San Diego city skyline at sunrise, showing the buildings of downtown San Diego rising above San Diego Harbor, viewed from Harbor Island.
Location: San Diego, California
Image ID: 27889
Panorama dimensions: 3497 x 12426
The Second Wave at Sunset, Vermillion Cliffs. The Second Wave, a curiously-shaped sandstone swirl, takes on rich warm tones and dramatic shadowed textures at sunset. Set in the North Coyote Buttes of Arizona and Utah, the Second Wave is characterized by striations revealing layers of sedimentary deposits, a visible historical record depicting eons of submarine geology.
Location: North Coyote Buttes, Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Arizona
Image ID: 28613
Humpback whales surface together during coordinated bubble-net feeding in Southeast Alaska. The whales use bubbles, sound, and movement to corral fish before capturing them in their open mouths.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Sitka Sound, Alaska
Image ID: 41580
White southern right whale calf underwater, Eubalaena australis. About five per cent of southern right whales are born white due to a condition known as grey morphism and will gradually turn dark as they age. They are not albino (which is a complete lack of pigmentation). Sometimes referred to as "brindled", the white coloration is a recessive genetic trait and only lasts a few months. Typically, but not always, white calves will become much darker as they mature but will still be somewhat lighter than normal even as adults.
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Image ID: 35908
California brown pelican in flight, spreading wings wide to slow in anticipation of landing on seacliffs. Note the classic winter breeding plumage, with bright red throat, yellow and white head and neck, and brown hind neck. Other pelicans and cormorants at the periphery of the image hint at how crowded the cliff is with other birds.
Species: Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 36679
The Milky Way arches over Half Dome and the Yosemite High Country. Each year there are a couple nights where the Milky Way arches perfectly over Half Dome and the faint light of the milky way is perfectly balanced with a partial moon. I try to shoot this image each year, partly to improve upon past renditions but also simply to sit alone at night atop Glacier Point and savor the view.
Location: Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 37132
Panorama dimensions: 5241 x 9296
Mother and calf southern right whales underwater. The calf swims close to its mother but, if the mother is accepting, the calf will be allowed to come close to the photographer and check him out.
Species: Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Location: Puerto Piramides, Chubut, Argentina
Image ID: 38309
Purple is the new Black. Anthias swarm around a huge purple sea fan gorgonian which lies perpendicular to prevailing currents so that it can capture plankton passing by. Gorgonians and Hard Corals on Tropical Coral Reef, Fiji Islands.
Species: Gorgonian, Gorgonacea
Location: Namena Marine Reserve, Namena Island, Fiji
Image ID: 41026
Humpback whales bubblenet feeding in Southeast Alaska. Coordinated bubble-net feeding is a specialized cooperative feeding technique used by humpback whales, where a group of whales works together to trap fish or krill in a net of bubbles then lunge through to feed.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Sitka Sound, Alaska
Image ID: 40921
Dusk settles on downtown San Diego with snow-covered Mount Laguna in the distance.
Location: San Diego, California
Image ID: 26716
Bull elephant seal exits the water to retake his position on the beach. He shows considerable scarring on his chest and proboscis from many winters fighting other males for territory and rights to a harem of females. Sandy beach rookery, winter, Central California.
Species: Elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris
Location: Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, California
Image ID: 15458
Ancient Douglas fir trees in Cathedral Grove. Cathedral Grove is home to huge, ancient, old-growth Douglas fir trees. About 300 years ago a fire killed most of the trees in this grove, but a small number of trees survived and were the originators of what is now Cathedral Grove. Western redcedar trees grow in adundance in the understory below the taller Douglas fir trees.
Species: Douglas fir tree, Pseudotsuga menziesii
Location: Cathedral Grove, MacMillan Provincial Park, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
Image ID: 22456
Panorama dimensions: 9702 x 3043
The Virgin River flows by autumn cottonwood trees, part of the Virgin River Narrows. This is a fantastic hike in fall with the comfortable temperatures, beautiful fall colors and light crowds.
Location: Virgin River Narrows, Zion National Park, Utah
Image ID: 26096