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.

birds

Heading to Antarctica

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Greetings from the Southern Ocean, where I am currently on board the National Geographic Endurance en route from New Zealand to Antarctica.  Soon we will be too far south to connect to the ships satellite internet, so I thought I share a few images from the first part of the voyage while I still can.

We sailed from Dunedin, New Zealand, and had several exciting days visiting sub-antarctic islands on the way south.  Below are a few favorite shots so far.  Stay tuned, and I’ll share more from this long voyage along western Antarctica to the Antarctic Peninsula, and eventually ending in Argentina.  I’m serving as the National Geographic photography expert on board, sharing my work, giving talks on wildlife photography for the guests, and of course shooting pictures myself at every opportunity.

Albatross Over the Surf Zone

The second group of islands we visited on our journey south were New Zealand’s Aukland Island group, about 450 kilometers south of  New Zealand’s South Island.  Here we had a chance to hike across the island of Enderby to a cliff-top overlook, where Southern Royal Albatross were occasionally cruising by as the went to and from their nesting grounds on the island.  This bird came especially close and passed over the surf zone at the cliff base where the turbulent water took on this beautiful aquamarine hue.  Southern Royals are among the largest flying birds along with their close relative the Wandering Albatross, with a wingspan that can reach 12 feet (or 3.5 meters). It was an amazing experience to see these spectacular birds passing so close by.

More from the Sub-antarctic Islands

At our very first stop heading south from New Zealand, we came upon a feeding frenzy of Bullar’s Albatross, feeding on fish in the shallows of the Snares Islands.  Actually seeing albatross feeding on prey is very rare, so this was an exciting encounter.

At Macquarie Island (an Australian controlled territory nearly 1500 km from Tasmania) we were able to see the endemic Royal Penguins going to and from their nesting colonies on land.  This group of Royal Penguins was heading into the surf when I captured this moment.

Although tricky in the lumpy seas we experienced, I managed to get one frame of a porpoising Royal Penguin during our zodiac cruise along the coastline of Macquarie Island.

When we came offshore of a large King Penguin colony on Macquarie Island, hundreds, if not thousands, of curious King Penguins came out and swam around our zodiac boats.  Not having a proper underwater housing with me on this trip, I used my waterproof iPhone held underwater to capture this shot and the one below.             

The water off Macquarie Islands was amazingly clear, and I captured this image of a curious King Penguin coming over to check out our boat.  Although they appear rather clumsy on land, King Penguins are incredibly graceful underwater.

Thanks for tuning in to my adventures.  Please feel free to share this newsletter with anyone who you think might enjoy it.  

Stay safe everyone, and be sure to get your dose of nature therapy!  I’ll look forward to sending you further updates from this trip when I have a chance.

Warmest regards,

Tim Laman

Are you a Bird-of-Paradise Fan?

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I know that many of you, like me, are especially fascinated by the incredible family of birds known as the Birds-of-Paradise.  I love photographing them, and sharing the stories of these unique birds.

My goal with my photography is to spread appreciation and awareness about species like Birds-of-Paradise, and the habitats they depend on, in their case, the rainforests of New Guinea.  If you want to join me in this effort, one way you can do that is by displaying and sharing my images.  Yes, this is a sales pitch, because selling my work is how I make a living so I can keep doing this.  But when you purchase my work, whether it’s a calendar, print, or book, you are helping others see and appreciate birds as well, and you have become part of my team, spreading the message.  

So thanks for reading, and as the holidays approach, and my print sale is running, think about joining me in spreading your love for birds to others.  I appreciate your support, and I believe together we can make a positive impact.

Paradise Practice
A young male Paradise Riflebird practices his courtship display on a perch in the rainforest of southern Queensland, Australia.  The adult male of this species is jet black, where as the young males have the same mottled plumage as the females.  But it is easy to recognize a young male when after watching an adult male perform this raised-wing display, he flies up to the same perch used by the adult, and goes through the same motions.  Bird-of-Paradise displays are partly instinctive, but also have a learned component, and young birds spend a lot of time perfecting their moves, and seem to take it very seriously, as you can see.

“Paradise Practice” is now available for purchase in my fine art store.

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Back From Borneo

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Well folks, I’m home for a little while after more than three months overseas.  It was a long trip, but really great to get back to the rainforest of Indonesia’s Gunung Palung National Park after a couple year hiatus due to the pandemic.  I am working on a couple different projects there this year, and one of them is a new feature for National Geographic magazine celebrating the rich diversity of life in one of the best remaining lowland rainforests in Indonesia.

I’ll be heading back for one more trip before the year is out, but wanted to give you a little sneak peak on what I’ve been up to.  Be sure to stay tuned and re-up your NatGeo membership to get the full story coming out next year!

