Reviewing the 2013 Photographic Year

January 5, 2014 by pumapix

I always like to take a bit of time and review what happened the last year in terms of reaching some of my goals. For that I go and check my trusty Bucket List and see what things I was able to experience (or check off, for you twitchers). Turns out 2013 was a good photographic year.

I am including only the highlights from this year in this post (for the full list just click the link above). I am also only showing one or two images of each species/location, if you want to see all the pictures from that subject just click that name and the link will take you to the appropriate gallery.

Visit and or Explore
Tropical Rainforests (Borneo Spring 2013, Gabon 2013, Borneo Winter 2013)

Lowland rainforest shrouded in clouds at sunrise, Danum Valley Conservation Area, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

Sunset over tropical rainforest, Lope National Park, Gabon

New Zealand (August 2013)

Snow-covered mountains, South Island, New Zealand

Photograph
Bay Cat (December 2013) – More on that later 🙂
Sunda Clouded Leopard (March 2013)

IMG_93062_Sunda_Clouded_Leopard_Malaysia_Sebastian_Kennerknecht

Sunda Clouded Leopard (Neofelis diardi) male in lowland rainforest at night, Tawau Hills Park, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia (camera trap)

Marbled Cat (March 2013)

Marbled Cat (Pardofelis marmorata marmorata) in lowland rainforest, Tawau Hills Park, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia (camera trap)

African Leopard (October 2013)

African Leopard (Panthera pardus) male crossing log bridge over river in tropical rainforest, Lope National Park, Gabon (camera trap)

3 species of Civet (Added Malay Civet and Common Palm Civet 2013)

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Malayan Civet (Viverra tangalunga) in lowland rainforest at night, Tawau Hills Park, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia (camera trap)

Common Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) in tree at night, Danum Valley Conservation Area, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

1000 bird species in the wild (I am at 190, having added 61 species this year), just a few here:

Buller’s Albatross (Thalassarche bulleri) on water, Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

Red-billed Gull (Larus scopulinus) during rain storm, Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

New Zealand Kaka (Nestor meridionalis) parrot during rain storm, North Island, New Zealand

Northern Giant Petrel (Macronectes halli) pair fighting, Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

300 mammal species in the wild (I am at 106, having added 45 species this year), just a few here:

Forest Buffalo (Syncerus caffer nanus) bull running, Lope National Park, Gabon

White-nosed Guenon (Cercopithecus nictitans) in tree, Lope National Park, Gabon

African Brush-tailed Porcupine (Atherurus africanus) on log at night, Lope National Park, Gabon (camera trap)

Red River Hog (Potamochoerus porcus) male, Lope National Park, Gabon

Red Leaf Monkey (Presbytis rubicunda) in tree, Tawau Hills Park, Sabah, Borne

20 critically endangered and 50 endangered species (I am at 6 and 17 respectively)

Borneo Pygmy Elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis) females and calf grazing, Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

Takahe (Porphyrio hochstetteri) grazing, Kapiti Island, North Island, New Zealand

I am looking forward to see what this year brings!

How about you, anything particular that you photographed in 2013 that you are really happy/proud of?

*If you are interested in purchasing any of the pictures displayed in this post, please check out my fine prints page for pricing.*

Free Crimson Sunbird Wallpaper

December 25, 2013 by pumapix

This male Crimson Sunbird (Aethopyga siparaja) would routinely feed on the flower nectar of this ornamental tree planted in Tawau Hills Park, in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Like clockwork, he would show up at 6:15am and feed for fifteen minutes. It was amazing seeing this brightly colored bird quickly fly from flower to flower, feeding on the nectar they provided. Another amazing treat to get to witness.

As always, just click on the image for the wallpaper sized image or use this link Crimson Sunbird Male on Flower.

Crimson Sunbird (Aethopyga siparaja) male on flower, Tawau Hills Park, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

*If you are interested in purchasing any of the pictures displayed in this post, please check out my fine prints page for pricing.*

Birds of Borneo

November 19, 2013 by pumapix

Verditer Flycatcher (Eumyias thalassina) male, Sepilok Forest Reserve, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

Over 600 bird species have been recorded in Borneo and boy are they magical. When you are only used to seeing North American bird species, like me, with the exception of the bird species I saw in Yemen, your bird world changes quite drastically when you come to this tropical island. All of a sudden you realize that bird watching or in my case bird photography has a whole new dimension to understand and explore. Due to the extreme density and diversity in trees, birds specialize in what part of the forest they forage and hang out in. Is it the understory, middle story, upper story, or canopy?

