It's World Water Day 2023

It’s World Water Day, a day to reflect on the importance of water and think about how we can help address challenges.

Mallards on foggy pond

I’ve spent much of this year trying to find new appreciation for the ordinary. It’s been the only way to stay safely productive. And while I certainly miss new experiences and exotic locations, trying to see things I know well with a more creative eye has been a wonderful experience of its own.

Behind the scenes: Bioluminescence, Mosquito Bay, Vieques

Whether you call it Mosquito Bay, Bahía Bioluminiscente or something else, the bioluminescent bay on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques is the world’s brightest. The Guinness Book of World Records says so.

The glow comes from dinoflagellates, which are not particularly rare. They’re a type of plankton and are found in most ocean water. What makes Mosquito Bay special, however, is how concentrated they are there.

Nature around the world, yet close to home

There’s no question that I’m passionate about national parks. It was my childhood trips to national parks that provided me with my appreciation of nature. As an adult, national parks have provided no end of creative inspiration.

But for most people, most of the time — myself included — it’s community parks where they get most of their time with nature. And a recent trip to Brussels, Belgium, reminded me how wondrous those local parks can be.

Show your work: Niagara Falls

We live in an age where virtually everyone is a published photographer. Many people now take photos every day. Most of these are quick snapshots to show off where they are, themselves or their dinner. Seconds later they’re published on social media for all the world to see.

There has never been a time when we’ve taken so many photos — and thought so little about taking them. So as someone who painstakingly crafts images, trying to produce a few that truly matter, I think it’s helpful to share the process that resulted in them. Those rare gems are usually the result of a lot of work.

The most colorful show on Earth

As the leaves along the Cedar River in Washington state turn from green to yellow, gold, orange, and red, people walking along the river's banks may not notice there's an equally colorful display just under the water's surface. As the leaves change color, so, too, do the sockeye salmon returning to the river after spending the past couple years at sea.

The other side of water lilies

It's May in the Seattle arboretum. Woodpeckers and flickers are finishing their nests in brittle trees. Mallard ducks are taking their newly hatched ducklings for their first swims. And water lilies are beginning to turn the open water into a maze of lanes.

Icy Falls Redux

I realize it was only a couple months ago that I wrote about photographing frozen waterfalls without actually showing the waterfall in the image. Shortly after I posted that, Washington state was hit with another week-long deep freeze, and I got the opportunity to create images like that again.

Waterfalls without falling water

Is a waterfall still a waterfall if the water is frozen in place?

Pools of gold

It’s impossible for me to pick a favorite part of Iceland, so I’m not even going to try. I’ve probably been to Geysir, however, more than any other part.

A tripod with sea legs

People often ask me what they can do to improve their images. Often, I reply, "Get a tripod."

I'm a firm believer in tripods, so to speak. They allow you to capture sharp images that could be impossible to capture with shaky hands. They also slow you down. In the time it takes to set up your equipment, you can also think about whether your first idea for a composition is really the best it can be. Nearly all of my images were captured from a tripod.

This one wasn't. And it wouldn't be anywhere near as good if it had been.

Desert storm

Zebra Slot, Escalante, Utah

It rains in the desert. And when it does, it rains hard.

It's the little things

The best laid plans in nature photography don't always work out. OK, they rarely work out.

It's waterfall season

It’s spring in the northern hemisphere. Snow is melting in the mountains, and nearly-April rains are adding to the river flows. A lot of waterfalls are pretty impressive now.

Low Tide, High Potential

Over the next few days, you have an incredible opportunity to photographic things that would normally be way under the sea. We’ll get some of the lowest tides of the year Monday and Tuesday.

Temperatures Rise, Water Falls

As the temperature warms and the snow melts, it's a great time to photograph waterfalls.