When it comes to animals, I prefer to photograph them in natural settings. But recently, I was giving a talk & realized I didn't have a photo of a ringneck that illustrated my point. I ran into the backyard, found one, & photographed it in a 'studio' set up on the patio. I think it turned out nicely
Oh yes, I have a handful I can send you whenever :)
Willow leaves on a black background, the leaves have bright red nodules or galls on them.
I think galls are pretty cool. In recent years, I've photographed a few, but the project has been on pause.. Until the other day, I looked at a cut-down willow (Salix sp) whose leaves were covered in galls, maybe from the Willow Apple Gall Sawfly (Euura californica). Couldn't resist snagging a few.
What an incredible series! World class and very impressive images - well besides that one shot 😅
let me share a little story about a remarkable wasp that I encountered yesterday in our local deserts
I stumbled across her, and scrambled to get a few crappy photos .... but then realized that she had a burrow, perhaps a better photo op was possible ??
here she is at her burrow entrance.
Two striped gartersnake (Thamnophis hammondii) - not what I had in mind initially but maybe the 1st underwater images of this species. ,🐍🌎
A very young white-lipped mud turtle (Kinosternon leucostomum) being held by a scientist.
A very young white-lipped mud turtle (Kinosternon leucostomum). One of the most common turtle species in Belize. But also one of the cutest. 🐢🌎
Schooling Sacramento pikeminnow, despite being minnows they reach impressive size (4+ft) and are top predators in the ecosystems they inhabit. Really bold fish too which is always welcome for photography.
Seeing them in the wild is surprisingly doable! Might take some persistence but its not one of those endangered species you have to go to remote wilderness to see. With luck an easy day trip can produce!
My latest article is on the snakes of the San Francisco Bay Area and how to find them for BayNature Magazine. Snake seeking is the new bird-watching! I'm a bit biased but I'd say there is some fun natural history to learn in there, even if you're not local. baynature.org/article/hith...
An amazing weekend with amazing company, both human and fish. @emmasteigerwald.bsky.social & Green sturgeon in Northern California. We loaded our inflatable raft up with scuba gear, paddled out to a secret sturgeon hole, & dropped in to say hi.
Really pleased to have contributed several images to this article in the Smithsonian on hellbenders! Love to see and hear about hellbender appreciation 🦎🌎
www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...
A green sturgeon swimming along the bottom of a California river.
Bucket list item checked off, I swam with sturgeon! Green sturgeon in California. Hoping to go back in the coming weeks and make another attempt with scuba gear, freediving worked but just barely.
Yesterday, I saw news about a cicada discovered in California due to community science on iNaturalist. Good time to reshare this article I wrote about a rediscovered cicada from the same genus & the importance of community sci for studying this genus! www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...
A hickatee turtle comes to the surface to take a quick breath of air.
The critically endangered Hickatee (Dermatemys mawii), a freshwater turtle found in Belize, Mexico, & Guatemala. 1 of the world's most aquatic turtles & absurdly fast underwater - photoing them was a real challenge. Sadly, this species is hunted for its meat, adult turtles are rare in most sites. 🐢🌎
A giant musk turtle angerly and defensively opening its mouth showing off its jaws and tongue.
The single animal I was most excited to see in Belize - the giant musk turtle - here he is, equally excited to see me. Just kidding, he was furious. But I was happy enough for the both of us. This is an uncommonly seen sp, I think everyone who has photoed this sp wild & UW was in the canoe with me 🐢
A reef shark swims overhead in front of a backdrop of blue water
Not groundbreaking photography wise - but the 1st time I've photographed sharks underwater. It was tremendously fun and a privilege to share the water with them. 🌎🦈
Really pleased to have contributed to the Smithsonian podcast talking about wildfires and wildlife in California!
I might have a new favorite freshwater fish in California. Pacific lamprey, you've probably seen pics of their scary mouths - but have you realized how adorable they are? They scrunch their noses up moving rocks, have permanent googly eyes, and look like sock puppets. 🌎🐟
Thank you!!
Thanks Dan!
This past weekend, @emmasteigerwald.bsky.social said yes, and officially agreed to spend the rest of our lives together. Surrounded by bear tracks, bird + frog song, and snowy mountains, it was the perfect location to take the next step. I couldn't be happier or feel any luckier!
A drowned rat and a signal crayfish scavenging it underwater on a silty bottom.
A crayfish sitting ontop of a drowned rat
Sometimes as a photographer, I worry the bugs, frogs, snakes, & fish I photograph are just TOO charismatic and broadly appealing & have to dial it back a notch. This one is a real crowd-pleaser. Invasive signal crayfish eating a drowned rat from the butt end.
You surely know that Greenland sharks live for centuries — but did you know that females likely *don't reach sexual maturity until they're older than the oldest human who has ever lived*?
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
A school of Lavinia exilicauda fish in a deep section.
Not my single best photo, but I'm excited to share! A new-to-me freshwater fish: Hitch (Lavinia exilicauda), a monotypic minnow endemic to California. They might be minnows but they're big fish, over a foot long & sometimes weighing a pound+. Very rarely photographed in the wild underwater. 🌎💧🐟
Happy to share. It's a deep dive and I've learned a lot since starting these surveys. Troglobite, Phreatobite, Troglophile, Trogloxene - never realized there were so many categories of cave critters.
If ungulate populations decline, they blame the predators, which provides justification to kill more predators... if the ungulates become over populated & see increases in diseases... they do not endorse increasing predator populations... they campaign for increased hunting quotas of those ungulates
A researcher stands in a cave looking up at the ceiling, her shadow is cast on the cave wall behind her.
A cave opiliones in the genus Taracus, probably T. ubicki. It is orange with clearish legs sitting on the cave floor.
Cave survey day at Empire Cave in Santa Cruz county - after years of heavy disturbance the cave has been closed to public access. Have the troglobitic species within persisted, how will they fare with less disturbance? We hope to find out! 🌎🦇
A portrait of a pair of chinook salmon, the male salmon in front and female in back. Signs of deterioration are obvious on the salmon as they reach the end of their life cycle and fall apart after reproducing.
A female chinook salmon cleaning her redd with the male salmon watching from behind.
A female chinook salmon cleaning her redd with the male salmon watching from behind.
Fondly recalling the Chinook salmon spawn this past fall. By now these adult salmon are long dead & their nutrients have liquefied into the river, but their progeny is currently growing up in the same river preparing to head to the ocean. RIP salmon class of 2024. Live well & prosper new generation.
A back of camera view of a photo of a salamander in a flooded portion of a cave.
Mysterious cave salamander, we meet again! These cave giant salamanders (Dicamptodon) can be seen when water is high enough. There's been speculation they're distinct enough from others outside the cave to warrant subspecies status. I don't think so, but how they get down there is very interesting