COPYRIGHT NOTICE:  All photographs appearing on this site are the property of Michael Furtman. These photographs are protected by U.S. copyright laws and have been registered with the U.S. Copyright office. They are not to be downloaded or reproduced in any way, without written permission. By entering this site you accept these terms.



March 15 through April 19 -- My photography will be on display at the Jaques Art Center in Aitkin, MN. Thirty-five of my favorite images in large print form for your viewing enjoyment. Please stop in for a visit!

Welcome! 
From this page you can access various wildlife and nature photo pages.

Click on a gallery below, which will open a new browser page. 
To return here, simply close that page! 

This page and the following galleries are best viewed at a resolution of at least 1024 x 768.
This page updated on 3/12/08

My Photos On Magazine Covers


                      

 


JUST MALLARDS!

Here's my tribute to the Mallard Duck -- three galleries below for your enjoyment.

Mallards In Flight

Mallard Broods

Mallard Portraits and Behavior

 


DABBLING DUCKS

This gallery contains images of dabbling (puddle) ducks, so named because they feed by tipping up and dabbling on the bottom with their bills. You'll find all the dabbling ducks I've photographed, with the exception of mallards, which have their own galleries to the left. Enjoy!


 


DIVING DUCKS

This gallery will take you to the world of diving ducks, mergansers and stiff-tailed ducks (the Ruddy duck).
 


GEESE AND SWANS

The above link will take you to my gallery of images of Canada Geese, as well as both Tundra and Trumpeter Swans.




Jaques Exhibition -- Thirty-five Of My Favorite Images

I'm very excited about my photo exhibition at the Jaques Art Center in Aitkin, MN. Named after famed artists Francis Lee Jaques and his wife, Florence Page Jaques, the gallery is located in Aitkin, MN. My photography will be on display until April 19th, and I share the space with photographers Michael Paulbeck and Ralph LaPlant.

Click HERE to see the images that are on display!




RAPTORS

With all the time I've spent hanging around at Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory in Duluth (a great place, by the way, for viewing the raptor migration September through November), and roaming around Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota, I've gathered a lot of hawk, falcon, osprey and eagle photos. This gallery will give you a feel for these dynamic birds.





 

PERCHING BIRDS

Few things enrich our lives more than the grace and beauty of birds. Here's a gallery of "perching birds" -- wrens, finches, warblers, woodpeckers and the like. I hope this gallery brings you some of the same joy these marvelous creatures bring to our every day lives!




WATER BIRDS

Whether found on the shores, wading in a marsh, or flying over a lake, all the birds in this gallery are associated with water -- herons, gulls, cranes, shorebirds and the like. Enjoy your visit!

 




OWLS

I've had the opportunity now to photograph several species of owls, many of them in action hunting scenes. I hope you enjoy these images!

 

 

Whitetails
Through The Seasons

I've been photographing white-tailed deer now for about three years. Nearly all of these photos are of wild deer in unfenced woodlands. A few are shots of opportunity -- deer I've seen while photographing something else. None are of captive animals. Here's an updated gallery of these remarkable animals in winter, spring, summer and fall. Enjoy! 

 
 



The Peregrines Of Downtown Duluth:
Gallery One
Gallery Two

Feeling a bit like Spiderman, I spent part of summer 2006 climbing around on rooftops taking photos of the peregrine falcons that nested on the side of the Greysolon Plaza in Downtown Duluth. The pair managed to fledge four offspring -- two males and two females. 

 



Banding The Peregrine Chicks Of Downtown Duluth

The peregrine falcon pair in the galleries to the right have returned to the Greysolon Plaza in Downtown Duluth. The photos in the above gallery are of the capture and banding of the 2007 hatchlings.

You can follow the progress of these young peregrines at the Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory website.

 



Flowers and
Insects

What's there to say? They are everywhere, they are beautiful, and we're lucky to have them!


Click HERE to go to the story about, and photo gallery of, the White Barred Owl of Hunter's Park, Duluth, MN!



Only two of these rare creatures have ever been seen!



Labrador Retriever
at Work


My late, sorely missed black lab, Wigeon, does her thing on land and at sea (OK, lakes and potholes!).



Wild Duluth!

I am fortunate to live and work in a beautiful and wild city. All of the wildlife photos in this new gallery were shot in Duluth, or in the St. Louis River Estuary (meaning a few might be from neighboring Wisconsin).


 


 

 



Images of the
 Boundary Waters 
and Quetico

My heart was lost early in life to the magic of Canoe Country!



 

 

Camera, Lens & Computer Program Reviews!

Photography Tips!

Want to learn more about digital photography, digital editing, what equipment or computer programs work and don't work? Confused about PPI, DPI, Resolution and the rest?

Then Click HERE for my Digital Photography News and Views section.

Beautiful Screensavers For Your Computer!

Absolutely delicious screensavers to comfort your weary eyes! Owls, Canoe Country, and MORE. Free trial versions!

Click HERE!


 

Now you can order fine art prints of any photograph in these galleries. To learn more, just click HERE.

 


 

EDITORS:
To purchase or review these photographs for publishing purposes, contact me via email, HERE.

there are no images of captive animals (other than of my dog!) on this website.

NONE of the wild animals or birds you'll see in my galleries are "rental" animals. A great many "wildlife" photographers make a career out of shooting tame critters at impoundments that cater to these photographers. Some of these places will even haul animals hundreds of miles and set up staged shots.

Wildlife photography, in my opinion, besides producing beautiful images, serves vital purposes. It portrays animals in their natural setting performing natural behaviors, which educates the public. And by extension, showing these creatures in the places they live doing the things they naturally do, real wildlife photography encourages conservation of the habitats in which they thrive.

There is no guarantee that rental animals are behaving in a natural manner, even when placed in a natural setting. While a stunning photo of a rent-a-wolf or some other animal may encourage the viewer to support conservation, there is also the risk that by making these photos so common (there are literally tens of thousands of images out there of wolves, mountain lions, and other animals whose habitat has shrunk) people may assume that because the images are numerous, the animals and their habitats are numerous and secure. Nothing is further from the truth.

If you are about to purchase a photo for your wall, or for your magazine, you owe it to yourself to find out if the animal was captive and the scene staged. I believe the portrayal of captive animals as wild animals is no different than passing off a work of fiction as non-fiction.

 

Please note! There are no free images available on this site.

All images are protected by copyright and remain the legal property of the photographer. None of the material on this site should be considered public domain.

Many of these images are invisibly watermarked and this website logs all unauthorized attempts to remove images without permission. Any attempt to download images without the permission of the owner is considered theft and will be vigorously pursued as such.

The images on display on this site are, however, available by license to genuine commercial users, and as prints to consumers. Commercial interests should contact me HERE. Individuals interested in fine art prints should read THIS.
 

 


COPYRIGHT NOTICE:  All photographs appearing on this site are the property of Michael Furtman. These photographs are protected by U.S. copyright laws and have been registered with the U.S. Copyright office. They are not to be downloaded or reproduced in any way, without written permission. By entering this site you accept these terms.