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A sleeping squirrel stretches out on a bench in Florida, the United States. This is just one of the many quirky sights wildlife photographer Joanne Williams has captured over nearly two decades. The Florida-based photographer has now collected together some of her favourite images in preparation for not one, but two books showcasing her work. Her career has seen her lead tours to some of the planet's most exotic places - ranging from the wetlands of Brazil to the Galapagos Islands, as well as a number of countries in Africa.
Williams
Her work is notable for capturing almost human behavioural traits in members of the animal kingdom. Joanne explains: "Very often I shoot spontaneously and quickly with little forethought, as most of the time my subjects move at great speed and the action would be over if I stopped to think why or if I should I take the shot. But there is one common thread in a lot of my work, which is my deliberate act of 'humanising' much of what I see and shoot, usually with humour."
A green-headed tanager looks at its own reflection in a car mirror in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2010
"A number of phrases and thoughts came to mind as I observed and photographed the yellow-billed oxpecker and zebra - most of them off-colour and crude - but overshadowing those thoughts and remarks was the amazing relationship between bird and beast, and how each has something to offer the other in life, and how each is indebted to the other. The oxpecker eats the nutritious, yet pesky, bugs from areas of the animal's body that otherwise would never be reached. Thus, one is fed while the other is cleaned. A simpatico pair." Joanne says.
A yellow-billed oxpecker helps a zebra with its personal hygiene, Kenya, 2010
"The giant sea lion appears to be kissing his own flipper as people often do when they are pleased with themselves," she says...
Sea lion, Galapagos Islands, May 2011
"...And why wouldn't the handsome male crested caracara admire the other handsome fellow on the other side of the puddle?"
A caracara admires its reflection in a puddle in Florida, US, May 2011
"And what adult human being can't relate to the finger action of this brown capuchin monkey? This is a universal human gesture dating back to the Roman Empire! (I looked it up!)"
A brown capuchin monkey appears to give a rude hand gesture in Pantanal, Brazil. May 2011
Joanne's photography has been featured in numerous magazines, she has won several awards and her work has been displayed in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC. To see more of her images and learn more about her tours and workshops, visit Joanne's website at: www.joannewilliamsphoto.com
A bat and Brugmansia flower (also known as Angel's Trumpet) in Pantanal, Brazil 2010
A burrowing owl twists its head round to stare at the camera in Pompano Beach, Florida, United States, May 2011
Dogs herding cattle on a ranch in Central Florida, US, 2010
A green tree frog sits on a water lily, Central Florida, United States, 2010
Baboons, Lake Nakuru, Kenya, Africa. 2010
Hyacinth macaws, Pantanal, Brazil 2010
Grasshopper, Panama, 2010
A ring-tail lemur investigates Joanne's camera in Madagascar
Chameleon, Madagascar. May 2011
A caiman mother allows her young to sit on her, Pantanal, Brazil, May 2011
A green tree frog looks out from behind a rose petal in Central Florida, United States, May 2011
Grasshopper in flower, Central Florida, US
