Wildife Photo of the Month - 2008

January 2008. Satyendra K. Tiwari's superb photographs depict some of the magnificent wildlife of India. Mr. Tiwari lives near Bandhavgarh National Park India where he works as tour leader and naturalist for nearby tour companies. This image is particularly beautiful in the way it renders the relaxed nature of the tiger. It shows the animal as it ambles away from the photographer and implies a slow saunter. The detail in the pad of the back foot adds interest and balances the exquisite patterned coat of the tiger. The overall burnt sienna glow of the image and long shadows lend a warm, evening glow to the scene.

February 2008. Bruce Colin's photo of this Great Egret is superb in that it caputres the bird in a unique posture that depicts natural behavior. The bird's angular black legs balance the soft white of its feathers and the curve of its neck. The ruffled feathers on its crown and neck give the image texture and intimacy. The detail in the bill adds a complement of warm oranges and browns and stands out nicely against the rich cobalt blue background.

March 2008. This month's featured wildlife photo was submitted by Shawna Scott. One reason this image works so well for me is its unique composition. The bird, positioned at the bottom left of the picture frame, seems about ready to drift out of view, giving the impression of movement, the feeling that the bird is floating in the air. The blue sky at the top of the image pulls the viewer's eye back into the picture frame and the trailing egde of the bird's wings is blurred just enough to suggest soft movement of the wings.

April 2008. Nicolas Segal captured this portrait of a pelican was in Titusville, Florida. It offers a highly detailed glimpze of the bird's face and feather textrue. Nicely set against a neutral sky, the pelican's stand out come out very well. The image has a painterly quality that resembles perhaps a painting by John James Audubon. The shape of the bird's bill, head, and neck creates an interesting S curve that leads the eye through the picture frame.

May 2008. I find this a wonderful image for so many reasons. First it is rare to receive black and white images, and this one contains a full range of values from the white of the sky to the blackest shadows and silhouette of the tree. Additionally, the composition in this image makes it work very well. Portrait orientation frames the tree nicely while not detracting from the main subject, the elephants. Low in the picture frame, the elephants are rendered with great texture and tonal variation.

June 2008. This month's featured wildlife photo was submitted by Johan van Heerden. This image is intriguing for its grouping of the three giraffes, with two facing one direction and the third facing the opposite direction. The position of the group of giraffes relative to the camera creates an interesting shape within the picture frame. The gentle curve of the background vegetation keeps your eye moving along an oval, following the line of the bushes and returning to the faces of the giraffes.

July 2008. This month's featured wildlife photo was submitted by Cheryl Beasley. It gives us a close-up glimpse of a beautiful goldfinch sitting on a sole reed. The image is rich in detail, you can see the gentle gradations of golden colors in the bird's body feathers and the delicateness of her orange feet wrapped around the pearch. A superb capture.

August 2008. This month's featured wildlife photo was submitted by Robert Visconti. This image has super color and composition and captures the beauty of these Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) magnificently. In this photograph, the depth of field is beatifully chosen, with the birds in clear focus and the foreground and background softened just enough to offer a rich view of the birds' surroundings while not distracting from the main subject of the image.

September 2008. This month's featured wildlife photo was submitted by Brenda Gage. The fox pup in this picture is one of two that Brenda has seen around a den located at the side of a dirt road. I especially like the composition of this image, with the fence post and wire criss-crossing the image, it presents an interesting contrast to the softness of the fox pup and the rambling grasses in the background.

October 2008. This month's featured wildlife photo was submitted by Gene Eichenmiller. This image captures a true sense of movement. The hummingbird's blurred wings indicate that the bird is still hovering as it dips its head into the flower for a drink of nectar. The composition works well because the hummingbird, though somewhat blurred, is dark and centered. A nice counter balance to the hummingbird is provided by the background where a golden glow of light and the detail in the flowers keeps the eyes moving smoothly around the picture frame.

November 2008. This month's featured wildlife photo was submitted by Timothy Friesen and captures a pair of Columbian Ground Squirrels in Manning Park, British Columbia. I find this image charming because although the ground squirrels are pictured from the back, each still conveys an individual expression in their posture. The lighting in the photo is perfect and the depth of field divides the image nicely into three separate planes, a gently blurred foreground of olive colored grass, a crisp clear midground which contains the ground squirrels, and a background of sunlit greenery.

December 2008. This month's featured wildlife photo was submitted by Susan Velasquez. This portrait of a wild donkey was taken in Aruba and has a wonderful quality to it. The image's slight overexposure gives it a feel of heat and squinting sunlight. The donkey's face is expressive and its ears are full of texture. The composition is well-balanced and interesting, I especially like the donkey walking lazily through the background. The scrubby vegetation and the washed-out midday sky complete the scene nicely.