ocean

Jun

2016

Sunrise Flight

Sunrise Flight is a composite image created from two photographs captured in the Solomon Islands. We left our anchorage at dawn one morning to get an early start for a long day’s passage. The rising sun lit the cumulus clouds building up on the horizon, giving them an internal glow. I was concentrating on capturing images of the dramatic sky when a booby joined us briefly, winging his way parallel to the boat, his eye reflecting the early light. Two captures taken just moments apart – the empty cloudscape and the sunlit bird in flight – were meant for each other, so I married them in one image that captures the essence of the moment as I experienced it.

The vast expanse of sea and sky and the perfectly positioned wings of the bird together create an image that expresses the unfettered freedom of flight.

Sunrise Flight has been exhibited from coast to coast, including the San Diego Museum of Natural History and, most recently, PhotoPlace Gallery in Vermont, a contemporary photography venue. Prints of this award-winning image are available for purchase HERE

Nikon D4, 1/500 sec at f/2.8, ISO 100, 165 mm (70.0-200.00 mm f/2.8 lens)

Photo is copyrighted and registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. Please respect.

May

2016

Perfect Storm

A new addition to my online gallery. This is PERFECT STORM photographed at Cape Reinga in New Zealand

Cape Reinga is the northernmost tip of New Zealand, reaching into the sea and marking the meeting of two oceans – the Tasman Sea to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east. On this day a perfect storm of weather convergence zones created fierce winds that whipped the ocean into a froth. The Cape is a narrow spine of land stretching its finger out into the ocean, and the footing was precarious as the 60 mph winds threatened to topple both my tripod and myself.

PERFECT STORM is available for purchase HERE.

Nikon D3S, 1/750 sec at f/8.0, ISO 400, 200mm (70.0-200.0 f2.8 lens).

Photo is copyrighted and registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. Please respect.

Apr

2016

Wave Riders

The Best of Nature 2016 Photography Exhibition opens this coming weekend at the San Diego Natural History Museum. Since I’m off cruising in the Caribbean, I will miss the Opening Reception on April 30 from 11 AM to 2 PM. But if you’re in the area, the museum is a great place to visit. Stop by the Ordover Gallery on the 4th Floor to see my image WAVE RIDERS included in this exhibition of wonderful nature photography!

Pygmy Devil Rays are similar in appearance to their cousins, the manta rays, but much smaller. Both belong to a genus of ray called Mobula or, more casually, “flying rays” due to a propensity to breach (jump out of the water) in spectacular fashion. The pygmy rays are usually seen in schools near the surface of coastal waters. I have often seen them leaping repeatedly out of the water, making a noise like popcorn popping as they splash down again.

On this trip we were traveling south along Mexico’s Pacific coastline. We stopped over in Ixtapa, which possesses a beautiful curving sand beach well used by local walkers, joggers, children and more all traversing the golden sand in the morning hours. The surf rolled in, backlit by the early morning sun, and I was startled to see the rays gliding in the breaking waves. With the sun backlighting the clear aqua water, the rays appeared suspended as if behind the glass of an aquarium. Intrigued, I invested quite a bit of time trying to capture the shot. As usual in these circumstances, I was shooting hand-held, kicking up the shutter speed to freeze action.

WAVE RIDERS available for purchase HERE

Nikon D4S, 1/1000 sec at f/5.6, ISO 400mm, 400mm (80.0-400.0 mm f/4.5-5.6), hand-held.

Photo is copyrighted and registered with the copyright office. Please respect.

Apr

2016

Reflected Sky

The International Masters Exhibition 2016 at the Southern Nevada Museum of Fine Art in Las Vegas will be closing this coming weekend after a three month run. I’m pleased to say that two of my images in the exhibition, ‘Reflected Sky‘ and ‘Sunrise Flight‘, have been added to the museum’s permanent collection!

One of my favorite things about being at sea is that the sky is totally uninterrupted by buildings, telephone wires, city lights, and all the other trappings of civilization. Cloud formations, sunrises and sunsets are visible in all their expansive glory above the backdrop of the ocean surface.

In 2012 we were cruising aboard our boat AVATAR in the Solomon Islands, a remote South Pacific island country, where calm weather and seas created a multitude of opportunities to photograph reflections in the glassy water. We anchored overnight in Mbaeroko Lagoon, where this sight greeted me early in the morning as we pulled up anchor and prepared to depart.

Nikon D800, 1/125 sec at f/9.0, 2/3 EV, ISO 100, 14mm (14-24mm f/2.8), hand-held.

REFLECTED SKY is available for purchase HERE

Photo is copyrighted and registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. Please respect.