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

Ocellated Lizard (Timon lepida)

Castro Laboreiro, Peneda-Gerês NP, Portugal

An Ocellated Lizard profits from the last hours of a day in August to bask in the sunshine. Soon it will go back to its burrow under some rock, where it will spend the night.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 10.5mm f2.8 + 2x Nikon SB-26

iso 200, 1/250, f/11

photographing vultures with wide angle lens and infrared beam cells

Tejo Internacional, Portugal

The Griffon Vulture and the Eurasian Black Vulture are the two species I plan to dedicate more time to, in the near future. This is one of the approaches I am currently working on: using a wide angle lens and infrared beam cells to photograph these necrophages feeding. This system is easy to assemble, but some aspects have to be considered to preserve the equipment, since an attack by 50 to 100 birds, some weighing over 10 kg, can seriously jeopardize cameras.

Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
Alentejo, Portugal

A rainy day at the dam. A Common Kingfisher has to bear with the rain when it alights on a Willow, after having dived to capture a small fish.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 500mm f4 VR

iso 100, 1/125, f/4.5

Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius)

Tejo Internacional, Portugal

At the beginning of the mating season, a Little Ringed Plover seems to use its tail to offer its pair a small shadow. A few days later, they will place their eggs in a next dug on the shores of this little dam.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 500mm f4 VR

iso 200, 1/500, f/4.5

Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago)
Tejo Internacional

A pair of Common Snipes, resting by a dam. Although common, this wader is not always easy to spot.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 500 mm f4 VR + hidrohide
iso 200, 1/320, f11

Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
Pegões, Portugal

This heron appears to have stopped to ponder on something, after a long walk along a dam, when she found a small rock to use as a perch. In such occasions I frequently witness countless poses, scratching and pecking, quite appropriate for a few photos...

Nikon D3s + Nikon 500mm f4 VR, hidrohide

iso 200, 1/3200, f4

Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
Pegões, Portugal

The white plumage of a Cattle Egret stands out among the green vegetation bordering a sall da. The morning light provides enough contrast to highlight the subject from its sorroundings. When using such strong contrasts, I often feel that colour is really no more than a mere accessory.

Nikon D3s + Nikon 500mm f4 VR + hidrohide
iso 200, 1/1250, f5

White Stork (Ciconia ciconia)
Aljezur, Portugal

This is not snow but water, waves when reaching a vast covespread in an immense sea of foa. Atop a cliff, a Stork stands guard over its babies, still in their nest. As for the light, it was in late evening, just a few minutes before sunset.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 500mm f4 VR
iso 800, 1/250, f5

Iberian Rock Lizard (Lacerta monticola)
Cântaro Magro, Serra da Estrela, Portugal

Last summer I dedicated some time to photograph this reptile. I sent two das chasing these likeable beasts, which are scarcely frightened by human presence. In Portugal they are only found in the higher regions of the Serra da Estrela, where they are abundant. The pattern diversity of this lizard and the mountain vegetation allows for many different compositions.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 60mm f2.8 AFS
iso 200, 1/1250, f5

underwater landscape
Rio Olo, Serra do Alvão, Portugal

For a number of reasons, which include the cost of the equipment needed as well as some ignorance of its beauty and photographic potential, fresh water photography may certainly be considered as one of the most neglected areas of the art. Lately I have been exploring some rivers and rivulets in the north of Portugal. I already knew some of them and had always thought them to be idyllic locations, when I watched them from high above. Others, like the present one, I accessed with the help of generous friends and I have yet to regret it…

Nikon D300 + Nikon 10.5mm f2.8 VR + Subal housing ND300
iso 500, 1/8, f8

Western Spadefoot (Pelobates cultripes)
Tejo Internacional, Portugal

I always enjoyed including human elements in nature photos, especially when they belong to the habitats of the subjects or when they implicit express the message I want to impart. This photo, taken in the beginning of last June, had been planned over a year previously. Although I had visited this granite shed, in Salvaterra do Extremo, on several full moon nights, I either did not get the cloudless sky I was looking for or else I failed to find these toads, although they are abundant in the region.

Nikon D3s + Nikon 10.5mm f2.8 VR + 5x Nikon SB-26 + Strobist flash filters (converting 5500K to 3200K)
iso 800, 91seg, f8

Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
Tejo Internacional, Portugal

There is a huge advantage in photographing common species that allow us to come close easily: much of my attention can be focused on important aspects such as composition or illumination.

Nikon D3s + Nikon 500mm f4 VR + hidrohide
iso 100, 1/4000, f5, -0.7Ev

Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus)
Tejo Internacional, Portugal

A new aproach, much less common than use telephoto lenses: photographing vultures with a wide angle lens. According to the specific circunstances in each case, i use infra-red beam cekks - like in the present example - or a remote control device. It is a simple technique, and yet there a number of particularities that make it hard to use, such as: the inpredictability about the day and hour of the incoming of the birds - hence the difficulty in predicting the angle of incidence of the sun rays -, the brutality of the attack and the risks it represents for the equipment, and the relatively complex logistics involved.

