good example of utilizing the lowest point on the boat, as well as being taken at 70mm. During the Tonga portion of my 2012 Humpback Whale Tour, this whale repeatedly breached so close to the boat that I probably should have utilized a slightly wider lens. Incredible! I created this image using my Canon 7D and 70-200mm f2.8 IS II lens, and processed the RAW file using Aperture 3 and Photoshop CS6.

Gold Harbor King Penguins Abstract 1

Gold Harbor King Penguins Abstract 1

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This is an abstract image of king penguins that I created while visiting Gold Harbor during my South Georgia Island expedition. I initially photographed this scene with the aid of my tripod using traditional depth of field and sharp focus techniques, but later decided to explore it using slow shutter speeds and hand-held camera movement. I like how this image represents the dynamic chaos of the penguins as they group together, but constantly move about. I searched for repeating patterns and then used a shutter speed of 0.5 second while panning my camera from side to side. Hundreds of experimental images eventually produced a few, like this one, that realized my artistic ambition. I created this image using my Canon 5DmkIII and Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS II lens. I processed the RAW file using Aperture 3, Photoshop CS6, and Nik Software’s Color Efex 4‘s White Neutralizer filter.

Salisbury Plain King Penguins 33

Salisbury Plain King Penguins 33

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Baby king penguins are simply adorable. I was very fortunate to be able to spend as much time as I did photographing them at Salisbury Plains. The juveniles, like this one, were especially curious. I think that it was hungry and hoped that I would feed it. Keep in mind that in order to visit South Georgia Island, I chose to sail on a small sailboat and suffered for almost a week each way. It was much more difficult than what your average cruise ship visitor experiences. However, I did not join the trip for the misery of the sailing. I paid to be able to spend time photographing wildlife up close and personal. I hope that everyone who admires my photography appreciate the special risks and challenges that I undertake in order to create images that are truly unique. I also hope that people appreciate the drama and humor that I strive to integrate into my work. I created this image using my Canon 5DmkIII, Canon 17-40mm f4 lens, and Singh-Ray LB Warming polarizer & 2-stop Hard Graduated Neutral Density filter. I processed the RAW file using Aperture 3, Photoshop CS6, plus Nik Software’s Color Efex 4‘s White Neutralizer filter.

Prion Island Wandering Albatross 10

Prion Island Wandering Albatross 10

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Another cute baby animal picture! One of the first locations that I visited during my South Georgia Island ordeal expedition was Prion Island, which is home to a declining population of wandering albatross. The reason that the population is in trouble is due to long-line fishing. The albatross are attracted to the baited hooks that the long-liners use. Once they bite a hook, they get pulled underwater and drown. It is very sad. There were not many albatross around during my visit, so I was fortunate to be able to spend the better part of an afternoon with this beautiful, photogenic creature. I created this image with my Canon 5DmkIII, Canon 17-40mm f4 lens, and Singh-Ray LB Warming polarizer & 4-stop Soft Graduated Neutral Density filter. I processed the RAW file using Aperture 3, Photoshop CS6, plus I applied Nik Color Efex 4‘s White Neutralizer filter.

Barter Island Polar Bears 105

Barter Island Polar Bears 105

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Aww! I photographed these two cute polar bear cubs during my Alaska Polar Bear Photography Tour last October. They are so adorable I just want to hug them, except for the fact that they would probably eat me. During our tour, we work with local Eskimo guides who take us out in their small boats to the barrier islands to photograph the polar bears. The moms and cubs are usually resting during the day, but become more active in the afternoon. They can often be photographed at the water’s edge like this. I created this image with my Canon 5DmkIII and Canon 300mm f2.8 IS II lens, and processed the RAW file using Aperture 3 and Photoshop CS6.

Vava'u Humpback Whale Calf 12

Vava’u Humpback Whale Calf 12

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This week, I am going to share several images of baby animals that I have photographed during my recent trips, starting with this gregarious humpback whale calf in Tonga. While I was snorkeling on the surface, this calf swam right underneath me while its mom patiently watched below. I really like the arching position of the calf’s body and pectoral fins, as well as the eye contact that the calf made with me. In order to photograph an image like this, I have to spend a lot of time searching for friendly whales and be comfortable swimming in the open ocean with my camera. Most of my best pictures were taken at 17mm, which is a very close encounter. I created this image using my Canon 5DmkIII and Canon 17-40mm f4 lens inside my Ikelite 5DmkIII housing with an 8″ dome port. I processed the RAW file using Aperture 3 and Photoshop CS6, plus I applied Nik Color Efex 4‘s White Neutralizer filter. Check out my photo gallery for more humpback whale photos underwater, of breaches, tails, spouting and bubble-net feeding.

Ranger Rick Jr December 2013 Cover

Ranger Rick Jr February 2013 Cover

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One of my sea otter images is on the cover of the February 2013 issue of Ranger Rick Jr! I created this image while visiting Moss Landing in California in 2008 with my friend Phil Colla. We had a great time together photographing the sea otters at sunset several days in a row. Unlike Alaska sea otters, the Moss Landing otters are used to seeing people and are easily photographed from a boat with a local guide. If you’ve never been, I encourage you to go. Bring your kids since the otters are so cute, unless of course a male gets ahold of a female and tries to mate with her. Ouch! Let’s just say that I would not want to be a female sea otter. I created this image with my Canon 50D and 400mm f4 DO IS lens and processed the image using whatever version of Aperture and Photoshop was available at that time.

Vava'u Humpback Mother & Calf 1

Vava’u Humpback Mother & Calf 1

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This is a photo of a tender moment being shared by a humpback whale mother and her young calf. Humpback moms spend most of their time resting beneath the surface, but their babies have to breath much more frequently. When a calf comes up to breath, it will often playfully frolic on the surface, otherwise, it stays close to mom and hides underneath her pectoral fins or tail. After this calf came up for a breath, I photographed it gently nuzzling up against its mom’s belly. Aww, cute! Check out several more stunning images of these two humpback whales underwater. I created this image using my Canon 5DmkIII and Canon 17-40mm f4 lens inside my Ikelite 5DmkIII housing with an 8″ dome port. I processed the RAW file using Aperture 3 and Photoshop CS6, plus I applied Nik Color Efex 4‘s White Neutralizer filter.