Common Genet (Genetta genetta)

Companhia das Lezirias, Porto Alto, Portugal

Nikon D300 + Nikon 17-35mm f2.8 (at 26mm) + 2 x Nikon SB-26 + IR cell beam

iso 400, 1/250, f7.1

One of the mammals I most enjoy photographing is the Common Genet. They are very elegant, agile and extraordinarily calm. Sometimes they even fall asleep before the camera, indifferent to the shooting of cameras and flashes! 

European Badger (Meles meles)

Alcochete, Portugal

Nikon D700 + Tokina 17-35mm f4 (at 17mm) + 3 x Nikon SB-26 + IR cell beam

iso 1600, 1/250, f10

"Montados" - basically forests of cork oaks, holm oaks or both - occupy large areas in South Portugal. Cork oak "montados" provide a considerable income that results from the cork industry. They also constitute important habitats for many animals, such as this badger who recently saw the cork being taken from the tree near its burrow.

European Badger (Meles meles)

Alcochete, Portugal

Nikon D300 + Nikon 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 (at 20mm) + 2 x Nikon SB-26 + IR cell beam

iso 500, 1/250, f10

In the evening, a badger's cub leaves its lair, in the middle of a pine forest. European badgers are excellent diggers and their burrows are often complex and labyrinthine, and can have more than a dozen entrances.

Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus)

Montesinho NP, Portugal

Nikon D300 + Nikon 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 (at 30mm) + Passive IR cell beam

iso 500, 1/5, f8

On an evening in late winter, a Roe Deer is surprised (at last!) by a camera discreetly placed near a track. The sun, after hidden behing the mountain tops, still provites a gentle light that warms the whole landscape.

Wild Boar (Sus scrofa)

Montesinho NP, Portugal

Nikon D300 + Nikon 17-55mm f2.8 (at 22mm) + 4xNikon SB28 + TrailMaster TM550 (passive IR cell beam)

ISO500, 1/250, f7.1

Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Montesinho NP, Portugal

Nikon D300 + Nikon 17-55mm f2.8 (at 22mm) + 4xNikon SB28 + TrailMaster TM550 (passive IR cell beam)

ISO500, 1/250, f7.1

During a snow storm at night, a Red Fox activates the set. Far from the ancient track, the remaining image would soon be erased, were it not for this short story. In the next image saved in the card, two days later (this winter, two days were enough to melt all the fallen snow), a Wild Boar poses for the camera. Why did he assume such a pose during the snowy night? Alternatively, why wasn’t it also snowing in the night when it did pose? By the way, was it too difficult for the fox to actually tread the old path? One must be persistent, things will end up happening after all…

Wood Mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus)

Serra do Caramulo, Portugal

Nikon D3s, Nikon 105mm f2.8 VR + 2xNikon SB28 + Jama BIR2 (IR cell beam)

ISO1600, 1/200, f8

By late October, a small Wood Mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) looks for chestnuts forgotten under a large Chestnut tree. Soon the inclement winter n the mountain will cover the forest with snow. The reserves amassed by the small rodent will then be crucial to its survival.

Greater Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum)

Tejo Internacional NP, Portugal

Nikon D3s + Nikon 105mm f2.8 VR + 8x Nikon SB-26 + Jama BIR2
iso 800, 31s, f/11

Some species of bats, like the Greater Horseshoe Bat, are known for carrying their young as they fly. Nevertheless, this curious detail of their behaviour is seldom shown on photos.

Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Serra de Grândola, Portugal

Nikon D300 + Nikon 18-55mm f3.5-5.5 (@ 26mm) + 3x Nikon SB-26 + TM-1550
iso 400, 1/250, f/9

Life's beggining was rough for this young Red Fox. Barely over one month old this cub and its two brothers caught scabies, which gives it this hairless look and general thinness. Nevertheless, they appear to be able to resist the rather serious disease.

Common Genet's (Genetta genetta) making of

Portugal
Nikon D800 + Nikon 17-35mm f2.8 (@ 19mm) + 4x Nikon SB-26 + TM-1550
iso 400, 1/250, f/16

Common Genet (Genetta genetta)

Portugal

Nikon D800 + Nikon 17-35mm f2.8 (@ 19mm) + 4x Nikon SB-26 + TM-1550
iso 400, 1/250, f/11

On the first image, the child in the bag smiles while I prepare the setting. Notice the look on my face denoting effort! This is one of those photos that simply happen when the sensor is accindentally activated, as the equipment is being prepared...
On the second image, the Genet that inhabits the place crosses the path at dawn. As expected, as the animal goes by the sensor activates the camera, which turn makes the four flashes go.
A few days only mediate between chance and a programmed photo.

