Red-billed Tropicbird hovers among the rocky cliffs of the Galápagos Islands. Photo By Art Wolfe.
Art Wolfe’s photography career has spanned five decades, he has worked on every continent and has seen some incredible creatures around the globe, including this fascinating seabird. “I’ve photographed tropicbirds in both the Bocas del Toro archipelago in Panama and in Hawaii,” notes Wolfe. “In the Galápagos, however, tropicbirds are constantly harassed by frigatebirds. This is just a fact of life for them as they come and go from their rocky colonies,” he explains. “This particular bird made three passes around us before it folded up its long wings and made it into its nest. This is an extremely elegant bird, with a three-foot wingspan and long tail streamers. I just love how the bird's tail feathers fan out and the streamer arcs delicately as the bird readies itself for landing.” To see more of Art Wolfe’s photography, visit artwolfe.com.
Canon EOS-1D X, Canon EF100-400mm ƒ/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens at 400mm
Last Frame: A Galápagos Tale
Art Wolfe’s photography career has spanned five decades, he has worked on every continent and has seen some incredible creatures around the globe, including this fascinating seabird. “I’ve photographed tropicbirds in both the Bocas del Toro archipelago in Panama and in Hawaii,” notes Wolfe. “In the Galápagos, however, tropicbirds are constantly harassed by frigatebirds. This is just a fact of life for them as they come and go from their rocky colonies,” he explains. “This particular bird made three passes around us before it folded up its long wings and made it into its nest. This is an extremely elegant bird, with a three-foot wingspan and long tail streamers. I just love how the bird's tail feathers fan out and the streamer arcs delicately as the bird readies itself for landing.” To see more of Art Wolfe’s photography, visit artwolfe.com.
Canon EOS-1D X, Canon EF100-400mm ƒ/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens at 400mm
Exposure: 1/2000 sec., ƒ/5.6, ISO 3200