At first I was getting extremely frustrated because I couldn’t seem to find any birds, but this was simply due to the fact that I had not learned to read the forest. I had to stop trying to see birds the way I did in the States and instead adopt the jungle view of bird life. Since I was stationed at Tawau Hills Park I was limited to looking for understory birds, which was quite the task in itself. With vegetation being extremely dense, (as I described in this blog post), it was tough going but with time I learned to be more patient and take a sit and wait approach rather than my usual stalk and pounce method. When I would hear a bird call, I would simply stop and wait until I spotted movement and then I followed the bird until it came close enough for pictures (which as you know is most often not the case) . So, first came the understory birds:

Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) in breeding plumage, Tawau Hills Park, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

Asian Glossy Starling (Aplonis panayensis) pair on Elephant Ear Taro (Alocasia macrorrhizos) flower, Tawau Hills Park, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

Yellow-rumped Flowerpecker (Prionochilus xanthopygius) male feeding on flower nectar, Danum Valley Conservation Area, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

Stork-billed Kingfisher (Pelargopsis capensis), Tawau Hills Park, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

After a month at Tawau I took a quick side trip further north in Sabah to Sepilok, and more specifically Sepilok Rainforest Discovery Center,a nature reserve set up by a former forest ranger. It is comprised of the same jungle I was used to in Tawau, with one major difference. There was a canopy walkway. These metal paths and towers, propped up up to 90 feet in the air, provided the access to see the birds of the middle and upper story, as well as the canopy. All the birds I only heard in Tawau were now only feet away, going about their business as if it wasn’t weird that a human being is casually walking through the trees.

The birds of the middle story:

Black-and-yellow Broadbill (Eurylaimus ochromalus) female, Sepilok Forest Reserve, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

Rufous Woodpecker (Celeus brachyurus) female, Sepilok Forest Reserve, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

Red-naped Trogon (Harpactes kasumba) male, Danum Valley Conservation Area, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

The birds of the upper story and canopy:

Brown Barbet (Calorhamphus fuliginosus) female, Sepilok Forest Reserve, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

Rhinoceros Hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros) female, Sepilok Forest Reserve, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus), Sepilok Forest Reserve, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

Most special of all the birds though was the endemic Bristlehead. This is an incredibly unique bird, in fact, it is the only species in its whole bird family (which is Pityriaseidae). I only got to see this bird one time, but it was nice enough to hang around for 1-2 minutes which provided enough time to marvel at its beautiful yellow and red feathers and to get a close look at its uniquely shaped bill.

Bornean Bristlehead (Pityriasis gymnocephala), Sepilok Forest Reserve, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

Borneo was a huge learning curve, but one I was happy to undergo. The shapes, colors, and behaviors of these birds is just magical. I can only recommend you checking them out yourself!

*If you are interested in purchasing any of the pictures displayed in this post, please check out my fine prints page for pricing.*

Steve Winter’s Tigers Forever Book is Available now!

November 16, 2013 by pumapix

Tigers Forever Book Cover

Every photographer has their photographer heroes. People we look up to because their pictures are amazing, or because they tell great stories with their images. Sometimes it’s because they are nice people, or because they want to change the world with their images. I have many photographer heroes, but one of them is very special because his goals are similar to mine. Steve Winter wants to make the world aware of the plight of big cats, he does so with stunning images that spread their conservation message. His use of camera traps is spectacular and his photo-journalistic style is exactly what is needed to tell these often sad yet potentially inspiring stories.

I have had the pleasure of meeting Steve once. I helped him and his assistant with National Geographic camera traps for his upcoming story on Mountain Lions (you may have seen this video about getting the picture of a mountain lion with the Hollywood sign), up here in the Bay Area. He was kind to me and didn’t make me feel any less of a photographer. Even though he is of course a huge deal. A total class act, and I appreciated that immensely.

I am telling you all this is because Steve is on the crusade again, this time fighting for Tigers. His new book Tigers Forever is available for purchase now. Go order a copy if you care about tigers or at the very least want to see amazing wildlife photography!

You can order it off the book’s website: http://www.tigersforeverbook.com/

Free Forest Elephant Wallpaper

October 30, 2013 by pumapix

Here is October’s free desktop wallpaper! It’s another wildlife image from the jungles of Gabon. This is a dslr camera trap image of an African Forest Elephant. The debate whether this is a separate subspecies or even its own species still continues to this day, but these elephants are definitely smaller than their savanna cousins. Thankfully poaching is not a big threat in Lope National Park and elephant densities may be the highest in this part of the country. They have had hunting pressure in the past though and since these elephants live a long time, many older individuals still have bullets in their skin and have understandably developed a severe disliking of humans. Now, when you walk through the rainforest your biggest fear is running into one of these guys. They will charge you instead of running away, and most of the time they are not bluff charges. It’s scary as hell. I am very glad I wasn’t anywhere near the camera when this guy walked past, taking his self portrait while stepping into a puddle of water.

As always, just click on the image for the wallpaper sized image or use this link African Forest Elephant Stepping into Puddle.