Rhinoceros Hornbill Close-up
The charismatic Rhinoceros Hornbills have been a personal favorite subject of mine since I first went to Borneo over 30 years ago.  It was awesome to be high up in tree in Borneo again, and have some close encounters with this magnificent species.  I made this portrait of a male (recognizable by his red eye), at a fruiting strangler fig as he moved around the tree crown seeking out the ripest figs.
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Back to Borneo Again

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Greetings once again from Borneo, where I’m still in the field in Gunung Palung National Park, photographing everything from orangutans to pit vipers as I document the incredible biodiversity of this park for National Geographic.
 
My forthcoming book, Bird Planet, is in production and advanced copies have already reached my studio!   Since I have had back-to-back assignments here in Indonesia, I haven’t been home to see it yet myself, but my wife and assistant, both very unbiased judges to be sure, say it looks awesome!  It will be available Oct 4, but in the meantime, here is a little more background on the book.  

Preening Mallard
Henry David Thoreau famously spent two years living in a simple cabin he built in the woods at Walden Pond and wrote about the importance of our connection to nature, becoming one of the pioneers of environmental thinking. I live just 5 miles from Walden Pond, and it is one of my favorite spots for escaping into nature for a while with a camera to challenge myself to create interesting images at a simple pond in New England, and to remind me that there is beauty in nature everywhere and that you don’t have to be in Borneo or Antarctica to appreciate it.  Here a male mallard preens amid reflections of autumn colors on Walden Pond.
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Back to Borneo!

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Hello Friends,

Greetings from the rain forest of Borneo!  I’m writing this on my iPhone while sitting under a fruiting fig tree where the orangutan mom and juvenile we have been following have been feeding for the past couple hours, unfortunately their position is high and obstructed. Thus I have some down time here to catch you up on my latest news. 

This is my first trip back to Gunung Palung National Park since before the pandemic and it’s good to be back.  Just this morning gibbons, macaques, and orangutans have all been feeding at this tree as well as at least a dozen species of birds, including the colorful barbets, several species of which are just now calling incessantly above. 

I’m here with my wife Cheryl Knott who directs the Gunung Palung Orangutan Project and her team of students and assistants. My 18 year old daughter Jessica is working with Cheryl on her project, and my 22 year old son Russell is assisting me with filming orangutans for another major production.  It’s great to be here with the whole family and all our Indonesian colleagues working to spread the word about the amazing biodiversity that is protected in this sanctuary. 

Rhinoceros Hornbills In The Canopy
This image of rhinoceros hornbills high in the canopy of the lowland rainforest in Gunung Palung is one of my all time favorites that I made from a blind high in the canopy near a fruiting fig tree.  I love capturing shots of the rain forest wildlife in the broader landscape and the mist hovering in the canopy on this early morning created the perfect atmosphere for the image.

I’ll be spending at least three months in the field here this year also working on a major National Geographic magazine feature about Gunung Palung’s amazingly intact flora and fauna that represents the full diversity of lowland rainforest species in Borneo. 

So please stay tuned and I’ll keep sending periodic updates. It’s not easy to upload new photos from here as I have no internet connection and just enough signal to send this note out by WhatsApp to my assistant back in the US. So she will add some images from my GP archives to this newsletter and I’ll look forward to sharing new images when I can. 

Long-tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis) in the canopy of a fruiting strangler fig tree (Ficus dubia), surrounded by ripening figs.
Bornean White-bearded Gibbon (Hylobates albibarbis) in the canopy of a strangler fig (Ficus dubia) searching for ripe figs.

Have a good summer everyone, and if you you want to learn more about our conservation work here and don’t already follow us, please check out www.savewildorangutans.com.

Special Recognition from the National Geographic Museum

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Dear Friends,

Imagine my surprise and pleasure when I opened an email from National Geographic  recently, and saw the banner below?  An advertisement for the re-opening of their museum with an exhibit of “The Greatest Wildlife Photographs”, and my image “Birds-of-Paradise Sunrise” was the featured image!  This image is one of my all time favorites from my long efforts pursuing the ultimate bird-of-paradise images, so it’s very satisfying to see it get some special recognition like this.

Featured image

Bird-of-Paradise Sunrise

For those of you who might be interested in collecting large-format limited edition prints, I wanted to remind you that “Bird-of-Paradise Sunrise” is one of the few in my Limited Edition Collection, and you can check it out HERE.  It is also available in smaller sizes as an open edition.  If you ever have any questions about my Limited Editions, don’t hesitate to hit to email us at Studio@TimLaman.com.
I know I have shared the story behind creating this favorite image in a previous Wildlife Diaries, so I won’t share it again here, but if you are interested in the full story, we have a 3 minute video produced with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology that is now also linked via my fine art webpage HERE.
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