African Elephant (Loxodonta africana)

Kruger NP, Limpopo, South Africa

I found these two large African Elephant males in the evening, as I was hurrying towards my bungalow. In Kruger Park there are about 12,000 Elephants, but these large males with long heavy tusks are not so readily seen. The photo was made using a 60 mm lens, which shows how close to me the animals actually were. Except for the large groups of females and their young, human presence is tolerated without apparent signs of stress.

Nikon D80 + Nikon 60mm f2.8 AFS

iso 200, 1/60, f4.5

Nikon D80 + Nikon 300mm f4

iso 200, 1/500, f4

Iberian Viper (Vipera seoanei)

Castro Laboreiro, Peneda-Gerês NP, Portugal

Only after more than 20 days of field work, along three different visits looking for the melanistic form of the rarest Viper occurring in Portugal, did I manage to find this specimen. The Iberian Viper occurs only in two small areas of the Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês – Castro Laboreiro and Pitões das Júnias – and in Paredes de Coura. At the Parque Nacional, it lives in valleys and high mountain morasses.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 10.5mm f2.8 + 2x Nikon SB-26
iso 200, 1/200, f11

Common Toad (Bufo bufo)

Castro Laboreiro, Peneda-Gerês NP, Portugal

Yesterday afternoon the sky was overcast with dense black clouds. A fog set on, leaving no more than ten to twenty metres visibility in some places. No rain, though. These were the weather conditions I needed – besides being on adequate grounds – to make a photo I had pondered for long. I wished to photograph a Common Toad walking, expressing the feeling of movement. For that purpose, I had to find a willing Toad, not an easy thing to do, since it is a nocturnal animal, although it may come out of its hiding place in damp dark evenings, such the present one.

Nikon D3s + Nikon 60mm f2.8 AFS + 2x Nikon SB-26 + Lee Neutral 0.6 ND (soft)

iso 3200, 1/8, f11, -0.7 Ev

Stag Bettle (Lucanus cervus)

Castro Laboreiro, Peneda-Gerês NP, Portugal

A couple of months ago, I was walking through an Oak thicket before sunrise and I found this Stag Beetle clinging to the bark of a large Oak. This was an encounter long wished for, so I stopped what I was doing – disassembling cameras, flashes, cells, tripods, etc., which I had left during the night, in an unsuccessful attempt at photographing nocturnal carnivores – and turned to this priceless being. When the sun came up, its rays penetrated the thick foliage above, providing the kind of soft light that greatly fascinates me.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 60mm f2.8 AFS

iso 200, 1/200, f5