Shot of the Month – November 2010

Kingfishers are famous for their dramatic hovering and diving skills in catching, as their name implies – fish.  Turns out, however, that not all kingfishers can be so easily “pigeonholed” (is that a pun?).

There are over 90 types of kingfishers and many of them live near the water and dine primarily on a diet of fish.

There are many others though that can live quite far from water and eat just about everything except fish.

The Woodland Kingfisher, shown here, is found in a variety of, typically drier, wooded habitats.  It feeds primarily on insects (grasshoppers preferred, thank you) though its diet is vast and can include snakes, amphibians, arthropods, and sometimes fish if locally available.  Most kingfishers hunt from a preferred perch or branch.  They typically dive down, grab their prey, and return to the perch to feed.  The dining routine normally includes beating the prey senseless against a branch to render it docile and soften the morsel for easier swallowing.

Regardless of the diet, all kingfishers share a common look.  They have large heads, long dagger-like bills, short legs, and stubby tails.  Kingfishers tend to be brilliantly colored with most having blue or green dominating their color palette.

The majority of kingfishers live in the tropics of Africa and Asia though a few can be found in temperate zones.  The US has only 3 types of kingfishers (Common, Belted, and Green).  South America, although tropical also only has 5 types of kingfishers.  The tiny African country of Gambia, for comparison, has 8 species within its national borders.

The Woodland Kingfisher is found in Africa and lives within 8 degrees, north, and south, of the equator.  Those birds living on the outer fringe migrate into the equatorial zone in the dry season.  I photographed this fine-looking fellow in northern Botswana.

As you can see kingfishers are a diverse lot that can span a broad range of terrains and survive on a surprising variety of prey.  So, the next time you spot a kingfisher, don’t be surprised if fish are nowhere to be found.

🙂

Shot of the Month – October 2010

This month a lovely scene that pretty much speaks for itself.

Photographically I didn’t have to do much to capture this one.  It was a late afternoon as we drove along the edge of Lake Nakuru.  We stopped to look at some critter and when I glanced back and saw this scene, in this light, I knew we had something special.  I quickly threw a bean bag on the roof of the vehicle, steadied the camera on the bean bag, and fired off a few shots.  As if on cue some obliging flamingos took flight and added a nice element to the photo.

Lake Nakuru, located in Kenya, East Africa is a natural wonder in that it can attract thousands, and at times millions of flamingos to feed on algae found in the alkaline waters.  During these times the lake becomes a noisy, turbulent sea of shifting waves of pink.

The lake is also home to over 400 types of bird life and the areas around the park contain an amazing diversity of wildlife including lion, leopard, giraffe, waterbuck, impala, and other assorted grass eaters.  The park is also a rhino sanctuary and is home to over 100 of the prehistoric-looking beasts.

I have been to many wildlife parks in Africa and few can rival the quantity and diversity of life, and the amazing range of smells, sights, and sounds of this small jewel of a park.  It is one of my favorites.

It is unclear however if this ecosystem can continue to thrive.  The population of flamingos has waned in recent years and many fear that the pollution from the growing, nearby town of Nakuru and the run-off of pesticides from agricultural lands is destroying the habitat.

With the human population now at seven billion, and rising, the dilemma facing Lake Nakuru is being repeated with natural habitats across the globe as the expanding human footprint pushes other life forms onto shrinking, increasingly isolated, and fragile sanctuaries.

Until next month…

Shot of the Month – September 2010

The sequence of events, more often than not, went something like this.

1. Hear a thunderous watery clap.
2. Spin on my heels in the direction of the calamity.
3. F*$%#@! (curse like a sailor)
4. Watch the massive hole in the water begin to fill in as the whale slips beneath the surface

My heart sank each time I heard that sound.  That sharp report signaled that I had yet again missed seeing what is really a nonsensical idea – that a fifty-foot, forty-ton humpback whale could launch 2/3rds of its body out of the water like a Polaris missile before crashing back into the ocean.  This leap of credibility is called a “breach” and humpback whales seem quite adept at it.

Trying to capture a breach on “film” is one of the hardest types of shooting I have done.  Even though it was summer in the Inside Passage of Alaska, it could be quite cold standing on the bow of the boat.  I have a low tolerance for cold.  Using a tripod or monopod to steady the camera was out of the question given the motion of the boat and the speed of the action we were trying to capture.  Between the shivering body and trembling hands and the rocking boat getting a crisp shot seemed to require divine intervention.  When the water was fairly calm I would sometimes lean hard against the railing trying to make myself into a human camera support.  Other times when the boat rocked up and down significantly I would bend or unbend my knees, much like a surfer or skateboarder, to counter the motion of the boat.  In this case, I was trying to act like a human shock absorber.

