Heading to Antarctica

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

Back to Borneo!

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

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.

BIRD PLANET Update

I’m excited to report that my new book BIRD PLANET is now off to the printers (it will be in stores October 4). I’m really happy with the way it has come together.  It has been great to have a chance to review my entire archive to choose the most inspirational images from all over the world.

If you didn’t catch it already, I want to remind you that I am offering a signed copy of BIRD PLANET (personalized if you like) bundled with a 12-inch print for $100.  I’ll only have 100 copies to sell in this way, and more than have are already sold, so you are welcome to per-order now if you would like to lock that in.  Books will ship in October.  Follow this link to see the offer for the Signed Edition of BIRD PLANET. 

As a little sneak preview, here are a few shots from the book.  In selecting the images, my aim was to capture the diversity and beauty of birds, and inspire people to care for their habitats, and thus habitat for all wildlife and a healthier planet for all of us.

Galah Gathering, Cape York, Australia

Whooper Swans Awake, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan

Cobalt-winged Parakeets at Clay Lick, Amazon Rainforest, Ecuador

These and other images from the book are also available now in my special BIRD PLANET COLLECTION gallery.

Thanks for tuning in as always!

Stay safe everyone, and be sure to get your dose of nature therapy.  It’s a beautiful time of year!

Warmest regards,

Tim Laman

PS.  For all you ORANGUTAN fans, I think you will enjoy a segment I shot of the early life of a baby orangutan for the new Netflix series “Wild Babies”, which is now streaming.  And to learn more about orangutans and the conservation work I’m involved with, please visit www.SaveWildOrangutans.org.

Celebrating Hornbills this Earth Day 2022

As I have done every year, I’m offering all my open edition prints on sale for Earth Day this year, and donating 50% of profits to conservation.  

In celebration of the upcoming publication of my new book, BIRD PLANET, I have selected the conservation group Rangkong Indonesia (Indonesia Hornbill Conservation Society) to support this year.  Hornbills have been a special interest of mine since my first trip to Borneo in 1987, and they feature prominently in BIRD PLANET.  In fact the first chapter starts with my experience of seeing a Rhinoceros Hornbill on my first day in the forest.  And as the charismatic fruit eating birds of the forest, they are super important seed dispersers and also ambassadors for rainforest conservation.

Rangkong Indonesia is the type of group I like to support because they work directly with indigenous communities in Borneo to protect forest habitat of the most critically endangered Helmeted Hornbill, as well as several other species.   You can learn more about their work at rangkong.org.

Here are a few Hornbill shots that made the cut from my 25 years of hornbill photography for my BIRD PLANET book.  They are all available in my print store and are on sale (but so are all my other prints, if Hornbills aren’t your thing!).

A young rhinoceros hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros) tosses up a fig from a strangler fig tree (Ficus dubia) before swallowing it. A young Rhinoceros Hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros) tosses a fig from a strangler fig tree (Ficus dubia) before swallowing it. Lowland rain forest of Gunung Palung National Park, Borneo, Indonesia.

Rhinoceros hornbills (Buceros rhinoceros) perched high in canopy with lowland rainforest behind.  Gunung Palung National Park, Borneo, Indonesia.

Helmeted Hornbill (Rhinoplax vigil) male arrives at nest tree with wings spread for landing.  The female is inside the dark opening visible on the left side of frame in the broken off branch.  Budo-Sungai Padi National Park, Narathiwat Province, Thailand.

Behind-The-Scenes

Almost all my hornbills shots are made from high in the rainforest canopy.  It’s a lot of work to rig ropes and build platforms and blinds in the tree tops, but it’s worth the effort to be able to capture moments of hornbill life in the wild.  Here is a behind the scenes moment that wasn’t too much fun though - getting caught in a heavy downpour while trying to build a canopy blind in Thailand.  You can see the video on my Instagram @TimLaman.

Hanging a bird print on your wall can help spread appreciation and awareness, which is what I’m all about.  So thanks for your interest, and for helping support the work I do and the conservation groups that I work with in the field.  Together we can make a difference!

Stay safe everyone, and be sure to get your dose of nature therapy!

Warmest regards,

Tim Laman

PS.  If you didn’t see the announcement about the special offer to pre-order a signed copy of BIRD PLANET, you can check it out right HERE.  Thanks!

Backyard Birds in the Snow

I just wanted to send a brief note to let you know that I’m offering all of my open edition prints for 20% off through Valentine’s Day.  If you or a loved one would enjoy one of my prints, this would be a good time to pick one.

It’s that time of year when the snow flies, and I love seeing what I can capture of my backyard birds when I’m not away traveling.  There is something about the birds in the snow that is simply beautiful, and I enjoy trying to capture unique moments.  We’ve added a few new ones to the gallery - sneak peak below.  

