Natural History Photography

North Pacific humpback whales, a mother and calf pair swim closely together just under the surface of the ocean. The calf will remain with its mother for about a year, migrating from Hawaii to Alaska to feed on herring.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 00140

Humpback whale breaching, near Molokai, Hawaii. Megaptera novaeangliae. It is suspected the breaching often has a communicative purpose which depends on the behavioral context of the moment.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 00205

Guadalupe fur seal, floating upside down under the ocean's surface at Guadalupe Island, watching the photographer and looking for passing predators.
Species: Guadalupe fur seal, Arctocephalus townsendi
Location: Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 02114

Male elk bugling during the fall rut. Large male elk are known as bulls. Male elk have large antlers which are shed each year. Male elk engage in competitive mating behaviors during the rut, including posturing, antler wrestling and bugling, a loud series of screams which is intended to establish dominance over other males and attract females.
Species: Elk, Cervus canadensis
Location: Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 19693

Extended High Mountain pose, Utthita Tadasana, sunrise on Mesa Arch, Utah. An exuberant hiker greets the dawning sun from atop Mesa Arch, Island in the Sky, Canyonlands National Park

Extended High Mountain pose, Utthita Tadasana, sunrise on Mesa Arch, Utah. An exuberant hiker greets the dawning sun from atop Mesa Arch.
Location: Island in the Sky, Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Image ID: 18036

Full grown, mature male coastal brown bear boar (grizzly bear) in sedge grass meadows, Ursus arctos, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska

Full grown, mature male coastal brown bear boar (grizzly bear) in sedge grass meadows.
Species: Brown bear, Ursus arctos
Location: Lake Clark National Park, Alaska
Image ID: 19134

A Florida manatee, or West Indian Manatee, swims slowly through the clear waters of Crystal River, Trichechus manatus, Three Sisters Springs

A Florida manatee, or West Indian Manatee, swims slowly through the clear waters of Crystal River.
Species: West indian manatee, Trichechus manatus
Location: Three Sisters Springs, Crystal River, Florida
Image ID: 02696

Portrait of a young brown bear, pausing while grazing in tall sedge grass. Brown bears can consume 30 lbs of sedge grass daily, waiting weeks until spawning salmon fill the rivers.
Species: Brown bear, Ursus arctos
Location: Lake Clark National Park, Alaska
Image ID: 19135

Hiker in North Window, sunset, western face. North Window is a natural sandstone arch 90 feet wide and 48 feet high, Arches National Park, Utah

Hiker in North Window, sunset, western face. North Window is a natural sandstone arch 90 feet wide and 48 feet high.
Location: North Window, Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 18159

Galapagos shark swims over a reef in the Galapagos Islands, with schooling fish in the distance, Carcharhinus galapagensis, Wolf Island

Galapagos shark swims over a reef in the Galapagos Islands, with schooling fish in the distance.
Species: Galapagos shark, Carcharhinus galapagensis
Location: Wolf Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Image ID: 16240

A great white shark swims through the clear waters of Isla Guadalupe, far offshore of the Pacific Coast of Mexico's Baja California. Guadalupe Island is host to a concentration of large great white sharks, which visit the island to feed on pinnipeds and use it as a staging area before journeying farther into the Pacific ocean.
Species: Great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias
Location: Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 19465

Brown booby flying over Rose Atoll at sunset, with dark colorful storm clouds and other birds in the background, Sula leucogaster, Rose Atoll National Wildlife Sanctuary

Brown booby flying over Rose Atoll at sunset, with dark colorful storm clouds and other birds in the background.
Species: Brown booby, Sula leucogaster
Location: Rose Atoll National Wildlife Sanctuary, American Samoa
Image ID: 00914

A white tern, or fairy tern, alights on a branch at Rose Atoll in American Samoa, Gygis alba, Rose Atoll National Wildlife Sanctuary

A white tern, or fairy tern, alights on a branch at Rose Atoll in American Samoa.
Species: Fairy tern, Gygis alba
Location: Rose Atoll National Wildlife Sanctuary, American Samoa
Image ID: 00871

