Tim Laman

| Wildlife Photojournalist

Wildlife Diaries

The Wildlife Diaries newsletter is the best way to keep up to date with Tim Laman’s latest work and travels, and to learn about photography and natural history as well. Read through his recent posts here or sign up to receive the posts via email using the form on the right.

Featured Photo

Report from the World’s Richest Reefs

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Dear Friends,
Greetings from New England where it’s that beautiful time of year when the the forest bursts into fall colors. I’m overdue to share with you some new images from another very colorful part of the world – the Reefs of Raja Ampat.

Back in August I had the pleasure of co-leading an underwater photo workshop at the Papua Explorer’s resort in the Raja Ampat Islands with my good friend Zafer Kizilkaya, a leading underwater photographer from Turkey. I’m happy to report that the reefs of Raja Ampat continue to be vibrant, lack significant bleaching, and are teaming with fish. The diving industry there is thriving, and local communities are benefiting, which is great to see. Many villages are protecting reefs and creating no fishing zones, and profiting from fees paid by visiting divers.

If you are interested in joining us, we will be having our next workshops at Papua Explorers in August and September 2025, including a workshop on the live-aboard “Coralia”. To learn more send me an email at studio@timlaman.com, or send a query via the Papua Explorer’s website (papuaexplorers.com).

A Kaleidoscope of Life

Toward the end of one of our last dives of the trip at an amazing dive site called “Blue Magic”, I ducked under an overhang to get out of the current, and was confronted with this incredibly colorful scene. I loved the vibrant colors of the soft corals, crinoids, tunicates, and other creatures. The multiple windows to the blue beyond added great depth and interest to the potential photograph. I just needed a fish in just the right spot to create a silhouette in one of the windows to add that extra little something to the image. So I settled down and waited, taking test shots to get my lighting just right (the foreground is lit by two flashes). Before my air supply ran too low, a surgeonfish passed in just the right spot, rewarding me for my patience with this image.

Riches of the Raja Ampat Reefs

Zafer Kizilkaya swims over a healthy reef of Acropora hard coral. It’s awesome to see the abundance of healthy coral in Raja Ampat.

A school of sergeant major fish mixed with other fish species hover under a dock at a small village. The numbers of fish at some locations is mind-boggling, even right by villages.

A clown triggerfish swims against a wall completely covered by colorful invertebrate life. Raja Ampat is a great place to photograph not only wide underwater scenics, but fish portraits as well.

Fascinating small creatures also abound, like this so called “candy cane” crab, perfectly camouflaged in a colorful soft coral.

Raja Ampat not only has vibrant coral reefs, but also other fascinating habitats to explore, like the mangroves. Here in a view looking up through the sponge-covered mangrove roots, you see pajama cardinal fish taking shelter.

Raja Ampat not only has vibrant coral reefs, but also other fascinating habitats to explore, like the mangroves. Here in a view looking up through the sponge-covered mangrove roots, you see pajama cardinal fish taking shelter.

Finally, its impossible to resist photographing the abundant and charismatic clownfish. Especially when you find one in an unusual blue-tipped host anemone.

Raja Ampat is truly a special place. The resort we partner with, Papua Explorers, is dedicated to empowering local people and partnering with them to conserve the reefs of Raja Ampat, one of the world’s truly important marine protected areas. It’s great to feel that by visiting and photographing this amazing area, one not only can help spread awareness, but also support its protection economically by giving the people good employment.