Nikon D300 + Sigma 12-24mm f4.5-5.6 (15 mm) + Jama BIR2
iso 320, 1/250, f13

Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
Tejo Internacional, Portugal

Fifth afternoon with this family of Grebes. Of the five hatchlings, only two remain, the others must have been caught by some bird of prey or by a bass (damn exotics!). One of the chicks appears to be playing with the water while waiting for a new meal provided by its parents.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 500mm f4 VR + hidrohide
iso 800, 1/1000, f7.1

Mediterranean Turtle (Mauremys leprosa)
Tejo Internacional, Portugal

On a cold, wet spring day, a Mediterranean Turtle roams the slabs on the bottom of a rivulet, in the Segura region.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 14-24 mmf2.8 (22mm) + Lee filter ND .6 (hard) + 2 x Nikon SB-28
iso 320, 1/80, f7.1, -1.3 Ev

 
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
Tejo Internacional, Portugal

After much diving to capture small preys with which to nourish its brood, a Little Grebe shakes off the water that accumulated on its plumage.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 500mm f4 VR + hidrohide
iso 500, 1/500, f7.1

reflexes
Tejo Internacional, Portugal

The last minutes of sunlight enhanced the reflexes of the small Holly Oaks in the dam. Playing with blurring and diaphragm apertures, new shapes and hues are revealed.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 500mm f4 VR
iso 800, 1/250, f6.3

Black Stork (Ciconia nigra)
Tejo Internacional, Portugal

I take advantage of grey springdays like this one, in the morning, to photograph subjects that would become especially complicated under bright sunlight. The Black Stork, with its strongly contrasting black and white plumage, is particularly hard to illustrate. In the sun, the contrast raises to a point that shadows can be easily underexposed or highlights overexposed. But this cloudy day reveals green or violet tones, depending from the light’s angle of incidence, and that was I tried to show here.

Nikon D3s + Nikon 300mm f4
iso 320, 1/640, f7.1

Nikon D3s + Nikon 500mm f4 VR (700mm) + Nikon TC-14E 1.4x
iso 320, 1/400, f5.6

Booted Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus)
Tejo Internacional, Portugal

With the spring, many birds of passage, like this Booted Eagle, arrive. Among the blossoming Rosemary, it has just caught a rabbit, which it will carry to a safe place. Its mate awaits on a nearby Cork Oak, where they have built their nest.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 500mm f4 VR + Nikon TC-14E 1.4x
iso 320, 1/640, f7.1

Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)
Tejo Internacional, Portugal

A Common Krestel rests on a slab of shale amidst a lea. The soft, delicate spring light, a season that is usually short around here – the rainy winter days quickly change into the scorching summer days –, enhances the colours and patterns of this male. Soon it will wander its whereabouts with its offspring, so far taken care of in the nest by the female.

Nikon D3s + Nikon 500mm (700mm)  f4 VR + Nikon TC-14E 1.4x
iso 500, 1/250, f8

Common Raven (Corvus corax)
Tejo Internacional, Portugal

One of the aspects that most fascinates me in Nature photography is trying to capture the essence of a certain subject. The Common Raven is a particularly clever and wary bird. In the territory of predators that would consider him an adequate meal he scrutinizes its environments carefully, looking for the approach of an eagle.

Nikon D3s + Nikon 500mm f4 VR
iso 1000, 1/250, f6.3

Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus)
Tejo Internacional, Portugal

And there’s the other kind: those images that are not prepared and can hardly be conceived beforehand. One studies the light, one choses the day (meteorological conditions) and the hour, and one merely waits for something special to occur.

Nikon D3s + Nikon 500mm f4 VR
iso 2500, 1/640, f6.3

Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus)
Tejo Internacional, Portugal

Contrary to what some may think, many of the Nature photos that I make are conceived beforehand, not only the subjects but also the light and framing, amongst other aspects. During last winter I visited this place more than ten times. I was looking for a crepuscular light on a heavily clouded sky with a few small interspaces. I was hoping to find some Griffons or Black Vultures that are abundant in the area. since these large necrophagous birds do not like to fly around in rainy days or with reduced visibility, waiting for them in such a setting required a lot of persistence.

Nikon D3s + Nikon 500mm f4 VR
iso 200, 1/2000, f13

Spanish Imperial Eagle (Aquila adalberti)
Tejo Internacional, Portugal

The Spanish Imperial Eagle used to be no more than a mirage in national territory, but is thriving here today. This young male mated last year, when I took this shot. Now, a year later, its plumage is darker, more similar to an adult’s.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 500mm f4 VR
iso 400, 1/1250, f5.6

Valleys with Laudanum and Holm Oaks

Tejo Internacional, Portugal

One morning with clouded sky and mist deep in the valleys. Every now and then the sun shining amidst the clouds offers exceptional lighting conditions to capture an unusual landscape. Cameras, wide angle lenses and filters are ready at hand, as well as a tripod, if necessary. We must always believe that a good opportunity may come our way.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 20mmf2.8 + Lee Soft Neutral 0.9 ND
iso 200, 1/50, f13

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