The Hidden Valley Nature Trail

The Hidden Valley Nature Trail is a short one-mile loop that takes you through the rocky landscapes of Joshua Tree National Park. The path is surrounded by towering rock formations all around it. During our visit to this spot, I was lucky enough to witness the beautiful morning light as it streamed through the valley, casting a golden glow on the rocks and highlighting the park's stunning colors. And of course, there were plenty of incredible Joshua Trees and rugged desert vegetation to photograph along the way too.

If you're planning a visit to Joshua Tree National Park, make sure to add the Hidden Valley Nature Trail to your itinerary. Trust me; you won't regret it!

A Morning at Arch Rock

One of our first stops on our visit to Joshua Tree National Park was Arch Rock. This natural arch is made of granite and stands tall among the Mojave Desert's boulder-strewn landscape. Its unique texture - which to me resembles a goose’s neck and head - make it a popular destination for visitors to the park. During my visit, I was lucky enough to witness the sunrise sunrise at Arch Rock, where the first rays of sunlight illuminated the rock's surface, casting a warm glow over the surrounding desert. I hope you enjoy the photos I am sharing today!

A Collection of Cacti

Joshua Tree National Park is home to a variety of cacti species, each with its distinct characteristics and beauty. The Mojave Desert, which covers much of the park, provides an ideal environment for these hardy plants to thrive.

Perhaps the best known amongst them are the various species of cholla. Cholla cacti, also known as the "jumping cacti”, have a unique method of reproduction, where they detach and roll around in the wind to spread their seeds. The cholla cactus may look harmless, but their spines can easily cling to clothing and skin, earning them their "jumping" nickname. Cholla are just one of several species featured here - which also includes prickypear and barrel cacti varieties.

A Walk Through the Mojave Desert

During my visit to Joshua Tree National Park in California and I was blown away by the unique landscapes of the Mojave Desert. The rugged terrain and unique flora and fauna are spectacular even in the harsh midday light. I especially enjoyed photographing the iconic Joshua trees up close. These tall, spiky trees are only found in this part of the world and are a true symbol of the desert. Their twisted branches and rough bark make for stunning photos against the blue sky. The stark beauty of the desert landscape is something that everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime. I hope these photos will inspire you to visit this stunning national park and experience its beauty for yourself!

Stars, Geology, and Joshua Trees

Last year I had the fantastic opportunity to visit a number of National Parks throughout the US, and this year I will be sharing images from all my visits here on my blog! We have loved them all so far and hope to one day make it to all 63 of them. I’ll be sharing images of the parks we have visited in order, so let’s start in sunny California, where it all began…

Joshua Tree National Park is known for its unique rock formations, minimal light pollution,and unique desert environment. At night, it also provides a stunning canvas for astrophotography. We were lucky enough to get almost completely clear skies, so I was able to capture some incredible images of the Milky Way arching - and spinning! - over Heart Rock, Arch Rock, and the park’s emblematic joshua trees.

Nature's Avian Architects

This week, I share photos of the weavers at San Diego Zoo, namely the Taveta Golden-Weaver and the Baglafecht Weaver. Both species are native to the grasslands of Africa and are known for their intricate nests and bright yellow feathers. In building their nests, males carefully assemble long blades of grass in an attempt to capture the attention of a mate. No two nests are exactly the same: the individual fibers and leaves chosen for in their construction affect the look and feel of the resulting nest.

Africa Rocks Aviary at San Diego Zoo

It’s time for another big life change - we’ve made the move from San Diego in California to Baltimore, for a new postdoctoral position I’ve taken up. As we take the time to settle into a new city and get accustomed to our new surroundings, I will take the next couple of weeks to share some photos from my archives. In particular, I am excited to share some animal photography from the world-famous San Diego Zoo, where I spent many sunny days chasing birds with my telephoto lens. This weekend, I am sharing images from the African Rocks Aviary, featuring an assortment of species that inhabit the African continent, from the elegant North Carmine bee-eater to the oddly-named red-cheeked cordonbleu.

Balboa Park's Urban Wildlife

In San Diego, you don’t need to go too far to encounter wildlife. In fact, Balboa Park - a popular tourist spot featuring an assortment of local museums, gardens, and eateries - is an excellent place to spot some urban dwellers such as black phoebes, squirrels, and Eastern bluebirds. Here are some of my favourite images from an afternoon spent walking around the park and appreciating the urban wildlife that lives in this beautiful corner of Southern California.

A Collection of Underwater Creatures

In this week’s blog post I’m going somewhat back in time to one of my first outings with a mirrorless camera, before I switched over all my Canon equipment. I wanted to test the capabilities of this newer equipment in one of the most challenging environments I typically photograph: aquariums. They are dimly lit, the subjects are constantly in motion, and focusing through thick and concave glass can prove extremely challenging. The images I am sharing here were taken at San Diego’s Birch Aquarium at Scripps, which offers a diverse collection of fish, molluscs, jellyfish, and more!

Memories of Sunnier Summer Days

Brrr! It sure has been cold outside these days! (For those of you who are not in the US, much of the country has been facing some serious ice storms this week). Although I do love the cold - and especially the snow -, I thought it might be a good idea to share some images of a warmer summer day at La Jolla Cove in San Diego. So, huddle up in your warmest layers and join me as I share some images of the incredible marine life of California, including sea lions, pelicans, cormorants, and even an osprey.

