I recently finished compiling my top 40 picks from the last 12 months. The gallery is an assortment of my various trips and outings, including trips to India, Mexico and Canada. As always, there is a mixture of bird, wildlife and landscape, including some previously unpublished.
Please enjoy the gallery below. For best viewing (especially if viewing on a mobile device), please click on the following photo:
The sun sets behind the western horizon, casting the offshore sea stacks into shadow, Bandon, Oregon
To view the gallery, click here to see individual photos.
If you are interested in compilations from previous years, please see the 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 lists.
Finding the right place from which to photograph wildlife takes experience and patience. When arriving at a new location with the intention of photographing wildlife, I first scout the area very similar to how I’d scout for a landscape shot. In this case I’m looking for one place to hunker down that is likely to yeild a good variety of animals with great light.
In this instance, I found a low area of sand jutting out into the water, just inches above the high tide. As it was morning, the sun was at my back, and I could shoot birds wading in the water in three directions, all without moving. I kept still and tried to make very slow movements so as not to spook any subjects.
As I was shooting some smaller birds now coming quite close to me, a large brown pelican arrived on the scene, very close to me. I took the opportunity to get some portrait shots of this beautiful specimen while it was preening, and generally not paying me any attention. I don’t believe I would have been able to approach this bird this closely if I had been stalking it. But by remaining in one spot and being still, I created a space that seemed safe for a variety of birds to approach me.
A brown pelican flies low over the water, looking for a place to rest, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Unfortunately, this was not an isolated location, and soon other beach goers wandered by without any thought to disturbing wildlife. My only reaction was to prepare for the pelican’s inevitable takeoff, and make sure I captured it in camera.
One of my favorite birds I photographed on a recent trip to India was the Red-whiskered Bulbul. In particular, I liked its head feathers and distinct red cheek pattern. I saw a few glimpses on my first day of photography at a wetland bird sanctuary, but got my best views the second day at the top of Nandi Hills in more of a jungle environment.
A red-whiskered bulbul sits on a branch in the midst of a jungle, Nandi Hills, Karnataka, India
The photography here was much harder than the more open wetland location. Most of the birds stayed high in the forest canopy, only offering quick glimpses in the dark, filtered light close to the ground. Here, shooting at a high ISO (ISO 2000) helped, which my 7D Mk2 was able to handle capably.
The photo above was a rarity in this thick jungle. In this shot, I had the benefit of shooting into a clearing instead of from a clearing. In this way, I was lucky to have the background foliage far away from the subject, creating a solid green background instead of distracting leaves and branches. Most of the time however, I was standing in a clearing (giving me the ability to move around) shooting at a wall of jungle.
A red-whiskered bulbul sits on a branch in the midst of a jungle, Nandi Hills, Karnataka, India
My main takeaway from this type of photography is that the biggest secret weapon you can have is time. Without luring the animal with something like food, you need to have time and patience to photograph the amazing diversity of these jungle habitats. Unfortunately I only had a single morning, just long enough to give me a small taste of what a longer expedition could achieve.
I photographed this rufous-backed robin in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Although it is not one of the more “exotic” looking species I was hoping to see, as a bird photographer, I was elated to get a new species. We’re just weird that way. The only robins I had photographed before are the extremely common American robin, found throughout North America.
I was shooting up into a thick canopy, so I was happy to get the few clear shots I could. Before long, the robin flew to the upper reaches of the trees and out of sight.
A rufous-backed robin perches on the branch of a green tree, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
The rufous-backed robin (or rufous-backed thrush) is endemic to the Pacific side of Mexico, so this was definitely the spot to see this bird. It is shyer than the American robin, and slightly smaller. In retrospect, I was very lucky to see this bird, and even more lucky to have captured these photographs.
