Lumholtz's Tree Kangaroo

[greg cowle]

First time I have found a wild tree kangaroo. They live high in the mabi forest canopy, so lens tilted up at a steep angle, and trying to find an opening for a clear shot is hard. At least in a heavy storm the sky isn't as bright in the background... She is not really a fatty as she looks, but has a large joey in the pouch. I do have a shot with the joey's head, but in the pouring rain. Until next time.
400mm, 1/640, f4, ISO1600.
Lumholtz's are the smaller of the two tree kangaroos, which are only in the north of Australia and PNG. They have the longest tails of kangaroos, used for balance, and strong arms and claws for climbing.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Greg,

Oh my, she is so cute! Thank you for this image as well as informative intro - first time for me to see a tree kangaroo and I admit I did not know the species existed:tinysmile_shy_t: You must have struggled to photograph this little one like I did with wild cats, too many leaves and branches in the way. And you managed to include the long tail - well done!

Despite this being a rather "busy" frame I think it's great that you were able to capture the species in its environment. Don't know if I can suggest anything in terms of PP work, thinking maybe adding a very faint vignette - or perhaps a bit of blur applied on the edges might be beneficial, but I am just guessing. I would also try a vertical composition, see what happens:)

Would really love to see a little joey...hope you have more opportunities to photograph the species. Love the big pouch here, as well as mom's muscular limbs and claws. Colours look good. I am going to do some reading tonight to find out what the tree kangaroo eats and what their habits are:bg3:

Many thanks for sharing,

Kind regards,

[Jonathan Ashton]

I like the presentation it can't be easy to get a clear shot, I think you did well, the large bough leads nicely to the kangaroo. As soon as I saw her I guessed there was a pretty big joey tucked away! Nice to see something different I don't think we've had one on the forum before.

[greg cowle]

Thanks for the comments Jonathan and Gabriela. I have attached an image in which you can see the joey's head. It is quite big. This was taken in the pouring rain as I first spotted her, not a great image, but hopefully informative.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Awww, is he so tiny and cute! Mini Roo:bg3:

Thank you for this, hope you have a lovely week-end Greg!

Kind regards,

[haseeb badar]

Hi Greg -- First time for me to witness something like this. Never seen this subject before . Nicely presented , where the environment depicts its habitat but it is more of record shot considering the bright highlights and the FG leaves as somewhat distracting elements.

I quite like the second image with joey's head peeping out and rain as an additional element.

TFS !

[John Mack]

Never heard of a tree kanaroo until now. Like the setting. Long tail on this one. Like the second pose with the with of the little one peeking out.

[greg cowle]

Hi Haseeb, you will never see these guys walking into an open space in the soft evening light, this is their habitat. I liken it to photographing lemurs or tree-dwelling primates, you are almost always shooting towards the sky, so highlights are unavoidable. Actually lemurs and primates will often swing into open space as they are far more agile than a tree kangaroo, these guys will always be on a solid branch. So yes and no on your record shot - I certainly won't be printing it to put on my wall, but it is better than the image in my field guide to mammals in Australia. So until next time!