You can browse my full galleries at:  www.timlamanfineart.com

Why do I keep going out and photographing the same birds?  Because sometimes you just catch something unexpected, like this little Black-capped Chickadee, all fluffed up into a ball against the cold, hopping between perches.  That’s the great thing about nature photography.  There is no such thing as the perfect shot, so you are never done.  Nature can always surprise you, and the possibilities are only limited by your imagination.

“Chickadee in Mid-Hop”  is now available for purchase in my fine art store, and will definitely put a smile on your face.

More Backyard Birds New to the Gallery

Here are a couple more shots new to the gallery:

A Blue Jay perches among the snow covered branches of a white pine.

A Red-bellied Woodpecker is unfazed by the falling snow.

Tim in his Back Yard

I’m lucky enough to have woods behind my house, and when I place my feeders at the edge of the yard, I can photograph birds landing on the natural perches where they stop en route to the feeders.  A blind isn’t absolutely necessary, but I do find many birds come in much closer if I’m hiding, and it also keeps the snow off!  Here are a few behind-the-scenes shots.

Thanks for tuning in.  Stay safe everyone, and be sure to get your dose of nature therapy!

Warmest regards,

Tim Laman

Birds-of-Paradise and Orangutan Fundraiser is Live

As we near the holiday season I’m reminded once again of how fortunate my family and I have been to weather this pandemic relatively unscathed.  I hope you have been as fortunate, though I’m sure some of you suffered losses of loved ones, and my heartfelt sympathies go out to you.  It’s been a tough couple years.  

As we get through this, I am feeling like I want to devote some energy and resources to helping out the people and conservation activities that I care deeply about in Indonesia, where things have been especially tough.  The best way I can come up with to do that, is to raise funds by selling my art, so I want to let you know that for all bird-of-paradise and orangutan print purchases during my Holliday Sale, which is now live, I will donate 50% of profits to the two charities that I have been supporting the Gunung Palung Orangutan Conservation Program, and Papua Konservasi dan Komunitas.

Please visit my online gallery through the link below, and consider a purchase for yourself or as a gift.  You can read more about the two organizations in the links below as well.

Vogelkop Superb Bird-of-Paradise

The Vogelkop Superb Bird-of-Paradise.  The discovery that this bird had a distinct display behavior and that I made with Ed Scholes helped to confirm that it deserved to be a distinct species.  We published this in a paper in 2018, and that has been one of the highlights of our 15 year quest to document birds-of-paradise in the wild.  The reason I share this again now, is that the realization that this was a distinct species that could only be seen in the Arfak Mountains of West Papua, helped to drive an increasing number of birdwatchers to the area.  The local people who we worked with to make the discovery, and who own the land, expanded the guesthouses in their villages, and were starting to see that they could create an economy around grass-roots ecotourism.  Protecting their forests and their birds could create more long term benefits for them then exploiting the forest in the short term.  These were great developments.  And the potential is still there for this movement to grow and expand to more villages and communities across Papua and help maintain a green future.  However the pandemic has thrown a wrench into this promising development as visitors have been unable to go to Indonesia and all birding tours have been cancelled for nearly two years now.  The small NGO I work with, Papua Konservasi, has been sending donations directly to villages to help them get by during this time.  Any purchase you make of a bird-of-paradise print during my sale will help this cause, so thanks for your consideration.  Helping support these local landowners, the guardians of the forests where birds-of-paradise live, is the most direct way I can think of to help the birds.  And of course protecting these forest in Papua is also a key to mitigating climate change.  So its a win-win all around.

Vogelkop Superb Bird-of-Paradise Performing is now available for purchase in my fine art store HERE.

Collecting Square Bird-of-Paradise Prints

Many of my Bird-of-Paradise images crop very nicely to a square format, and we have been offering a growing selection of square prints starting at 12x12 inches.  These very affordable prints ($150 discounted to $105 each during the Holiday Sale), are striking when displayed in a grouping of 2, 3, or 4.  They make a great conversation piece, brighten up any space, and proceeds help to support bird-of-paradise conservation.  And if you already have one or two, you can add more and display them in various groupings which I have enjoyed doing around my house.

See the “Birds-of-Paradise Square Prints Collection”  HERE, and help support Bird-of-Paradise conservation. 

Thanks for tuning in and considering joining my fundraiser.  If you’d like to learn more about the conservation groups I’m supporting and what they are doing, here are their individual websites.

Papua Konservasi

Save Wild Orangutans

I will follow up soon with another newsletter sharing more about the Gunung Palung Orangutan Project and their work that I am supporting.

Stay safe everyone, and be sure to get your dose of nature therapy!

Warmest regards,

Tim Laman

PS.  We have added Greeting Cards to our store this holiday season especially featuring my birds in the snow images.  You can customize the inside, and get discounts for boxes of 10 or 25.  Check them out HERE.

August Winner and End-of-Summer Sale

Hope all of you in the Northern hemisphere have been having a good summer.  It’s been a different one for me, without the usual fieldwork in Indonesia, but I’ve been keep busy with more local projects as we all adapt to the times we find ourselves in.  Among other things here in the studio, we have been working to expand our offerings in my fine art print collection, so whether you might be interested in purchasing a print or not, I hope you will enjoy browsing the added variety in the galleries of some of my favorite images.  

