RAVENS

 

Portrait of raven

Spain

I have a great fascination for ravens : Corvus corax !! They are known to be highly intelligent, they have a developed and advanced social life and social structure, they have a complex language with MANY different sounds & signals and they can grow very old (up to 70 years in captivity) and hence : be very experienced. Ravens are normally very shy and difficult to shoot. Most of my raven pics have been a "bonus" from long stays in winterly hides waiting for other birds and animals ... and they have often shortened my "endless waiting" with great entertainment !

Ravens are great flyers and control the flight situation with the white-tailed eagle as long as it is over the eagle. It would never fly under !

Lokka, Finland

Raven chased by adult goshawk

Joensuu Finland

Ravens like to tease and bully white-tailed eagles, but they also know to keep their distance

Kuhmo Finland

Composition with one raven and two white-tailed eagles

Lokka, Finland

Ravens in flight formation

Lokka Finland

Ravens in airial interaction

Joensuu Finland

Gothic raven with evening light down the valley

Dalen, Norway

Aggressive interaction

Lokka Finland

A typical rock band picture !!

Joensuu, Finland

Talking behind somebody's back !

Lokka Finland

Dancing riverdance !

Lokka Finland 

Dancing tango !

Lokka Finland

An egg for breakfast

Ekkerøy, Norway

Silhuet

Spain

Silence

Kuhmo Finland

Winterly raven

Joensuu Finland

Whiteout

Kuhmo Finland

ARCTIC SVALBARD JULY 2020

Arctic skua (tyvjo)

Nikon D5, Nikkor 600 4,0, f/5,6, 1/1000, ISO 1800

The year of 2020 brought a big change in my life (... and many other people`s lives). Because of the pandemic virus disease I could no longer travel the world for photographic adventures and all my presentations on international basis were cancelled (yes, they were quite a few). I know many people are much worse hit than I am ... but still it was... and still is ... a big blow to me. 

Fortunately arctic Svalbard is a part of Norway and available for travel within the country... so this was my big adventure this summer. First thing you do when you arrive as a photographer up there is to turn day & night upside down. Because of the qualities of the light you work at nighttime and sleep at daytime.

Hope you like the pictures ! 

Thanks to Wildphoto Travel for great management & guiding.

Arctic fox (fjellrev)

Nikon D5, Nikkor 600 4,0, f/5,0, 1/500, ISO 2200

Arctic fox (fjellrev) 

Nikon D5, Nikkor 600 4,0, f/5,0, 1/500, ISO 2000

Arctic fox (fjellrev)

Nikon D5, Nikkor 600 4,0, f/4,0, 1/800, ISO 2000

Arctic fox (fjellrev)

Nikon D5, Nikkor 600 4,0, f/4,0, 1/800, ISO 2200

Purple sandpiper (fjæreplytt)

Nikon D5, Nikkor 600 4,0, f/5,0, 1/500, ISO 2200

Longtailed skua (fjelljo)

Nikon D5, Nikkor 600 4,0 + 1,4 conv =850 mm, f/6,3, 1/2500, ISO 1100

Male polar bear in the ocean ice at 81 degrees north

Nikon D5, Nikkor 600 4,0 + 1,4 conv =850 mm, f/6,3, 1/2000, ISO 1100

Male polar bear in the ocean ice at 81 degrees north

Nikon D5, Nikkor 600 4,0, f/6,3, 1/2000, ISO 1000

Male polar bear on the ocean ice in Wahleberg Fiord, Nordauslandet ... coming to check us out

Nikon D5, Nikkor 600 4,0 + 1,4 conv =850 mm, f/6,3, 1/2000, ISO 2200

Male polar bear on the ocean ice in Wahleberg Fiord, Nordauslandet ... coming to check us out

Nikon D5, Nikkor 600 4,0, f/6,3, 1/2000, ISO 2800

A very close encounter with the male polar bear in Wahleberg Fiord, Nordauslandet

Nikon D5, Nikkor 200-400 4,0 / 300 mm, f/5,6, 1/2000, ISO 2200

A VERY close encounter with a male polar bear in Wahleberg Fiord, Nordauslandet ... uncropped !!

Nikon D5, Nikkor 200-400 4,0 / 400 mm, f/8,0, 1/1000, ISO 4000

Brünnichs Guillemot (polarlomvi), Hinlopen Strait.