As always, thanks for tuning in.
Warmest regards,

Tim Laman

New Film and Story: Saving Mexico’s Endangered Macaws

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Last year I had an assignment from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to go to Chiapas, Mexico, and work with the non-profit group Natura Mexicana, to make a short film about their work trying to save the endangered Scarlet Macaws. My son Russell joined me as our second cameraman, and we worked with the awesome team from Natura Mexicana to document their work and the beautiful macaws. Our film is now finished and is live on their website: https://www.naturamexicana.org.mx


Natura Mexicana are taking a unique approach to a challenging situation. Poachers are stealing chicks for the illegal wildlife trade. Other solutions having failed, the conservationists are pulling young chicks from the nests before the poachers get them, and hand-rearing them. It’s a labor of love, but its working and over 200 chicks have been raised and released. Adults don’t make good pets, so once free and wild, the birds are safe from poachers.
You can read the full story on the National Geographic website


Ultimately of course, these drastic measures are only a stopgap solution. We need to educate people and remove the demand for wild-caught parrots as pets so this illegal wildlife trade will end. It was great to have the opportunity to work with Russell to help tell this story, and I hope you will watch the video and read the story and share it with others. Awareness and education is the only way we can eventually solve this problem.


Below I share a few more images from our coverage in Mexico.

Primary Colors in Flight

Scarlet macaw in flight
I love photographing birds in flight, and a water tower at the research station provided me an elevated viewpoint where I could photograph macaws coming and going from some of their favorite trees. I like this image because I managed to capture the spectacular Scarlet Macaw with its wings and tail fully spread out as it came in for a landing, revealing the full extent of its striking primary colored plumage.
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When I use the “Spray and Pray” Technique

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I hope your summer is off to a good start. I recently returned from a trip serving as the “National Geographic Photography Expert” on a small-ship expedition to Norway’s Fjords and Arctic Svalbard with Lindblad Expeditions. It was exciting to see my first-ever polar bears and walruses. But as a bird photography enthusiast, I was especially enthralled by the seabird nesting cliffs where we were able to see thousands of murres, kittiwakes, and even a few puffins nesting.

During the voyage, my duties were to help guests get the most out of their own photography by giving talks and sharing examples of my own photography during the trip. I’ve heard some photo instructors who make fun of people who “spray and pray” with their cameras. In other words, just aiming their camera toward the subject and shooting a long burst hoping for something interesting. Well, as I share in the example below, there are times when combined with a little thought about framing, this approach actually makes sense – like when you have a swirling mass of birds and you want capture a moment with them in nice positions within the frame. Every technique has its place!

Bear Island Pinnacle

This scene captured the feeling of rich arctic birdlife for me. Super strong winds prevented us from approaching the nesting cliffs on Bear Island by zodiac, but the views from the ship itself, while not offering close views of the birds, were very dramatic. The clouds pouring down from the plateau above, the backlighting, and the dramatic pinnacle all added to the shot. But for it to be a successful image, I needed to have a satisfying arrangement of the birds. This of course was impossible to control, so my solution in a situation like this with the birds swirling is to just shoot a lot of images, sometimes known as the “Spray and Pray” technique. I then went through a couple hundred shots and chose this frame, which had a nice balance of birds around the frame and one nicely positioned right over the pinnacle.

Arctic Seabirds of Svalbard

Here are a few additional shots of seabirds I photographed around the cliffs of Bear Island and Svalbard.

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Photographing Nesting Birds

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This morning on a walk not far from my home in Lexington, Massachusetts, I found a Red-bellied Woodpecker’s nest! It’s that exciting time of year when birds in New England are nesting or preparing to nest, and us photographers have chances capture the associated bird behavior, which is always special.

Just remember whether you are photographing or just observing nesting birds, be super sensitive to the birds’ well-being. Pay close attention to their behavior, and make sure you are at a distance where the birds are comfortable approaching to swap incubation duties or make food deliveries to chicks. As long as you do it responsibly, finding and observing nesting birds is a very rewarding way to enjoy spring!

Below are a few images of nesting birds I’ve had a chance to photograph close to home over the past couple years. I’m excited to see what new opportunities this spring will bring!

