10/12 of #top12 Buffy Fish Owl Spreading its Wings  Foto: Jens Hauser

I got inspired so I thought of selecting my Top 12 photos of 2017. Some of them I selected because I liked the photo and others the experience in taking them but for all of them it is a way to remember some of the places I have visited but mostly the people I have met. My tenth photo is of a Buffy Fish Owl just before he is about to fly away. The timing, I think, is perfect as he has just spread his wings. I never like to use flash on a nocturnal animal because I know they react to the bright light. I prefer a spotting light as it shines less and it is easier to control where it hits the animal. The nocturnal animals always have big eyes as they are specialized in seeing in total darkness so you have to be quick and disturb the mammal as little as possible or they freak out and could even die. My special thanks go to Mike Gordon and the Adventure Alternative Borneo team because they can find almost whatever mammals, birds and even snakes you want to photograph. At the same time, they are extremely careful in treating the animals with respect because they know nature is delicate.