Tuesday, November 30, 2021

Lava tubes of the American West

Two Tubes, Ape Cave, Washington

The American West is home to about a dozen majestic volcanoes. Most of the time we appreciate their towering summits. But what’s underground can be every bit as spectacular.

The volcanoes don’t erupt that often. Only one — Mount St. Helens — has erupted during my lifetime. But occasionally they erupt in such a way that produces dramatic caves, called lava tubes. One of my projects this year was to explore more of them.

Sunday, October 31, 2021

Variations on fall color

Autumn Light, Japanese Maple, Seattle, Washington

It has been said that every picture has already been taken. More than a billion pictures are taken each day. And some are largely recreations of images that someone else has taken before.

With such a glut of photography is there anything left to do? It’s a question that was in the back of my mind this past month — a month I mostly spent photographing fall color, something I’ve done every October for more than 20 years now.

Thursday, October 14, 2021

Pictures can make a monumental difference

Sandstone Window, Coyote Gulch, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah

About 100 million images will be posted on Instagram today, so it may not seem like one image can make a difference. But last week 100 images did.

Thursday, September 30, 2021

5 tips for better bird photos

Greater Yellowlegs with Shadow, Washington

What turns a bird picture into a work of art? A magazine recently asked me and other photographers who had been honored by Audubon that question. I’m certain we gave them enough material to fill a how-to book. But they were looking only for a short article, so little of it ended up in print. Here’s what would have gone into my chapter.

Tuesday, August 31, 2021

The struggle of wildlife photography

Pied-Billed Grebes on Nest, Washington

There’s a lot about nature photography that’s difficult. Fighting uncooperative equipment. Braving intense weather. Conquering tough trails. But one of the most difficult aspects is standing around, doing nothing, as nature does what nature does.

If you watch many nature documentaries, you may be under the impression that photographers get excited the moment they see animals struggle for their lives. Struggle seems to be a necessary part of life and it can result in dramatic images. While documenting that struggle can be a necessary part of my job, it is a part that, frankly, sucks.

Let me tell you about an afternoon I spent observing the nest of a pied-billed grebe.

Saturday, July 31, 2021

It's better to ask for permission

Bald Eagle, Fox and Rabbit in Middair, San Juan Island, Washington

There’s a saying that it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission. While that may apply to acts of charity or taking initiative on a project at work, it does not apply to using someone else’s artwork.

My series of images of a bald eagle, young fox and rabbit in midair made the rounds of the internet again a few weeks ago. But this time, nobody asked for permission to post the images. Worse, nobody even acknowledged that I was the photographer.

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

The Weber Kettle songbirds

Immature Dark-Eyed Junco, Snohomish County, Washington

For the past month my grilling tent has been a nursery. A pair of songbirds, dark-eyed juncos, decided to try to raise a family in it.

I don’t have any great pictures to show you. Given that I am a nature photographer, that may seem odd, but their little lives are far more valuable than any pictures I might make.