I have to admit that picking my wildlife favorites for 2019 is not as easy as picking my landscape favorites because all encounters with these animals have been very special to me. With my wildlife photography pursuit, my end goal is to create images that include both the animal and its habitat in my images. I have always loved landscape photography and this seems to be the logical next step. So, at the beginning of 2019, I told myself I needed to make more effort to do it. At the end of 2019 now, I feel that I have at least tried to do it, hopefully to some degree of success. But even if I am not, I have learned a lot of lessons this year.
This is a culmination of two years search whenever I go back to Indonesia to visit my parents. I had glimpses of them when I was walking around the forest in 2018 even though I found their breeding ground (some sort of lek) then. Came back a few more times after that but still no luck… not until this past June.
The highlight of this year for me is being honored in the “Birds” category of Nature’s Best Photography and I am very happy that it will be part of the exhibit at the Wonders Of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium in Springfield, MO in 2020. The gallery of the winning images can be found here.
Wow, Adhika, I’ve only seen your work in the Landscape Gallery. Who knew you are also such a skilled wildlife photographer? These are just marvelous, and congrats on being part of the exhibit in Springfield. Can you say a little about what lens you are using for these? The first one of the bear and the last one of the owl are my favorites, but they are all just wonderful.
Adhika, a fine set of wildlife images. I find the desert fox particularly striking at least partly due to the monochrome color with the shadow a neat extra. The two Ravens are ravens, you can distinguish them in person by their size and calls if you hear any. In an image where you can’t tell size, the size of the beaks are characteristic, with Ravens having beaks that are larger relative to the bird’s size. I do think the blacks in the birds should be a bit darker, but the grooming action is a great catch.
Mike, the fox and orangutan were actually captured with my trusty 70-200. You never know! Definitely give it a try!
Kathy, I use pretty much all my lenses for these photos. “Spirit of the Forest” was made with the Tamron 17-35 , “Concentration” and “Watching Sunrise” were with Nikkor 70-200 f/4, “Look Back” and “Motherhood” were with Nikkor 300 PF, the rest of the birds were captured with Sigma 500 f/4. I have been shooting more and more with the 300PF for mammals as it is super light. I am looking into the 500PF but I can’t justify it since I already have a 500 f/4. If there is ever a 600 PF, I would love that.
Thanks, Mark! Ah, I remember them being so big so yeah I guess they are indeed ravens. I honestly have never seen them grooming each other, which makes it kinda special to me. Otherwise, I do not really have any major interest in them. I’ll look into the blacks again, thank you!
Thanks, Kathy & Shirley. The entire process has been a very humbling experience. I will keep all of you posted once the exhibit is open (they are still working on some details after switching from the Smithsonian). If you are in the Springfield area, please do come visit.
Wow, these are outstanding, Adhika. I had no idea that you also did wildlife imagery. Congratulations on being included in the Nature’s Best exhibition. You should be proud of that. All of them are superb, but I love the intimate moment between the mother and infant orangutans. Here’s wishing you the best of luck with your photography in 2020.
Another wonderful set of images, Adhika. Having seen many of your Peregrine posts, it’s interesting that you chose this image. It’s not the one I would have picked, but that’s whats neat about people’s tastes. They’re all different.
A fine collection of wildlife photos, Adhika! They are all excellent but my favorites of your favorites are the last two. I like the “Love birds - American Avocet” because of the action capture, the very low angle and the intimacy of the scene. I like the nesting owls because of the fine detail and the color of the wood surroundings. The baby owl resting it’s head on Mom makes it extra special. Great work and congratulations on the awards! Keep it up and keep sharing with us!
Wow, that is a tremendous honor to be selected as a winner in the Natures Best competition, congratulations Adhika
This is a wonderful collection of wildlife images, they are all strong telling a story and/or showing the animal in it’s environment. The orangutan mother and baby is my favorite, what touching interaction you captured.
@Dennis_Plank: Indeed. I guess I was looking for something different in 2019. It seems the image of him landing on the cliff habitat aligns more with my goal this year. But I definitely had a hard time deciding, too.
PS. It’s getting close to their mating season again and it looks like they are getting ready. Hoping for another fantastic year, Dennis.
Definitely give it a try!