Featured Image: The Landing

A tree swallow comes in for a landing at its nest,
A tree swallow comes in for a landing at its nest opening as its mate looks out, ready to swap. The great thing about photographing birds visiting their nests is that you get multiple chances to capture the shot you are after. The timing is tricky of course with small fast moving birds like this. The approach is basically to fire a burst of images as you see the bird come in for a landing. I usually don’t even look through the viewfinder in situations like this, but frame up the shot on a tripod, and then watch the movements of the birds, and start firing early as they approach so I don’t miss the shot. The goal is to catch the wings in a nice position like this, and the extra bonus of the mate peering out really makes the shot.

A Few More Nesting Birds from New England

A male pileated woodpecker visits its nest in a dead pine to feed its ravenous chicks.

Barn swallows nesting in a barn in southern Massachusetts made for a fun and easy to shoot subject, since they were accustomed to people and horses coming in and out and paid no attention to me with my camera.

This bluebird is delivering food to its chicks in its nest in a dead white birch tree, in an old woodpecker hole. Woodpeckers create nest cavities used by many other species of birds.

Here you can see the same nest from a different angle, as the male bluebird enters with food.

For you photographers out there, are you keen to get out and do more bird photography this spring? If you are working on mastering your camera skills, I have a course for you called “Birds, Camera, Action”. Or perhaps you are ready to get more creative and take your photography to the next level? I have a course for you called “Getting Creative”

As always, thanks for tuning in, and for your support of my work and the causes I support. Spring is here so be sure to get out and enjoy it!

Warmest regards,
Tim Laman

New Orangutan Prints are Online!

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As many of you know, I am a big supporter of the Gunung Palung Orangutan Conservation Program. I use my photographs and films to help spread the word about their important work to safeguard one of the key populations of wild Bornean Orangutans in and around Gunung Palung National Park.


I also from time to time, try to use my art to raise actual cash for this NGO, and that’s where you come in. From now until Earth Day April 22, I am offering to donate 100% of profits from sale of my orangutan prints to GPOCP. So you have a chance to collect one of my prints, and make a contribution to a good cause at the same time.


Especially for you collectors who have perhaps purchased one of my orangutan prints before, I have added a few new ones to my gallery. A couple examples are below. I hope you’ll find one you like that will put a smile on your face. And thanks in advance for your support.

Waiting Out The Rain

Did you know that orangutans often make umbrellas when it rains hard? They make a couple different types, and here you can see this female has made the “cape” type of umbrella, where she just pulls a cluster of branches together over her back to let a lot of the rain roll off. Her baby doesn’t seem to be particularly well covered, however, and is just toughing it out. Umbrella making is an example of a learned behavior, culturally transmitted from mother to offspring during the long learning period that baby orangutans spend with their mothers.

Visit My Orangutan Gallery

More New Gallery Additions

“Give Me Some, Mom” A baby orangutan pulls at her mother’s face as she feeds on flowers of the Fordia tree.

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Pelicans and Surf in San Diego

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WindowSight Lifetime Deal

Last month I had a chance to visit San Diego and spend some time photographing birds on the coast. My visit corresponded with a Pacific swell that made for some spectacular conditions for bird photography along the cliffs of La Jolla. Below are are a few images from the trip for your enjoyment.

Pelicans and Crashing Surf, La Jolla, California

Pelicans flying in front of serf.

On the first morning of my San Diego trip I headed down to the La Jolla Cove area at sunrise and found amazing conditions. A big Pacific swell was rolling in and crashing against the cliffs. It was very windy, which seemed to encourage the pelicans and other birds to get on the wing and cruise up and down the coast. So the conditions were ideal for flight photography. But what captivated me the most was this scene of the backlit surf breaking on the rocks, and occasionally, groups of pelicans coming toward me that I could frame with this dramatic backdrop. Note that there are three pelicans in this shot, and the upper left bird, if you look closely, is a cormorant. I have been to La Jolla many times and never seen conditions like this. It’s a great example of how repeatedly going back to photograph the same subject in different weather conditions can lead to exciting images. I am always looking for ways to add drama to an photograph and make it stand out, and including atmospheric effects like rain, snow, fog, mist, or sea spray is a great way to do that.

A Few More Shots from La Jolla, January 2024

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