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.

Wildlife Diaries

Happy New Year 2024

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As we start the new year, I’m taking a few moments to look back and reflect on a some highlights from the past year.  It has been a rewarding year of great adventures and conservation photography projects.  I’ve selected a few photos to share as a little visual review of the year.  Thanks for following along, and hope you enjoy it!

A Few Highlights from 2023

King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) swimming underwater. Macquarie Island, Subantarctic Island of Australia

5 Feb 2023:  On the way to Antarctica on a Lindblad/National Geographic Expedition trip I found myself in a Zodiac surrounded by swimming King Penguins off the coast of Macquarie Island.  Not having an underwater camera housing with me, I trusted in the waterproofness of my iPhone, submerged it and fired as fast as I could.  This is one of the resulting shots.  And yes, the phone still works!

Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao cyanoptera) the Mesoamerican subspecies, endangered in Mexico, comes in for a landing in the rainforest of the Lacandon Jungle, in the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve. Chiapas, Mexico.

12 April 2023:  On assignment for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology I filmed the work of the organization Natura Mexicana and their efforts to conserve the endangered Scarlet Macaws in the Montes Azul Biosphere Reserve in southern Mexico.  Our conservation film to help spread awareness about their work will be coming out in 2024.

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The Stunning Harlequin Ducks

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My new online course “Bird Photography Masterclass” has launched, and I’m happy to say is getting some very nice reviews.  For example, Penny A. says:

“Excellent! Highly recommended for all levels of photography!  It was an honour to be taken step by step through Tim’s creative process using his stunning images to highlight each point, and culminating in a true masterpiece!  I loved every minute of the course and can’t wait to get outside and practice!  Thank you!”

It’s nice to get the positive feedback and know that I’ve created something that can help other photographers improve.  One of my motivations for creating the course is to help the next generation of photographers with the tools to elevate their craft.  Birds are such great ambassadors for protecting wild places, and as former Cornell Lab of Ornithology director John Fitzpatrick is fond of saying “Birds can save the World!”.  So the more of us out there photographing and sharing the wonders of birds, the better.

If you happen to know a wildlife photography enthusiast who might benefit from my course, please consider giving it as a gift.  Its now super easy to do from the course website.   

The Waverider

With the arrival of winter, Harlequin Ducks gather along the coast of New England where they occupy a unique niche in the rough inter-tidal zones along rocky shores.  They appear completely impervious to the rough water as they dive and forage among breaking waves and rocks.  I made this portrait of a male cresting a wave at Halibut Point, a State Park on the peninsula of Cape Ann in Massachusetts.  This certainly has to be one of the most spectacular North American duck species.  What makes this shot for me besides the beautiful colors of the bird and background water, is the curtain of water is breaking over the duck’s chest in this shot.  It ads that little extra something that makes an otherwise straightforward portrait special.

More Harlequin Duck Action

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Kestrel Landing – Capturing the Moment

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Dear Friends,

Every image has a story behind it, and as I worked on creating my Bird Photography Masterclass over recent weeks, I came across many images in my archives that sparked memories.  Birds are creatures of habit, and one of the “tricks of the trade” in wildlife photography is being a good observer, and anticipating what birds are going to do.  “Capturing a moment” in bird photography isn’t just a matter of luck.

This series on the kestrel landing didn’t make it into my course, but is a classic example of how being a good observer of bird behavior can help you anticipate and enjoy an interesting moment of action.  I think this is something that all fans of watching birds and other wildlife in the field can appreciate, whether you are a photographer or not.  Honing our powers of observation makes for greater appreciation and enjoyment of our time in nature.

Kestrel Landing

I shot this image a few years ago while on assignment at the Annenberg Center at Sunnylands, in Palm Desert, California, where I was photographing birds on their property for an exhibition in their visitor center.  I roamed the property daily, and soon became familiar with the haunts of certain individual birds.  This kestrel is one example.  I often saw him perched in the same trees, and as he hunted around the property, he often returned to some of the same perches.  A simple shot of the bird perched wasn’t very interesting, so I had the idea of getting him coming in for a landing with wings fully spread.  One day when I saw him using this particular perch, I decided to stake him out when the sun was in a position to create nice backlighting on his wings.  Once I framed my shot with my lens and camera on a tripod, and focused on the landing spot, it was just a matter of waiting him out, with finger always poised on my cable release (less tiring than having my hand on the camera all the time).  He made a circuit to several other perches as he hunted, but eventually came back to this one.  When I saw him approach, I hit the trigger before he entered the frame and fired a burst at 12 frames per sec.  You can see the full sequence below.  The other frames aren’t worth keeping, but I succeeded in capturing the peak moment with wings and tail spread catching the light just a moment before he landed.  

The Kestrel Landing Sequence

Here is the sequence of images that came before and after the “keeper” shot.  For the camera nerds these were shot with a Canon 1DXII, 400 mm f2.8 w/ 2X, 1/2000 sec, f 8, ISO 1600.  The key thing being the 1/2000 sec to freeze the motion.

