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Gallery: making eyes at me
Giraffes’ eyes are beautiful but they can look rather mournful. Maybe that’s a touch of anthropomorphism, attributing human emotions to an animal? And yet …
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Gallery: the animals went in two by two …
The animals went in two by two. And three, and four, and five, and more.
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Gallery: wildlife in the Caño Negra refuge
In the far north of Costa Rica, almost on the border with Nicaragua, is a magical place, or at least I found it so. The Caño Negro National Wildlife Refuge is home to an immense variety of wildlife, one of the most diverse areas in this famously naturally diverse country.
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The oddities of sloths
Is there a mammal more intriguing, cute and downright odd than a sloth? They spend so much time hanging around in trees that they start to look like them. That makes them quite hard to spot, and even harder to photograph! To give ourselves the best chance of seeing them we booked a tour in the Arenal area called ‘Sloths and Toucans’ which promised a good look at these most iconic of Costa Rican species.
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Gallery: when three is better than two
It's said that two is company, three a crowd. But when taking wildlife photos I’m always happy to have a third animal join the shot! Designers have long recognised that an odd number of items is more effective at capturing your gaze. Odd numbers force your eyes to move around the group and that forced movement is the heart of visual interest.
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Gallery: seeing animals in black and white
You can’t get much more black and white than a zebra! But actually many animals look good in monochrome. I’ve had a go at editing some of my favourite wildlife shots – mammals, reptiles and birds – with my favourite software. Let me know which versions you prefer, colour or black and white?
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Tiger, Tiger, burning bright …
Like just about everyone else who visits, we came to Ranthambore with the aim of seeing tigers. And Ranthambore is all about the tigers. Every conversation you have here is guaranteed to start with ‘Did you see any tigers?’ The answer is quite likely to be yes, although there are, as ever with wildlife, no guarantees ...
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Periyar’s monkeys, elephants, bison and more
High in the Cardamom Hills of Kerala a national park has been created, to protect the flora and fauna of the forests that surround Periyar Lake. The aim was to stop the encroachment of tea and spice plantations; to leave enough land for the tigers, elephants and other wild creatures that call this region home.
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Gallery: emerging into life
Wildlife photography isn’t all about those ‘ah, how cute’ moments, but there are plenty of them to be discovered, nevertheless. And never more so than when photographing animal babies. These adorable animals play on our evolutionary desires to care for the young and helpless of our own species. I try to avoid falling into the trap of anthropomorphising these little ones, but I’m not immune to their charms.
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Elephant encounters on elephant terms
Mahn and Mohn are mother and daughter. They were separated after Mohn was born, and sold to two different riding camps. Two years ago they were reunited at MandaLao, where elephants rescued from tourist camps and logging find sanctuary.
