Photographs have been an important part of researchers’ field notes for centuries. On Nature Photography Day, we’re highlighting just a few of the great images that Museum scientists have captured in the field in recent years.
On the Explore21 expedition to Cuba, Curator Chris Raxworthy snapped a photo of one of his herpetological interests: the tiny frog Eleuthorodactylus iberia.
Next door in Haiti, researcher Angelo Soto-Centeno snapped this portrait of a Greater Antillean long-tongued bat, one of 20 bat species that calls the island home!
Center for Biodiversity and Conservation Associate Director Felicity Arengo shoots lots of still photos while she monitors flamingo populations throughout South America, but she also knows when to switch to video—perfect for capturing amazing moments like this courtship march.
And of course, photography isn’t limited to the animals our researchers study. Mary Blair, director of Biodiversity Informatics Research at the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, is an expert on nocturnal primates known as slow lorises, but she snapped this shot of an Oriental Bay Owl during a research expedition in Vietnam.
Curator and paleontologist Jin Meng visits Antarctica looking for fossilized ancient animals—but he’s always ready to take a few photos of the extant wildlife as well!
You can see amazing images from expeditions, behind-the-scenes, and more on the Museum’s Instagram and Snapchat accounts. Come follow along and don’t miss a thing!