Congratulations to Valarie S. for winning the Goldie's Bird-of-Paradise square print.  For everyone else who was hoping to win the bird-of-paradise print but didn’t, your timing is good!  I am offering all open-edition prints at 25% off through the weekend in my End-of-Summer Sale. 

Verdin Among the Aloe

What makes a photograph rise beyond pure documentation and become something that can be called art, or at least an artistic image?  It can be a variety of things, and the way they combine together, but the quality of light often has a lot to do with it, along with the composition, how the background works to support the main subject, and other less tangible elements.  For me, this image of a Verdin perched among backlit aloe stems definitely achieves this.  More than anything in this image, it is the atmosphere created by the soft out-of-focus highlights on the aloe stems in the background that really give it a unique feel.  It’s one of my favorites from my time shooting at Sunnylands in the Coachella Valley, California.

Verdin Among the Aloe  is now available for purchase in my Fine Art Store.

Dreaming of Africa

I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel!  Where are you dreaming of traveling to?  I have many places on my list.  It may be a little while yet, but the first place I will head back to internationally will definitely be Borneo, to continue coverage of the orangutans and biodiversity of Gunung Palung National Park.  But many other places are also calling, and the wonders of East Africa are certainly among them.  I have many fond memories of my safaris there, and hope to go back soon.  In the mean time, we have been working on expanding my Limited Edition collection in my fine art gallery, and I’m excited to announce the addition of the image below.

The Vulture Tree

One hot, hazy afternoon in the Serengeti in 2018, we were driving around in our vehicle, but it wasn’t exactly the time of day when I expected to make an outstanding wildlife image.  But then we spotted this lone Ruppel’s vulture, perched in this old dead tree, which was a beautiful piece of sculpture in itself.  The vulture had its wings spread partially, in a posture that likely was helping get some airflow over his body to help it cool off.  I carefully directed our driver to get us into a position where the branches formed the best framing around the vulture.  The hazy afternoon light added the atmosphere and the slightly ocher color palette.  The resulting image ended up being one of my Limited Edition prints.

A Few Other Favorites from Africa

Here are a few other favorites from Africa that are in my Limited Edition Collection:

A herd of wildebeest cross the Mara River during their annual migration.  Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.

A wildebeest makes a wild leap as the herd of thousands surge across the Mara River during their annual migration.  Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.

BaoThe sun rises behind a baobab tree on the African savanna.  Tarangire National Park, Tanzania.

Capturing the "Ibis Moon" Image

Dear Friends,

I hope this finds you well and feeling optimistic about 2021.  It’s going to be another challenging year, but I think things are looking up.  Stepping outside last night to have a look at the full moon, I was reminded of my image below.  It’s not often I can include the moon in an image of birds, but when it happens, it makes for something special.  I hope you enjoy the story behind the image.

Ibis Moon

I was in the remote outer delta of the Orinoco River in Venezuela, in pursuit of images of one of the most brightly colored birds on the planet, the Scarlet Ibis.  The mangrove islands in the delta provided these birds with the perfect roosting site, safe from predators, and close to the mudflats where they foraged at low tide.  Every afternoon, ibises would come flying back to their roosts, and this give me the chance for some flight shots.  One afternoon as the sun neared the horizon, the waxing gibbous moon, a couple days away from full, was rising in the eastern sky and I noticed that some of the small groups of ibises sometimes passed almost in front of the moon.  Moving the small boat I was shooting from to line up the approaching ibises with the moon the best I could, I started tracking and shooting the flying birds as they passed near the moon.  This image was the result, and I love the way the composition is balanced between the three birds and the moon.  I also love the simple but bold color palette of the image.  It is rare to have a color photograph that has basically just two bright colors, the red birds and the blue sky.  It is very satisfying to capture a moment like this in a still photograph, which you know will never ever be repeated.  It’s a one-of-a-kind image.

IBIS MOON is part of my Limited Edition selection of prints

Valentine's Day Print Sale!

A pair of Red-crowned Cranes perform a duet during their courtship ritual in Hokkaido, Japan while snow gently falls.  Red-crowned Cranes symbolize love, long life, good luck, happiness, and fidelity in marriage.  What could be better for a Valentines Day gift than a print of these wonderful birds?

Flash sale on now till Monday, Feb 1.  20% off, and paper prints guaranteed arrival by Feb 14 if you order by Feb 1 (Domestic).  If you would like a beautiful acrylic print, it takes 8 days to create so you would need to choose 2-day shipping for domestic arrival before Valentine's Day.  Please see the gallery HERE for the full selection.

With all the best for a healthy, safe, and inspiring year ahead.

Warmest regards,

Tim Laman

PS.  We will continue to add new images and galleries to TimLamanFineArt.com throughout the year, so be sure to take a look from time to time and see what’s new.  Thanks!