European Otter (Lutra lutra)

Tejo Internacional NP, Portugal

Nikon D3s + Nikon 500mm f4 VR + floating hide
iso 1600, 1/160, f/8

During 2014 I tried to hunt for the same opportunities I had at the end of the summer 2013, to photograph European Otters. Nevertheless, in spite of my many efforts, I did not have the same luck as before, something that is always necessary if one is to obtain shots as rare as this one. Although widely distributed throughout the country, European Otters are exceptionally hard to see and to photograph, being quite elusive and of predominantly nocturnal habits.

Greater Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum)

Erges river, Tejo Internacional NP, Portugal

Nikon D3s + Nikon 105 mm f2.8 VR + 9 x Nikon SB-26 (with Rosco speedlight filters) +  2 x Jama BIR2 (IR cell beam)
iso 1600, 30 seconds, f/9

A moonlight night. A Greater Horseshoe Bat roams the riverbanks hunting for insects. At dawn it will get back to the old abandoned mine that shelters its colony from light and heat.

Iberian Ibex (Capra pyrenaica)

Peneda-Gerês National Park, Portugal

Nikon D300 + Nikon 500mm f4

iso 250, 1/1600, f/8

Iberian Ibexes, recently introduced in Portugal, inhabit the steepest cliffs of Peneda-Gerês National Park, in Alto Minho. The image illustrates their capacity for walking on the most vertiginous slopes.

zebras and giraffes

Krugger NP, Mpumalanga, South Africa

Nikon D300 + Nikon 300mm f4

iso 400, 1/200, f/8

Garden Dormouse (Eliomys quercinus)

Portugal

The week was devoted to carrying on the work with micro-mammals. In my opinion, the most beautiful species occurring in Portugal is the Garden Dormouse, a relatively uncommon species that nevertheless may be found in large numbers in certain spots.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 60mm AFS + Canon 430 EXII + 2x Canon 580 EXII + Jama BIR2

iso 200, 1/160, f/9

Common Genet (Genetta genetta)

Portugal

Lately I have been putting the final touches to a photographic work with mammals, for which I use cells of infrared beams. The species I have been photographing includ the Common Genet, a fundamentally nocturnal animal and a good climber. Common Genets will roam in the night in search of preys.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 60mm + Canon 430 EXII + 2x Canon 580 EXII + Jama BIR2

iso 320, 1/250, f/13

California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus)

Klamath river, Redwood NP, CA, USA

In the river mouth, the Klamath finally meets the ocean. California Sea Lions and Harbor Seals hunt salmons that take advantage of the currents caused by the first rains to climb the river.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 500mm f4 VR

iso 100, 1/320, f/11

Coyote (Canis latrans)

Panamic Springs, Death Valley NP, CA, USA

Winter in Death Valley. Under a sandstorm, a Coyote crosses the arid inhospitable landscape of Western North America.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 500mm f4 VR

iso 400, 1/320, f/5, +0.3 Ev

European Badger (Meles meles)

Nisa, Portugal

Last November, on a rainy night, near the town of Nisa, in Alentejo, a Badger died on the road. It was but one among many that are run over by automobiles, throughout the country. This is a bizarre way of photographing an European Badger, when for long I have endeavoured to photograph them in their daily routines, looking for food in the dehesa, where they are very shy, shunning even the most peaceful approaches.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 20mm f2.8 + 2 x Nikon SB-28
iso 200, 1/100, f13

Red Deer (Cervus elaphus)

Tejo Internacional, Portugal

A male and two females. If one the one hand an orderly hunting exploration has allowed for the recuperation of some hunted populations, such as the Red Deer one, on the other hand over-exploitation has often created unbalances between males and females – the hunting interest is mainly focused on males – causing the older males, large and with majestic antlers, can become rare.

Nikon D3s + Nikon 500mm f4 VR
iso 320, 1/320, f5

Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Tejo Internacional, Portugal

After many years, animals occupy man-built spaces. In this shed made of shale slabs, once a pigpen for a rural family, a Red Fox looks for food. The abandon of fields is often favourable to wild species.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 105mm f2.8 VR + 3x Nikon SB-26 + Jama BIR2
iso 400, 1/250, f8