Had the opportunity to spend some time in Dominica with sperm whales. Amazing, huge, and incredibly docile, with the exception of a young bull named Chaos. They ranged from 15-20 ft calves all the way up to a 60-70 foot bull.
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Orcas – Norway Fjords
Some of my favorite images from a recent trip this fall to photograph orcas in the fjords of Norway in the arctic circle. Cold temps, northern lights, hundreds of orcas, short days, humbpacks, and seemingly billions of herring in bait balls, made for an epic trip and fantastic, albeit challenging, photography.
One of my favorite shots, a bull orca herding a schooling bait ball of herring. The orca would flash it’s white underside to steer the herring, they would panic and swim in a tight circle as the orcas swam circles around them. Then they would selectively pick off the ones they wanted to eat.
Antarctic & South Georgia Trip
I recently had the opportunity to spend some time on the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Georgia Islands. Absolutely amazing trip. Was a blast getting to see such massive enviornmental diversity and huge colonies of penguins and seals. Definitely an unforgettable experience!
Antarctica has this mythic weight. It resides in the collective unconscious of so many people, and it makes this huge impact, just like outer space. It’s like going to the moon. – Jon Krakauer
King penguins huddle on the snow on South Georgia Island.
Gentoo Penguins relaxing as sun peaks out while a storm builds on the horizon creating dynamic light and clouds in the area.
Gentoo Penguins porpoising as they travel at sea. On land they’re no very graceful, but in the water they really move. It’s amazing watching them shoot out of the water like fighter jets.
Gentoo penguins hike into a snowstorm trying to dissuade them from their journey.
King penguins huddle on a rock ledge in the South Georgia Islands.
King Penguin colony at Salisbury Plains South Georgia Island. Hundreds of thousands of King Penguins in a colony on a beautiful plain surrounded by snow capped peaks.
Gentoo and chinstrap penguins hitching a ride on an iceberg in the vicinity of Whatler’s Bay, Antarctica.
View more Antarctica images HERE!
Alaska
This past summer, I finally made it to Alaska. It was a great trip with tons of wildlife, mountains, glaciers, helicopters, small planes, and boats! Probably one of the more memorable trips I’ve been on. Definitely unique going out on a hike in the middle of the night and have it be bright as day.
A brown bear hunting clams in the marsh.
Mother humpback teaching a calf to breach.
Mother humpback teaching a calf to breach.
Mother humpback teaching a calf to breach.
Kayakers exploring the shoreline.
Seal checking out a chunk of ice.
Seals resting at the foot of Aialik Glacier.
Sea otters watching the boat go by.
Sea lions sunning themselves.
Fire cove on a cloudy day.
Dall’s Porpoises are FAST! They pop in and out of the water very quickly and make a small popping sound as they take a quick breath.
Fishing boat heading out to sea.
View from an overlook of the Harding Icefield at sunrise.
Harding Icefield stretches out to the horizon.
Humpback tail.
Humpbacks lunge feeding near a glacier inlet.
Humpbacks lunge feeding.
A pod of orcas.
Orca cruising a bay.
A brown bear returning from hunting clams at low tide.
2018 – Glacier Peaks Wilderness
Glacier Peaks Wilderness in Washington had long been on my list, but I’d never taken the opportunity to go explore it before. This summer one of my buddies and I took a 63 mile backcountry loop through a section of it. Pretty amazing scenery throughout. Wildfires and bald blue skies made for less than epic photography, but the backpacking was amazing.
Chris hiking up Spider Glacier.
The hike we took on the way down from Lyman Glacier to Lyman Lakes:
A few snapshots from the trip:
New Images – Coming Soon
I have new images coming later this winter. It’s been an incredibly busy summer and with all the travelling I just haven’t had time to post new images.
I have had a pretty good year with new images though, and should have a handful coming from: Oregon, Washington, Canada, Michigan, Minnesota, and Utah. So stay tuned.
Wonderwall
Deep in the Narrows, in Zion National Park, Utah, this tree was growing straight out of the cliff. Approximately 100 feet above the river below and several hundred feet below the top of the cliff. I found it amazing the tree could survive in such a seemingly illogical location. Light had just illuminated its leaves but had yet to reach high enough into the sky to light the lower portions of the narrow canyon. I felt it left an incredible scene of stark contrast as the tree blazed a brilliant yellow against a dark canyon wall.
Photography Workshop
Ryan Leafgreen and I will be doing a landscape photography workshop at Brenton Arboretum, in Dallas Center. Stop out to learn some basic pointers about digital photography or some advanced techniques. Be sure to bring your cameras and your questions!
Art At The Arb
Saturday, May 19th
9:00 a.m. – Noon
Members – $20 | Non-Members $35 | Children $5
