Portfolio photos

Kelp fronds and pneumatocysts. Pneumatocysts, gas-filled bladders, float the kelp plant off the ocean bottom toward the surface and sunlight, where the leaf-like blades and stipes of the kelp plant grow fastest. Giant kelp can grow up to 2' in a single day given optimal conditions. Epic submarine forests of kelp grow throughout California's Southern Channel Islands.
Species: Giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera
Location: San Clemente Island, California
Image ID: 25396  

Eureka Dunes. The Eureka Valley Sand Dunes are California's tallest sand dunes, and one of the tallest in the United States. Rising 680' above the floor of the Eureka Valley, the Eureka sand dunes are home to several endangered species, as well as "singing sand" that makes strange sounds when it shifts. Located in the remote northern portion of Death Valley National Park, the Eureka Dunes see very few visitors.
Location: Eureka Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 25250  

Star trails and Arch Rock. Polaris, the North Star, is at the center of the circular arc star trails as they pass above this natural stone archway in Joshua Tree National Park.
Location: Alabama Hills Recreational Area, California
Image ID: 27709  

Balanced Rock and Milky Way stars at night. (Note: this image was created before a ban on light-painting in Arches National Park was put into effect. Light-painting is no longer permitted in Arches National Park).
Location: Balanced Rock, Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 27835  

Magellanic penguins, coming ashore on a sandy beach. Magellanic penguins can grow to 30" tall, 14 lbs and live over 25 years. They feed in the water, preying on cuttlefish, sardines, squid, krill, and other crustaceans.
Species: Magellanic penguin, Spheniscus magellanicus
Location: New Island, Falkland Islands, United Kingdom
Image ID: 23924  

Wandering albatross in flight, over the open sea. The wandering albatross has the largest wingspan of any living bird, with the wingspan between, up to 12' from wingtip to wingtip. It can soar on the open ocean for hours at a time, riding the updrafts from individual swells, with a glide ratio of 22 units of distance for every unit of drop. The wandering albatross can live up to 23 years. They hunt at night on the open ocean for cephalopods, small fish, and crustaceans. The survival of the species is at risk due to mortality from long-line fishing gear.
Species: Wandering albatross, Diomedea exulans
Location: Southern Ocean
Image ID: 24071  

King penguin, showing ornate and distinctive neck, breast and head plumage and orange beak.
Species: King penguin, Aptenodytes patagonicus
Location: Fortuna Bay, South Georgia Island
Image ID: 24581  

A sliding rock of the Racetrack Playa. The sliding rocks, or sailing stones, move across the mud flats of the Racetrack Playa, leaving trails behind in the mud. The explanation for their movement is not known with certainty, but many believe wind pushes the rocks over wet and perhaps icy mud in winter.
Location: Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 25239  

Bald eagle in flight, wing spread, soaring.
Species: Bald eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Haliaeetus leucocephalus washingtoniensis
Location: Kachemak Bay, Homer, Alaska
Image ID: 22604  

Yellow cottonwood trees in autumn, fall colors in the Virgin River Narrows in Zion National Park.
Location: Virgin River Narrows, Zion National Park, Utah
Image ID: 26090  

Mount Rainier is reflected in Upper Tipsoo Lake.
Location: Tipsoo Lakes, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
Image ID: 13834  

Narada Falls cascades down a cliff, with the flow blurred by a time exposure. Narada Falls is a 188 foot (57m) waterfall in Mount Rainier National Park.
Location: Narada Falls, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
Image ID: 13843  

San Diego city skyline at dusk, viewed from Harbor Island, the Star of India at right.
Location: San Diego, California
Image ID: 14533  

Breaking wave, early morning surf.
Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California
Image ID: 19404  

Adelie penguin on an iceberg.
Species: Adelie penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae
Location: Brown Bluff, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica
Image ID: 25006  

Blue whale feeding on krill underwater closeup photo. A picture of a blue whale with its throat pleats inflated with a mouthful of krill.
Species: Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus
Location: California
Image ID: 27309  

Mount Rainier is reflected in the calm waters of Reflection Lake, early morning.
Location: Reflection Lake, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
Image ID: 13852  

Salt polygons. After winter flooding, the salt on the Badwater Basin playa dries into geometric polygonal shapes.
Location: Badwater, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 25242  

Racetrack Playa, an ancient lake now dried and covered with dessicated mud.
Location: Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 25264  

God Beams, clouds and afternoon light over the Pacific Ocean.
Location: Del Mar, California
Image ID: 28479  

Light Beam in Upper Antelope Slot Canyon. Thin shafts of light briefly penetrate the convoluted narrows of Upper Antelope Slot Canyon, sending piercing beams through the sandstone maze to the sand floor below.
Location: Navajo Tribal Lands, Page, Arizona
Image ID: 28564  

A giant sequoia tree, soars skyward from the forest floor, lit by the morning sun and surrounded by other sequioas. The massive trunk characteristic of sequoia trees is apparent, as is the crown of foliage starting high above the base of the tree.
Species: Giant sequoia tree, Sequoiadendron giganteum
Location: Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 23259  

Broken Hill with the Pacific Ocean in the distance. Broken Hill is an ancient, compacted sand dune that was uplifted to its present location and is now eroding.
Location: Torrey Pines State Reserve, San Diego, California
Image ID: 14758  

Sunset at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, with sandhill cranes silhouetted in reflection in the calm pond. Spectacular sunsets at Bosque del Apache, rich in reds, oranges, yellows and purples, make for striking reflections of the thousands of cranes and geese found in the refuge each winter.
Species: Sandhill crane, Grus canadensis
Location: Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Socorro, New Mexico
Image ID: 21804  

California poppy plants viewed from the perspective of a bug walking below the bright orange blooms.
Species: California poppy, Eschscholtzia californica, Eschscholzia californica
Location: Del Dios, San Diego, California
Image ID: 20539  

Ferns grow below coastal redwood and Douglas Fir trees, Lady Bird Johnson Grove, Redwood National Park. The coastal redwood, or simply 'redwood', is the tallest tree on Earth, reaching a height of 379' and living 3500 years or more. It is native to coastal California and the southwestern corner of Oregon within the United States, but most concentrated in Redwood National and State Parks in Northern California, found close to the coast where moisture and soil conditions can support its unique size and growth requirements.
Species: California redwood, Coast redwood, Giant redwood, Sequoia sempervirens
Location: Redwood National Park, California
Image ID: 25796  

Eureka Sand Dunes, infrared black and white. The Eureka Dunes are California's tallest sand dunes, and one of the tallest in the United States. Rising 680' above the floor of the Eureka Valley, the Eureka sand dunes are home to several endangered species, as well as "singing sand" that makes strange sounds when it shifts.
Location: Eureka Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California
Image ID: 25278  

Gentoo penguin coming ashore, after foraging at sea, walking through ocean water as it wades onto a sand beach. Adult gentoo penguins grow to be 30" and 19lb in size. They feed on fish and crustaceans. Gentoo penguins reside in colonies well inland from the ocean, often formed of a circular collection of stones gathered by the penguins.
Species: Gentoo penguin, Pygoscelis papua
Location: New Island, Falkland Islands, United Kingdom
Image ID: 23828  

Giant sequoia trees, roots spreading outward at the base of each massive tree, rise from the shaded forest floor.
Species: Giant sequoia tree, Sequoiadendron giganteum
Location: Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 23258  

Cathedral Range peaks reflected in the still waters of Townsley Lake at sunrise.
Location: Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 25764