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I am a natural history photographer. I enjoy making compelling images in the ocean, on land, and in the air. I have maintained the Natural History Photography blog since 2005 and my searchable Natural History Photography Library since 1997. Here are some tear sheets and behind the scenes views. Thanks for looking!

Braking to Land Pelicans of La JollaSeabird

Braking to Land

This morning offered about 30 minutes of good light before the clouds took the sun away. Here are a few of photographs of brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) returning from the ocean where they have been foraging for food, spreading their large wings wide as they brake to land on…
December 16, 2012
New Work – October 2012 New Work

New Work – October 2012

I've been remiss about publishing my new photography and have only released two groups of images on my website in 2012. Tracy and I are about to head off for some R&R in Paris and I figured I should publish a blog post about my new photographs before we leave.…
October 18, 2012
Delicate Arch and Milky Way Stars at Night, Arches National Park, Utah ArchesAstrophotography and Night ScapesThe American SouthwestUtah

Delicate Arch and Milky Way Stars at Night, Arches National Park, Utah

Delicate Arch at Night, Milky Way and Stars Overhead. Arches National Park, Utah. I spent a wonderful evening photographing Delicate Arch in Arches National Park. It was warm and dry, with a clear star-filled sky overhead and just a speck of breeze. I photographed Delicate Arch and the moon at…
October 15, 2012
Pillar of Stone, Milky Way, Stars and Clouds, Arches National Park, Utah ArchesAstrophotography and Night ScapesThe American SouthwestUtah

Pillar of Stone, Milky Way, Stars and Clouds, Arches National Park, Utah

This sandstone pillar in Arches National Park, which probably has an official name, looks to me like an enormous totem pole. I photographed it at night with a short enough exposure to freeze the stars but long enough that the quick moving clouds blurred across the sky. Lighting was tough…
October 11, 2012
Balanced Rock and Milky Way at Night, Arches National Park, Utah ArchesAstrophotography and Night ScapesThe American SouthwestUtah

Balanced Rock and Milky Way at Night, Arches National Park, Utah

Balanced Rock at Night, Arches National Park Balanced Rock rises 128' (39m) above the surrounding land, just off the main road in Arches National Park. It is an outstanding example of erosion and sandstone layering. The precariously perched capstone rock is made of harder sandstone than the layers beneath. As…
October 8, 2012
A Taste of Fall Color CaliforniaSierra Nevada

A Taste of Fall Color

Tracy and I will be looking for fall colors in a different place this autumn: Paris and the Loire Valley. A friend who has just returned from Paris says the Luxembourg Gardens are in magnificent bloom and trees should be turning along the Seine, so we are hopeful for some…
October 7, 2012
Milky Way Over Mesa Arch, Panorama, Canyonlands National Park Astrophotography and Night ScapesCanyonlandsPanoramasThe American SouthwestUtah

Milky Way Over Mesa Arch, Panorama, Canyonlands National Park

Panoramic Photo of the Milky Way Arcing Over Mesa Arch, Canyonlands National Park, Utah Earlier this year I spent an evening photographing Mesa Arch, the famous and oft-pictured natural stone arch at the precipice of Canyonlands National Park. I photographed Mesa Arch at sunrise twice previously -- quite fortunately alone…
October 2, 2012
Tower of Babel and Starry Night, Arches National Park, Utah ArchesAstrophotography and Night ScapesThe American SouthwestUtah

Tower of Babel and Starry Night, Arches National Park, Utah

Stars over the Tower of Babel, Arches National Park, Utah The Tower of Babel is one of the most imposing and distinctive sandstone structures in Arches National Park. An enormous narrow freestanding wall or "fin" of Entrada sandstone, the Tower of Babel may, over the course of eons, erode into…
September 27, 2012
Landscape Arch and Milky Way at Night, Arches National Park, Utah ArchesAstrophotography and Night ScapesThe American SouthwestUtah

Landscape Arch and Milky Way at Night, Arches National Park, Utah

Landscape Arch and Milky Way at Night, Arches National Park, Utah Landscape Arch in Arches National Park, Utah, is considered to be the longest natural arch in the world, having a span of 290 feet (89m) . Landscape Arch is gradually falling apart, with at least three sections of the…
September 26, 2012
Sunrise Color at the Wedge Surf

Sunrise Color at the Wedge

Today I was fortunate to meet one of the surf world's great filmmakers: Jack McCoy. He introduced himself to me while I was standing on the sand waking up and waiting for the sun to rise before heading out in the water. A tall, quiet man with a quick smile,…
August 20, 2012
Newport Surf Photos Surf

Newport Surf Photos

I tested out my latest Del Mar Surf Housing this morning. I had great light for about 20 minutes right at sunrise, then swam around for a few hours trying to photograph the set waves. I wish I was about 20 years younger, I feel pretty worked over. Thanks for…
August 18, 2012
Patience at Dusk Beautiful Views of San DiegoSurf

Patience at Dusk

Blood Red Sunset, Surfers waiting for waves, Encinitas, California. These guys were enjoying the last hour of light, waiting around under the deepening red dusky sky, catching a few waves. Encinitas, California. Two surfers at sunset, blood red dusk, Encinitas. Image ID: 27976 Location: Encinitas, California, USA
August 17, 2012
International Conservation Photography Awards 2012 Environmental ProblemsSea LionSea of CortezUnderwater LifeUnderwater Photography

International Conservation Photography Awards 2012

Art Wolfe hosts the biennial International Conservation Photography Awards ("ICP Awards"). One of my images was honored in the 2010 edition of the competition, so I decided to try again this year. My photograph of a young California sea lion entangled in monofilament fishing line, taken in the Espiritu Santo…
August 15, 2012
Ancient Bristlecone Pine Trees, Pinus longaeva, White Mountains, Inyo National Forest Astrophotography and Night ScapesCaliforniaTreesWhite Mountains

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Trees, Pinus longaeva, White Mountains, Inyo National Forest

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Trees, Pinus longaeva, White Mountains, Inyo National Forest Ancient Bristlecone pine trees (Pinus longaeva) live in a relatively restricted area of eastern California, Nevada and Utah, typically at altitudes above 9500'. The ancient bristlecone pine tree is considered to be the world's oldest species of tree (and…
June 12, 2012
New Surf Photos? Surf

New Surf Photos?

I've decided to renew my surf photography efforts this year, using the new Canon 5D Mark III camera as the workhorse. I am having my surf housing retooled to work with this camera, along with the 15mm fisheye and 16-35mm f/2.8 zoom, and will have it fitted with flash capability…
June 6, 2012
New Work – May 2012 New Work

New Work – May 2012

I have posted a collection of newly released photographs from February through May 2012. Included are many night photographs including some from Yosemite, Joshua Tree National Park, Los Angeles and the ancient bristlecone pines of Inyo National Forest. Please take a gander: New Work - May 2012. Thanks for looking!…
May 31, 2012