We are living in some crazy times, aren’t we? My thoughts are with you while we navigate all of this, and I’m heartened by what I’ve seen and heard of communities supporting one and other. How about just a little bit of bright news for the day?
The California Condor was down to just 27 individuals in 1987 due to lead poisoning (eating carrion containing lead shot), habitat loss and poaching. At that point an emergency was declared and every wild individual was captured and put into captive breeding programs in two zoos in California. Chicks were hatched and raised and several years later they began the delicate process of reintroducing them to the wild.
Today there are over 300 individuals in the wild with another 200 in captivity, and in 2019 the 1,000 chick was born in the wild in Zion National Park! This is fantastic news and shows just how powerfully we can impact the survival of species world-wide.
2020 continues to fly by at a supersonic pace. Spring is just around the corner, and here in Washington things are starting to warm up. When I’m home and working in my garden I can definitely appreciate the longer days. Looking back at the past 15 years, photos from March tend to capture the colors and activity of those approaching spring months. With better weather and more hours to get things done, cultures world-wide begin to celebrate and festivals such as Holi in India have captured my attention over the years.
Enjoy the photos, and have a fantastic weekend – and for those of you in the affected time-zones, don’t forget to spring ahead this Sunday!
Blue whale populations were decimated by whaling, exterminating an estimated 97% of their numbers until a moratorium was placed on whaling in 1986. When whalers first descended on their summer feeding grounds around South Georgia Island off Antarctica they would see “whales by the thousands” in the area. An estimated 176,000 whales were taken over 60 years.
In 2018 a lone pair of Blue Whales was spotted in the area, adding to just one or two sightings over the last 40-50 years. And then in 2020 – on their most recent survey – 55 Blue Whales were counted feeding in the area! An amazing swell in the numbers in such a short time.
Better late than never and it’s still February; where’s the year going??? More importantly, where have the past 15 years gone? It’s always interesting to look back at the various phases of my career to be reminded of my previous goals, successes and of course. . the very very occasional failures. If you’re ever struggling to come up with something to say with your photography, there are plenty of resources around to step back and take a look at. I’m an avid book collector and I’m always on the look-out for compendiums of the passions of others that may help spark an idea of my own.
There is something to be said for being your own inspiration, however – especially if it’s been some time since you’ve looked back on your own photos and/or artwork. Perhaps time and experience will give you a new angle on an old idea, or you may find the simple purity of your original concepts got lost among new technologies, software, or just the clutter of life in general.
Enjoy the photos, and stay tuned to the blog for some exciting upcoming events!
Here be Dragons! I spent most of the month of January in Asia – Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines. In Japan, I was able to return to the place I photographed ducks and swans three decades ago for Migrations. As you can see, the congregation of waterfowl was a crush of feathers and beaks that mostly obscured any sight of the water beneath them. We also visited the beach, where storms in the region have discarded all kinds of garbage onto the shore – it was awful, but also quite a sight.
From Japan, we visited Indonesia and most notably Komodo island where I was able to capture the massive and menacing Komodo Dragons. I’d been planning this stop for a while and wasn’t disappointed, using some rigged up gear to get in nice and close.
The trip closed out in the Philippines, and this time the congregation was of revelers and worshipers at the Sinulog Festival and the – *deep breath* – Solemn Procession of the Miraculous Image of the Santa Niño. That’s quite the name, for quite the festival! I was most impressed with the variety of colorful costumes on display. I was also the sole photographer willing to get in the water with whale sharks – no regrets, enjoy the photos!
In January, Dr. Samuel Wasser and myself had the pleasure of speaking to a crowded Great Hall about the efforts being made to protect and preserve elephants at Town Hall Seattle. If you weren’t able to make it to the event, the Seattle Channel has made it available for all to watch online.
If you’re inspired to help, visit www.giving.uw.edu/ivory and contribute to a very worthy cause via the University of Washington.
Today is “Monarch Butterfly Day” according to whatever mystical powers-that-be control the hashtags! I’ve had the pleasure of photographing Monarchs over the years at many of Mexico’s renowned preserves that harbor millions of butterflies as they migrate.
It’s with a heavy heart, then, that I make this post – one that should be about the beauty of this creature and the symbolism and joy it brings world-wide. However, tragic events that have befallen a pair of conservation heroes in Mexico should be taking center stage right now until answers are found.
As you may have heard, activists and outspoken critics of the illegal logging activities in preserved areas of Mexico, Homero Gómez González and Raúl Hernández Romero were recently found deceased, both under mysterious and possibly malicious circumstances.
González was an agricultural engineer and the manager of the El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Preserve. Growing up in a logging family, he was a skeptic of conservation efforts and their possible impact on contributing to poverty in the region. His background and education gave strength to his voice when, in the early 2000’s, he became an advocate for curbing the deforestation he was seeing first hand.
Hard to believe we are already a month into the new year; where does the time go? I’ve had a couple of weeks now to tend to things back at the home and office, including last night’s wonderful event at Town Hall Seattle where I was honored to take the stage with Dr. Samuel Wasser and discuss the threats facing world elephant populations and the positive measures being taken to ensure their future.
Before I move forward with another month globe-trotting, I’m taking a look back. Enjoy this gallery of 15 years of January images!
I made multiple trips to India this year, including a trip this past November. I’m now an expert on old Delhi, where I was able to capture a number of abstracts before setting out in search of wildlife, namely tigers. My last trip here was focused mostly on the Holi festival, and while I came away with some shots I’m happy with the crush of people made for a chaotic environment to shoot in. This trip was more my speed, and I’m happy with what I came away with. Enjoy, and have a great weekend!
Happy 2020! I hope everyone had a great time with friends and family over the holidays and is prepared to make 2020 a great year. Every holiday season I assemble a slide show of the previous 12 months of shoots, and every holiday season I’m surprised at how much I’ve been able to fit in. This year has been no different, with multiple trips to India, photographing the eclipse in Chile, visiting the location of ancient holy sites in Isreal and Jordan. . . whew. You’d think I’d be exhausted, but rest assured that I’m as tenacious as ever both in terms of travel and in my affinity for leaf-blowing my property as soon as the landing gear hits the ground! Enjoy the slide show, and have a spectacular time in the Roaring Twenty-Twenties!