Nikon D5, Nikkor 600 4,0, f/6,3, 1/1000, ISO 2500

Portrait of Brünnichs Guillemot (polarlomvi)

Nikon D5, Nikkor 600 4,0, f/5,0, 1/1600, ISO 3200

Brünnichs Guillemot (polarlomvi) flight

Nikon D5, Nikkor 200-400 4,0, f/4,0, 1/2000, ISO 2000

Brünnichs Guillemot (polarlomvi)

Nikon D5, Nikkor 600 4,0, f/6,3, 1/1000, ISO 2800

Brünnichs Guillemot (polarlomvi) on floating iceberg, Hinlopen Strait

Nikon D5, Nikkor 600 4,0, f/5,0, 1/1600, ISO 3600

Brünnichs Guillemot (polarlomvi) on floating iceberg, Hinlopen Strait

Nikon D5, Nikkor 200-400 4,0 / 200 mm, f/5,6, 1/1250, ISO 1400

Brünnichs Guillemot (polarlomvi) on floating iceberg, Hinlopen Strait

Nikon D5, Nikkor 70-200 2,8 / 70 mm, f/5,6, 1/800, ISO 560

Brünnichs Guillemot (polarlomvi) on floating iceberg with our ship "Origo" on the horizon

Nikon D5, Nikkor 600 4,0, f/6,3, 1/2000, ISO 5000

Arctic Tern (rødnebbterne) with colour of the ice from amazing Monaco Glacier

Nikon D5, Nikkor 600 4,0, f/5,6, 1/2000, ISO 1100

Black Guillemot (teist) on the floating ice of Kongsfjorden

Nikon D5, Nikkor 600 4,0, f/5,0, 1/1250, ISO 5600

Great Skua (storlo) with colour of the ice from Hinlopen Strait

Nikon D5, Nikkor 600 4,0, f/5,6, 1/1250, ISO 2200

Ivory Gull (ismåke) .... the white beauty of the high arctic. 

Nikon D5, Nikkor 600 4,0, f/8,0, 1/1250, ISO 1000

Little Auk (alkekonge) with colour from the ocean below

Nikon D5, Nikkor 600 4,0 + 1,4 conv. = 850 mm, f/5,6, 1/1250, ISO 2800

Little Auk (alkekonge) with colour from the ocean below

Nikon D5, Nikkor 600 4,0 + 1,4 conv. = 850 mm, f/6,3, 1/800, ISO 1250

Little Auk (alkekonge) with colour from the ocean below

Nikon D5, Nikkor 600 4,0 + 1,4 conv. = 850 mm, f/5,6, 1/1250, ISO 3200

Glaucous Gull (Polarmåke) eating the remains of a guillemot

Nikon D5, Nikkor 200-400 4,0 /400 mm, f/4,0, 1/2000, ISO 2000

Portrait of Walrus (hvalross)

Nikon D5, Nikkor 600 4,0, f/4,5, 1/1000, ISO 2200

Walrus (hvalross)

Nikon D5, Nikkor 600 4,0, f/4,5, 1/640, ISO 1800

The biggest animal on the planet : Blue Whale (blåhval)

Nikon D5, Nikkor 600 4,0, f/7,1, 1/1600, ISO 560

GREAT SNIPE LEK

Great snipe & cotton grass
D5, 600 4,0, f/4,0, 1/200, ISO 4000

It`s midnight & mid summer in mid Norway`s low alpine region. The Great Snipe (Gallinago media) is lekking ... and its such a discreet, serenely and "down to earth" happening !! They're lekking at nighttime and on a good night the first birds can be heard around 11 pm, and as the night progresses the birds get more involved. You never see them arrive, they just come out of nowhere ... almost like they pop up from the underground. The small, brown birds can be hard to detect in the brown heather & grass. Once you see them, once you don't ! They pull the head down between the "shoulders" and zoom around, ... low, fast & invisible like mice. Suddenly they push the head up and display with a low, clicking sound, flapping beak and one single, quick wingflap ... and that's it !!

I spent 3 nights with them this time, "lekking" at nighttime and sleeping at daytime ... and with the nordic mid summer you have shooting light all through the night.

Life is good sometimes !!

All pictures are shot June 18th-22nd 2020.

Thanks to Terje Kolaas !       

Popping out of nowhere

D5, 600 4,0, f/4,0, 1/200, ISO 4000

Midnight !!

D5, 600 4,0, f/4,0, 1/50, ISO 4000

D5, 600 4,0, f/4,0, 1/60, ISO 4500

D5, 600 4,0, f/4,0, 1/60, ISO 5600

D5, 600 4,0, f/4,0, 1/60, ISO 4500

D5, 600 4,0, f/4,0, 1/200, ISO 4000

D5, 600 4,0, f/4,0, 1/200, ISO 4000

D5, 600 4,0, f/4,0, 1/50, ISO 4000

D5, 600 4,0, f/4,0, 1/60, ISO 3200

D5, 600 4,0, f/4,0, 1/100, ISO 4000

Flapping beak !!!
D5, 600 4,0, f/4,0, 1/50, ISO 1800

Shooting low angle is essential !