Florida's Silver Springs

The final state park we visited on our travels through Florida was the Silver Springs State Park, which is by far the largest of the three. This is a popular manatee rest stop in the winter months, but what brought us here in the summer was the chance of spotting its resident monkeys. The park is home to non-native rhesus macaques which were introduced in the 1930s with the goal of boosting the springs as a unique tourist attraction. The original plan was to limit them to one small island in the park, but the park owner at the time didn’t know they are very competent swimmers. Now, they have multiplied to far greater numbers and are spread throughout the whole park. We didn’t get to see the macaques in the end - they must have been hiding that day -, but hopefully the native wildlife I did photograph will make up for it!

Turquoise Spring Waters

Continuing along our travels through Florida, we paid a short visit to Wes Skiles Peacock Springs State Park. This state park is home to several springs, including Peacock, Ginnie, and Little River Springs, which flow into the Suwannee River. It is a popular spot for underwater cave diving, with over 14,000 feet of cave passages open to visitors. Although we stayed entirely above the water during our visit, we did have the rare opportunity of taking photos from the skies for an even more unusual view of this location: the skies! The drone flight did not disappoint, showing just how stunning the clear turquoise waters of the spring are from all angles.

The Perfect Place for a Swim

Madison Blue Spring State Park is a hidden gem located in the north of Florida. The park is home to a beautiful blue spring that flows into the Withlacoochee River. In the summer months, it is the perfect place to enjoy swimming, snorkeling, and scuba diving in the crystal-clear waters of the spring, where it is easy to spot schools of fish swimming around the underwater cave system. In the winter, the spring also attracts manatees, due to its much warmer temperatures than surrounding rivers. Here are some of the photos I took at the park during our early morning visit to the summer.

A Little Magic to Start the Year

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park is not my typical photography location, but I will admit they do an absolutely exceptional job with their animal exhibits. One of the biggest issues for photographers, when it comes to shooting in zoos, is that we often have to be very careful about the backgrounds of our images: no one wants to see a cheetah sitting in front of an ugly concrete wall or a monkey clambering on a chain link fence. The exhibits at Animal Kingdom were clearly designed with a photographer in mind, with plenty of vegetation and even artificial waterfalls in their enclosures. It was amazing to take some incredible images of rare species such as the okapi, western lowland gorilla, and blue-throated macaw in natural-looking scenery. In the spirit of Disney World, here are a few of my favourite “magical” images from my visit…

A Walk in Nature

The Sweetwater River Trail is one of my favourite easy walks in San Diego. A great place for a quiet early morning walk, with beautiful vegetation and bird life all year round. Scientific studies suggest that walks in nature reduce stress and improve mood, and I can certainly vouch for that. As the year comes to an end, take a moment to go on a virtual walk through nature with me on a crisp still morning. Enjoy the golden light of the sun on the trees, bushes, and flowers, spot the birds hiding in the bushes, and perhaps make your resolutions for the new year along the way. Here’s to a peaceful, happy, healthy, and successful 2023!

Memories of Home

Happy holidays! To me, the winter season has strong associations with time spent in Brazil with family, enjoying a christmas feast in the summer heat. It’s quite different from the stereotypical snowy winters of the northern hemisphere. So, this year I am bringing my holiday blog post closer to “home” and taking the opportunity to share some of the wonderful birds of South America. Of course, there’s a catch - these were photographed in San Diego Zoo’s tropical aviary, rather than their natural jungle environments. I hope you enjoy this somewhat unusual winter blog post, full of vibrant colours and charismatic wildlife!

Views from the Observation Tower

Time for my last “swampy” blog post in a little while! The Grand Bay Wildlife Management Area in Valdosta is a 7,000 acre area which serves as a refuge for local wildlife. It includes both wetlands (swamp) habitats and forest habitats, which you can view from designated boardwalks and hiking trails. We made a short stop here to climb up the observation tower for an aerial view of the surrounding land. Here are some of my favourite images from high above the bald cypress trees.

A Morning with the Cypress Trees

I have shared quite a few images of this place throughout my last few blog posts. For those of you who are just itching to see something other than Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge: I promise this is the last one, and there will be a new location featured next week! But if you are enjoying seeing this stunning swamp through my lens, in all sorts of different lights, then you may enjoy this final post. Following a spectacular golden sunrise over the lake, we watched the sun climb a little higher in the horizon and peep through the cypress trees. I hope that these images of clear blue skies and early morning light will brighten up your day!

The Swamp Awakens

It was an early start to get to Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge in time for sunrise. I loved this place so much the night before that we just had to come back for more. I certainly did not expect it to get even better than it was in the previous visit - and for several reptilian visitors to adorn the landscape. This was one of those incredible golden mornings that you don’t see very often. Sometimes nature puts on a real show.

Night Falls over Banks Lake

In my previous blog post, I hinted that I would be sharing quite a few more images from Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia. This week’s blog post continues on to a peaceful evening at the lake, featuring a little bit of astrophotography. The last two photos are star trail images: compilations of tens or hundreds of images of the night sky, merged together to show the movement of the stars over time. With a clear and unpolluted sky, you can really see how the milky way shifts around across the frames. In this particular place, the brightest stars are also reflected in the still waters, creating mirrored star trails on the surface of the lake.