While walking around Dove Lake, near Cradle Mountain in Tasmania, we came across this wombat. He wasn't too concerned about all the people crowding around with their cameras, but just slowly continued on his way.

wombat

Cradle Mountain, Tasmania
Canon EOS 350D, 17-85mm IS @44mm, 1/125 sec, f/5, ISO200

We recently added a new pet to the family - a young female kitten named "Bella". As is typical with kittens, she has lots of energy!

On the weekend, I tried to get a photo of her in mid-air leaping from the ground onto the top of her scratching post. However, she didn't want to co-operate...but I still managed to get some interesting photos of her.
Here's a selection of 8 photos from the weekend session.

I can pose

I can dive

I saw this little guy while walking along Johnston Canyon, in Banff National Park (Alberta, Canada).

chipmunk begging for food

Johnston Canyon, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada
Canon EOS 50D, 24-70mm f/2.8L @70mm, 1/400 sec, f/3.2, ISO320

He wasn't very shy of the tourists, and one tourist, ignoring the signs, managed to entice this chipmunk close enough for it to take a small piece of biscuit out of her hand.

enjoying a morsel begged from a tourist

Johnston Canyon, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada
Canon EOS 50D, 24-70mm f/2.8L @70mm, 1/640 sec, f/3.2, ISO320

I still haven't finished processing all the photos I took while in Canada in May. Here's one I processed recently, of a ground squirrel (aka gopher) in the snow.

gopher in the snow

Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada
Canon EOS 50D, 70-200mm f/4L @200mm, 1/3200 sec, f/4, ISO160

While visiting Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park, a group of bighorn mountain sheep wandered across the road on top of the dam wall, and didn't seem to mind the few tourists who followed them with cameras at the ready.

bighorn mountain sheep

Lake Minnewanka, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada
Canon EOS 50D, 70-200mm f/4L @126mm, 1/2000 sec, f/4, ISO200

Another photo from my recent visit to Canada. This was taken at Cascade Ponds, in the Banff National Park, and shows a herd of elk grazing on the grass.

grazing elk

Cascade Ponds, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada
Canon EOS 50D, 70-200mm f/4L @84mm, 1/800 sec, f/4, ISO200

To a snail, even blades of grass can present formidable obstacles!

a snail's viewpoint

back yard at home, Western Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 100mm f/2.8 macro @100mm, 1/80 sec, f/10, ISO200

While in Tasmania in May, we visited the Devils @ Cradle wildlife park. Devils @ Cradle have a captive-breeding program, with 20 Devils on-site. They also monitor wild Devils in the Cradle Mountain area. When we visited, they had several female Devils which were thought to be pregnant.

This particular Tasmanian Devil is a small female named Charlotte.
I like this photo because it shows the Devil in the classic screaming posture, with her mouth wide open.

Charlotte the Tasmanian Devil

Devils @ Cradle, Cradle Mountain, Tasmania
Canon EOS 350D, 70-200mm f/4L @200mm, 1/80 sec, f/4, ISO200

Tasmanian Devils have a reputation for making lots of noise, and the specimans at Devils @ Cradle were no exception. They screeched and screamed a great deal while we were there. Apparently the screaming is not really a show of agression - it is done to intimidate their enemies (including humans).

During a business trip to Calgary (Alberta, Canada) in June one year, I saw many mounds of dirt on the grass and around the paths in downtown Calgary. The locals told me these were created by the local gophers, but it took a few days before I saw a gopher in the flesh.

This photo was taken during a weekend visit to Banff and the surrounds in 2005, with my point-and-shoot Olympus C-770. The Olympus camera really helped my photographic progression, but also really frustrated me with some of its limitations, and thus helped me to make up my mind to buy a DSLR.

Watchful gopher

Banff, Alberta, Canada
Olympus C-770 UltraZoom @63mm, 1/200 sec, f/3.7, ISO100

While in Phuket recently, we visited the Phuket Monkey School. This is one of the monkeys at the school (note the chain around its neck).
I thought the duotone conversion adds to the gloomy feel of the photo, as the monkey waits for the next show to start.

waiting

Phuket Monkey School, Phuket, Thailand
Canon EOS 350D, 100mm f/2.8 macro @100mm, 1/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO200