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

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.

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). 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.

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...

Hither and Slither: How to Find Bay Area Snakes - Bay Nature

For nature lovers seeking a challenge, finding a rare snake is deeply rewarding. "Snake hunting is the new birdwatching," says one expert.

baynature.org

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...

Why Has This North Carolina Town Embraced a Strange Salamander?

The city of Boone has put a giant mural of the eastern hellbender downtown and its residents often imbibe a local Hazy IPA named after the amphibian

smithsonianmag.com

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...

How an ‘extinct’ cicada was rediscovered 100 years later

Billions of cicadas will soon flood the eastern U.S. But their western counterparts are relatively lesser known—with one species described as "the holy grail of western cicada rediscoveries."

nationalgeographic.com

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. 🐢🌎

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 🐢

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!

Joe Spring@joespring.bsky.social · last yr.

To go deeper into how the L.A. wildfires affected animals, check out this @smithsonianmag.bsky.social podcast—featuring @antonsrkn.bsky.social. www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...

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. 🌎🐟

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!

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...

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. 🌎💧🐟

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

Chris R. Shepherd@chrisrshepherd.bsky.social · 2y ago

Interested in trophy hunting? Here is an article you may want to read: jslnhl.substack.com/p/trophy-hun...

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! 🌎🦇

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.

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

About 2 weeks ago, I was heartbroken to find an adult giant salamander with a serious injury - some internal organs and intestines were protruding (much more than visible here). But some salamanders have amazing regeneration abilities. So I was hopeful. Last night, I found it again. And...

Our own local specialty salamander - the Santa Cruz black salamander (Aneides niger), endemic to 3 counties in the San Francisco Bay area. This is a juvenile, as it grows it'll darken up and live up to its name. Found on a nighthike along with a few dozen other salamanders of 5 species.

Amphibians may be my favorites and the reason I got into underwater photography, but I've become a serious fish appreciator as well. Look at the colors on these gorgeous coastal rainbow trout! 🌎🐟💧

Red-bellied newts doing their thing and vying for an overwhelmed female. These are possibly my favorite photo subjects on the West Coast - I'm still chasing that perfect shot and still falling short - but I'll know it when I see it. 🦎

More aquatic neotenic California giant salamanders from night snorkeling. These seem to be the most abundant vertebrates in these small streams - there are also rainbow trout, but anecdotally, the small trout seem to avoid pools with salamanders. I'd see one or the other but never both in 1 spot. 🌎🦎

Night snorkeling in the redwoods to find an old friend. I posted that I was going to go look for this individual last week & I found the same one (I thiiink)! In the same deep pool I saw it in a year ago. A neotenic california giant salamander that never metamorphosed & never left the water. 🦎🌎