And then there was the problem of knowing where to look.  We never knew when a whale might breach or from what position relative to the boat.  A breach might only last 2 seconds and you had almost no time to raise your camera and start firing if you wanted to capture the breach at its peak.

The few shots we did manage were due to a few gracious whales we called “serial breachers.”  Whales that breached only one time were rarely photographed because the odds of looking at the right spot out of a 360-degree angle of view were slim to none.  But some energetic whales would breach 2 or 3 times in fairly rapid succession.  Once a breach was spotted the captain would try and turn and point the boat in the direction of the splash and we would head in that direction.  We would hold our cameras near our faces and watch and hope for a serial breach.  Would we be lucky?

KAPOW!  The massive beast would burst through the water and it was a real struggle to remember how to use the camera.  I think my jaw literally dropped open the first few times I witnessed this stunning event.  During the remaining episodes, I had a huge grin on my face while pressing as hard as I could on the shutter release.

Scientists have no idea why humpback whales breach.  One theory is that breaching helps remove parasites from the skin, a form of aerobatic exfoliation if you will.  Some think it might have a social meaning.  Others posit that whales may breach because well, because it is just a lot of fun.

If breaching is half as much fun as witnessing the feat, then that explanation makes perfect sense to me.

Until next month…:-)

Shot of the Month – August 2010

Ok, all together now, “awwwwwl.”  Yes, he is very cute.  This image is a crowd favorite, especially among mothers.

This diminutive antelope goes by a myriad of names, or at least spellings.  Steinbuck.  Steinbok.  Steenbuck.  Steenbok.  You get the idea.

Steinbuck stats:

• They only reach 18-24 inches in height at the shoulder and weigh in at about 25 pounds.
• They can go long periods of time without drinking water since they get most of the moisture they need from the plants they eat.
• Steinbuck live in two distinct clusters.  In East Africa, they can be found in southern Kenya and Tanzania.  In Southern Africa, they can be found in Angola, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana, where this photo was taken.
• When in trouble, like when fleeing the attack of African Wild Cats, Caracals, Jackals, Leopards, Marital Eagles, and Pythons, Steinbuck can take refuge in old Aardvark burrows.  They also use the burrows to raise their young.
• Steinbuck live alone though there is some evidence that they may live in monogamous pairs.
• Only the males have those straight, narrow horns.

So next time you are out in the bush remember to look down – a Steinbuck just might be afoot.

Until next month…:-)

Shot of the Month – July 2010

I traveled to Alaska in the summer of 2009 with the goal of capturing a nice shot of a humpback whale.  Eight of our twelve days in the state would be spent exploring the Inside Passage on a 60-foot boat in a constant search for the massive beasts.  We spent 15 hours a day chasing whale flukes (fluke = tail, for you land lovers), traversing coves, dodging icebergs, combing islands, and navigating remote fjords in search of whales and other wildlife.  I shot over 11,000 photos during the trip.

Yet, in spite of all those miles and thousands of exposures, one of my favorite shots from the journey was captured about 50 yards from our Bed & Breakfast in the town of Petersburg, the port of call for the boat we would be using in the days to come.  On our very first morning, perhaps thirty seconds after we left our lodging we came across this beautiful bald eagle beside the road.

As you can see here, getting the shot required getting low – on a road.  Fortunately, it was pretty early on a Sunday morning so traffic was light.  My partner was supposed to be on the lookout for cars to ensure that I didn’t get run over.  She obviously was not fully engaged in her primary directive.

In some parts of Alaska seeing a bald eagle is about as exotic as seeing a robin, i.e. they are everywhere.  The bald eagle has always thrived in Alaska and of the 70,000 eagles estimated to exist today over half of them live in this northern state.  Bald Eagles can be found in all of the lower 48 states and some live year-round in the states along the East and West Coast, the Rocky Mountains, and the Mississippi River.  Other bald eagles will migrate from Canada into the remaining U.S. states during the winter months.

Michael’s life lessons from this trip:

1. While it is always good to have a goal in life to provide some general direction the happiest people in this world are those who are able to seize and appreciate what life offers along the way.  I was drawn to Alaska to photograph whales but came away with a lovely shot of an American icon.
2. Get up early and keep your eyes open, the greatest treasure may be just next door.
3. No risk, no reward. (but use a spotter).

Until next month…:-)