2018 in Review: Sharing My Clients’ Photos

During my winter Yellowstone tour, we spent a fair amount of time along the edge of the Lamar River, keeping an eye out for otters. In the meantime, we were entertained by birds, including a flock of Common goldeneyes swimming back and forth. Bob Walker captured this drake just as he was about to emerge from a feeding dive. See more of Bob’s work.

Winter trips to Yellowstone can sometimes be a struggle when it comes to wildlife. The peak moments of action are few and far between, so you have to be ready. Martin Cooper was set up and prepared when this coyote we had been watching suddenly performed a mousing leap.

During my second Yellowstone winter tour, we ventured into the park interior on a privately-chartered snow coach. Conditions were pretty nasty, but our coach managed to get down to Yellowstone Lake, where we encountered this lone bull bison walking the road. We pulled ahead and got out to photograph him coming at us. Steve Santel captured this dramatic portrait in the thick snow, and wisely chose to convert it to monochrome. See more of Steve’s work.

We had some good fox luck on our second tour. Ted Morgan landed this mid-air mousing leap. Though it’s not the classic profile shot, I liked how he nailed the fox fully above the ground, with a wider view of falling snow and a dark background. See more of Ted’s work.

In a very similar spot to where Bob captured his goldeneye, Pete Downing photographed a goldeneye as well a week later. But Pete opted to go wide. In monochrome, the variation in tones from dark water to ice to snow was quite dramatic. See more of Pete’s work.

At the end of my March Costa Rica tour, Kim Nelson headed to the Caribbean side of the country to visit Tortuguero National Park. While there, she captured this magnificent photo of a green basilisk peeking out from beyond some foliage.

We saw numerous birds during my Costa Rica tour. Marcy Starnes came away with this unique capture of a female trogon peeking out from its nest. I like how you can actually the see the body and tail fitting into the small cavity… a unique shot! See more of Marcy’s work.

Early in my spring Yellowstone tour, Carl Monopoli captured this shot of a Uinta ground squirrel. I loved the bright yellow tones and soft details throughout this image. See more of Carl’s work.

During my spring tour, we encountered this far-too-curious cinnamon black bear. He crested a hill and stared us down for a while, which was a bit unnerving. Doug Coombs’ photo of this curious and somewhat ornery-looking fellow captured the mood perfectly. See more of Doug’s work.

Pat Nowotny contacted me about doing another local tour, this time in late June. So we looked for something new and different and opted for the foxes of San Juan Island. Pat captured this fun moment featuring one of the silver fox kits.

My Brazil tour culminated with an exploration of the Pantanal, home of the jaguar. We had two boats for this part of the tour, and the lead boat happened to turn a corner just as this jaguar began stalking a caiman. Steve Porter was ready and nailed this incredible portrait.

Our visit to the Brazilian Amazon was highlighted by a number of rare and exotic species. Among them, the endangered white-nosed saki monkey. We had brief glimpses of these monkeys, and Steve Santel was able to snap this quick shot as a male paused briefly above us. See more of Steve’s work.

While exploring a river in the Pantanal, Pat Nowotny spotted the diminutive American pygmy kingfisher, the smallest of four kingfisher species we saw. He captured this shot in some lovely light.

We were fortunate to spend time in a couple of birding towers in the Amazon, and were visited by several colorful birds. Among the coolest was the Curl-crested aracari, a species of toucan. Jim Goff was one of the few that had a clear view of this magnificent bird through the thick branches, and he nailed this portrait before it flew off. See more of Jim’s work.

During my fall Yellowstone tour, the bears were active on Moose-Wilson Road in the Grand Tetons. However, there was very limited standing room, and sight lines were difficult to come by. So I thought Zdenek Hasek and Alena Haskova did quite well to capture this cinnamon cub up a tree. Note the old scars from past bear claws adorning the bark of this aspen. See more of Zdenek and Alena’s work.

We’re always on the lookout for wildlife in Yellowstone, but in fall there’s more time to devote to landscape opportunities. While visiting the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone near Calcite Springs, Richard Sandor captured this lovely shot of late afternoon light dancing across the canyon and mountainsides beyond.

My highlight of the autumn Yellowstone trip was a morning spent with rutting elk. The light was fantastic, lots of steam was in the air, and Chris Shepperd captured this moment between a bull and his harem. See more of Chris’s work.