A Nice Rock...and a long plane ride

Lichen-covered Boulder, Carrizo Plain

This is a typical situation; just home from one trip with two days before I head overseas. No time to edit the last shoot, and I'm off for a month in Europe. This happens a lot, and is testimony to how easy it is to fill a calendar with no realistic idea of how long things take...

In any case, the edit of my Kit Fox pictures will have to wait now until June.  I did, however, manage to process this little nugget (OK, it's about 4 feet high) late last night, and although it is a simple picture, it works for me. It is of a single, colorful quartzite boulder in the Carrizo Plain during a gentle sunrise.  I liked the shape, the pattern, and the soft colors.

Meanwhile, I leave in the morning for the east coast, followed by a month-long series of cruises to the Azores and around the British Isles for National Geographic; I will serve as photography lecturer on board.  I will try and blog as best I can while en route, and talk about locations and images I encounter.  

Nikon D3, 24-70mm lens

With The Foxes

Endangered San Joaquin Kit Foxes, Carrizo Plain

I am just home from a week in the Carrizo Plain of Southern California, where I spent a week trying to photograph wild, endangered San Joaquin Kit Foxes. I had been with the urban population of these foxes a few weeks ago in Bakersfield, but this was my first experience here, in one of the last scraps of their prime habitat left in California.
I had been to the Carrizo once before many years ago and frankly, I thought it was a bit barren and unappealing. This time, however, our visit coincided with the full flush of Spring; birds were nesting and calling everywhere,  flowers were in spectacular carpets - and the foxes were very cooperative.
This relatively small, and little-known, National Monument protects a precious remnant of the ecosystem that was once found throughout the entire San Joaquin Valley, and is now mostly lost to agriculture and development. The Carrizo nearly disappeared, too, when, oil was discovered in nearby Taft, California in the early 1900's. That wasteland of wells, pipes and barren ground could all too easily have been the fate of the Carrizo, were it not found that the oil deposits there were buried too deep for economical extraction.  Thank God!
Anyhow, here is a quick shot of a kit fox family: I am still editing, and plan to go back again for more as part of a long-term life history project.

Nikon D300, 200-400mm lens

Spring in the Northwest

Maple and Lake Crescent, Washington

It's almost here. Of all the seasons, spring is the most showy here in the Pacific Northwest, when everything explodes with green. It is the annual reward for suffering through the gloom of winter - and this year has been particularly gloomy!

I always plan at least one or two local trips every year in May and June, returning to some of my favorite haunts: the Olympic coast, the rainforest, and the eastern slope of the Cascade Mountains.

In fact, I list my favorite spring destinations in the May issue of OUTDOOR PHOTOGRAPHER magazine.  Have a look here.  

Nikon D3, 24-70mm lens

Pilgrimage

Mountain Gorilla, Rwanda 1994

I am often asked one question : what is my favorite place in the world?  The question is understandable, since I travel a lot, but summoning an answer is surprisingly difficult. After all, it would be like picking your favorite child... To be honest, I am fascinated by almost every natural ecosystem on earth. Rainforests, polar icecaps, deserts - all are complex, dynamic, and rich environments. How could I pick one over all the rest?

However, if asked about my favorite wildlife experiences - the answer is easy. I have a top three: swimming with Humpback Whales, following Cassowaries through the Australian forest, and my all-time favorite: sitting with Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda.  Why gorillas?  Because you simply cannot spend any time in their company without changing every notion you might hold about the imagined animal-human divide. These are not mindless automatons - they are gentle, loving, and yes, thoughtful creatures with whom I felt an immediate bond. To watch gorillas at play, or disciplining their young, or simply staring into space, is to feel a kinship unlike anything I have ever felt with a wild creature. Simply said, being with them is a life-changing experience.

Needless to say, therefore, when I was asked to lead a Gorilla photo-safari to Rwanda in 2012, I leapt at the chance.  The trip combines two days of gorillas-trekking with several days in Kenya's extraordinary Masai Mara.

If you would be interested in joining me, let me know and I'll send you more information. Personally, I can't wait.

Under the Sidewalk

Endangered San Joaquin Kit Fox and Pup

I have been in Bakersfield, California this week, looking for endangered
San Joaquin Kit Foxes.  Foxes in the city?  Yes, in one of the most 

unexpected of situations, these rare foxes are holding their own living

 in the middle of the city, in some cases better than they’re faring in

 the surrounding agricultural land. As one biologist told me, kit foxes

 are better off in an empty lot than a farmer’s field. The lot has good

 places to den, and access to the varied diet the city can offer : hot
dogs,candy, and maybe the mice that feed on them.

After searching for an active den for several days, I stumbled onto
this family at dusk last night, emerging from their den – under a
cracked city sidewalk.  The mother appeared, followed – to my delight –
by two small cubs, playful and curious. I went back again this morning
and had a few minutes with them before they went back down into
their den to sleep the day away. (Kit foxes are primarily nocturnal).

But the challenges facing these urban foxes became all too clear
when I returned again tonight. To my horror, the street where I had
photographed the foxes just this morning was now under construction,
with workers jack-hammering the pavement only a few yards from the
den.  I quickly made sure they were aware of the den’s existence and
asked that they try to minimize the disturbance of that part of the
street, but after they all left, and darkness fell, I saw no sign of the
foxes.  I’ll go back tomorrow and check on them.

The urban foxes of Bakersfield make a dangerous bargain : they get
plenty to eat and enjoy the lack of predators. But they also have to
contend with road crews, lawn mowers, cats and dogs,and a city full
of cars. I hope they make it.

Nikon D3, 200-400 f4 lens

Tsunamis and Seabirds : Midway

Laysan Albatross, Midway Atoll

The loss of life in Japan from the Earthquake and Tsunami has been absolutely horrific, and the potential damage from the continuing nuclear disaster is unimaginable. Like many of us, I have been deeply moved by the devastation.

One small story I missed, however, until a friend sent me this link, was the effect of the tsunami on Pacific Islands. The waves, spreading out over the Pacific, easily overran many small islands that may rise only a few feet above the level of the surrounding ocean.  One such place is Midway Atoll, home to one of the most important seabird colonies in the north Pacific. Thousands of albatrosses were killed when the waves swept over these flat, sandy islands, just as chicks were getting ready to fledge.

Albatrosses are long-lived birds, so despite a catastrophic wipe-out of this year's chicks, most of the adults will be back again next year, including "Wisdom," a female Laysan Albatross known to be 60 years old.  But since this is a place I know well, having been there several times in the past decade, I was shocked to hear of the damage. The fact is, there are probably similar stories from many other islands still not heard from across this vast ocean, including many with  human inhabitants.  

50 "Greatest" Photographs

Amazon Dolphins underwater, Brazil

Got a nice piece of news today. This shot of Amazon River Dolphins (Botos) that I took for National Geographic in 2009 was included in their "50 Greatest Photographs" collection - now available (for sale) on the iPad.  There is always a bit of hype to these sorts of things, but whatever you think of the concept, I'm still honored to be included.  You can see the app HERE.

(Be warned, there are a number of complaints that the $4.99 app includes advertising)

Meanwhile, to read more about this picture, take a look at my Outdoor Photographer blog entry from last year - HERE.