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Bird Photography Masterclass is Live!

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It’s been a long time in development, but I’m excited to announce that my new online Masterclass is live!

I saw a need that I could fill – to help all bird photography enthusiasts learn to concentrate more on what’s important – framing you shot – not obsessing over camera settings.   

Yes, you need a basic understanding of photography and how to operate your camera.  But most cameras these days can be pulled out of the box, set to auto mode, and make decent exposures.  But you still need to have the idea of how to frame you shots!

That’s where my course comes in.  I have distilled the essential Creative Process that I use to create strong images.  These methods have worked well for me for twenty-five National Geographic assignments and helped me capture over twenty winning images in the Wildlife Photographer of the year.

I focus on birds in the course, but really the principles apply to all wildlife photography. If you are interested, you can learn more and enroll by checking out the link below.  You can also send it as a gift (just an idea).

Also, I know you realize it’s that time of year, but don’t forget that my annual holiday print sale is in full swing!  If a print isn’t in your budget, you might be happy to know that we now offer many other products, from mugs and coasters to puzzles and tote bags.  They all feature my images thanks to our printing partner.  Just visit the store and select any image to explore your options.  

Pileated Woodpecker Landing

A male Pileated Woodpecker comes in for a landing to deliver food to its chicks.  In terms of my approach to bird photography, this shot is a classic example of anticipating and pre-visualizing the image.  In other words, I observed the travel path of the bird as it flew to the nest, and saw how I could frame it nicely between the two trees as it came in for a landing.  In my new Bird Photography Masterclass, I take successful images like this and break down my process of creating them.  This image was made only a few miles from my home in Massachusetts, but I share stories and images from all over the world as well as my backyard as I teach students how to improve their creative process in bird photography.

A Glimpse Into My Bird Photography Masterclass

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Fall Splendor in New England

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The fall colors have just peaked where I live in Massachusetts.  I hope wherever you are you have been enjoying the change of the seasons.  After a lot of time overseas this year, it has been nice to be at home for a while this fall.  What do I do when I’m not out on assignment, you ask?  A few things that have been keeping me busy are:

  • Editing a National Geographic magazine story, coming out in Feb. 2024.
  • Developing a pitch for a new orangutan documentary.
  • Creating a new online Masterclass in Bird Photography (sneak peak below).
  • Furthering my partnership with Windowsight – a way to display my photographs on your blank TV.
  • Creating six different bird-themed calendars for the holiday season.

But when I need my nature fix, I head out into the woods, often to my favorite local haunt, Walden Pond.  It’s always possible to find beauty and inspiration even at this modest natural area outside Boston.  Below you’ll find a few images that I made there within the past week.

Walden Pond Double Sunrise

It was the first night of the season when the thermometer dipped to freezing, and since the water was still much warmer than the air, I knew there would be early morning mist on Walden Pond.  I arrived before sunrise, and hiked around, looking for interesting compositions.  This brilliant maple caught my attention, backlit by the rising sun.  By moving my camera position slightly, I could control the sunburst effect, created when sunbeams pass through a small gap in the leaves directly into the lens.  To my surprise, I discovered a camera position where I got two sunbursts – one from the sun itself, and another from the suns’ reflection in the glass-calm pond surface.  The result is the image you see here – my favorite from that beautiful morning.

“Walden Pond Double Sunrise” is not in the print store yet, but if anyone is interested in a print, just drop us a quick note at studio@timlaman.com.

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Into the Mangroves – Papua Expedition Highlights Part 3

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Dear Friends,

Have you ever seen a mangrove forest?  These habitats defined by trees that can withstand saltwater are incredibly fascinating and important.  Not only do they harbor their own unique biodiversity, but they protect coastlines, are nursery grounds for marine life, and are incredibly good at sequestering carbon.  In fact research shows they store five times more carbon than forests on land!

On our Cornell Lab expedition to West Papua over the summer, in collaboration with our Indonesian partners, we were able to visit and document one of the largest mangrove forests in the world, in a place called Bintuni Bay.  Indonesia harbors over 25% of the world’s mangroves, and over half of that is in Papua, where Bintuni Bay is one of the prime examples.

It was a challenge to capture the scale of these vast forests, but aerial images helped, and I hope you enjoy the glimpse of this unique forest and a few of its inhabitants in the images below.  If you want to learn more about mangroves, I’ll leave some links at the bottom.  

The Vast Mangroves of Bintuni

From the air, the mangrove forests of Bintuni seem to stretch on as far a you can see, cut by a maze winding tidal channels (in fact I was amazed our boatman could keep track of where we were and find the way back after hours of meandering).  Although mangroves in many parts of the world have been exploited or degraded for coastal development, shrimp farms, charcoal harvesting, and other reasons, this region, with great foresight, is being protected by the Indonesian government.  (This image is a stitched panoramic image made with the help of licensed Indonesian drone pilot Faizal Aziz.)

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