A hiker admiring the striated walls and dramatic light within Antelope Canyon, a deep narrow slot canyon formed by water and wind erosion, Navajo Tribal Lands, Page, Arizona

A hiker admiring the striated walls and dramatic light within Antelope Canyon, a deep narrow slot canyon formed by water and wind erosion.
Location: Navajo Tribal Lands, Page, Arizona
Image ID: 17993

A blue shark swims through the open ocean in search of prey, backlit by the sunset, Prionace glauca, San Diego, California

A blue shark swims through the open ocean in search of prey, backlit by the sunset.
Species: Blue shark, Prionace glauca
Location: San Diego, California
Image ID: 02286

Caribbean reef shark, ampullae of Lorenzini visible on snout, Carcharhinus perezi

Caribbean reef shark, ampullae of Lorenzini visible on snout.
Species: Caribbean reef shark, Carcharhinus perezi
Location: Bahamas
Image ID: 10550

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 bright orange garibaldi fish, California's state marine fish, is also clownlike in appearance, Hypsypops rubicundus

The bright orange garibaldi fish, California's state marine fish, is also clownlike in appearance.
Species: Garibaldi, Hypsypops rubicundus
Location: California
Image ID: 02416

Self portrait in kelp forest, Catalina Island, Macrocystis pyrifera

Self portrait in kelp forest, Catalina Island.
Species: Giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera
Location: Catalina Island, California
Image ID: 37274

Two adult female California Sea Lions, Portrait, La Jolla, Zalophus californianus

Two adult female California Sea Lions, Portrait, La Jolla.
Species: California sea lion, Zalophus californianus
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 36811

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

The Milky Way galaxy arches over Arch Rock on a clear evening in Joshua Tree National Park.
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 26792

Guadalupe fur seal pup sits on brown rocks along the coastline of Guadalupe Island, Arctocephalus townsendi, Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe)

Guadalupe fur seal pup sits on brown rocks along the coastline of Guadalupe Island.
Species: Guadalupe fur seal, Arctocephalus townsendi
Location: Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 02441

California brown pelican, portrait in pink-purple predawn light, rests on sandstone seabluff. The characteristic mating plumage of the California race of brown pelican is shown, with red gular throat pouch and dark brown hindneck colors.
Species: Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California
Image ID: 23646

Self portrait at sunrise, panorama of Crater Lake. Crater Lake is the six-mile wide lake inside the collapsed caldera of volcanic Mount Mazama. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States and the seventh-deepest in the world. Its maximum recorded depth is 1996 feet (608m). It lies at an altitude of 6178 feet (1880m).
Location: Crater Lake National Park, Oregon
Image ID: 19130
Panorama dimensions: 2726 x 9677

Black bear walking in a grassy meadow. Black bears can live 25 years or more, and range in color from deepest black to chocolate and cinnamon brown. Adult males typically weigh up to 600 pounds. Adult females weight up to 400 pounds and reach sexual maturity at 3 or 4 years of age. Adults stand about 3' tall at the shoulder.
Species: American black bear, Ursus americanus
Location: Orr, Minnesota
Image ID: 18744

A huge blue whale swims through the open ocean in this aerial photograph. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to live on Earth, Balaenoptera musculus

A huge blue whale swims through the open ocean in this aerial photograph. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to live on Earth.
Species: Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus
Image ID: 02169

North Pacific humpback whale, escort in competitive group makes fast close pass, Megaptera novaeangliae, Maui

North Pacific humpback whale, escort in competitive group makes fast close pass.
Species: Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Location: Maui, Hawaii
Image ID: 06057

Aerial photo of gray whale calf and mother. This baby gray whale was born during the southern migration, far to the north of the Mexican lagoons of Baja California where most gray whale births take place.
Species: Gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus
Location: San Clemente, California
Image ID: 29017

Hiker views Vogelsang Lake, and Vogelsang Peak (11516') at sunrise in Yosemite's High Sierra, Yosemite National Park, California

Hiker views Vogelsang Lake, and Vogelsang Peak (11516') at sunrise in Yosemite's High Sierra.
Location: Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 23201

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