Providence Canyon Sunset

Sunset in South Georgia at Providence Canyon. The canyon formation, made up of a kaleidoscope of coloured sands and clays, owes its existence to destructive early farming practices in the 19th century as is was unknown at the time that the undulating hills were made up of deep sand deposits below a very thin crust of clayey topsoil. Once the topsoil had been disturbed the natural elements did the rest with the canyon progressively deepening over the subsequent 150 years. The dramatic pinnacles which remain are sections of clay which the sand has eroded around. The erosion gullies reach depths of 150 feet (or 46m) and are referred to by the locals as Georgia's "Little Grand Canyon". Providence Canyon State Park, Georgia, United States of America.

Mt Hood

“Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the shadow” Aesop. Over 2600 years since Aseop wrote down his proverbs and we seem to be grasping at more shadows than ever. Enjoying things that are real rather than fantasy becomes harder as the illusions become ever more sophisticated in the electronic age. I realise there is more than a touch of hypocrisy in posting this quote up when over 80k people are following my shadow across the internet. I guess I hope that some imagery can lead people to extrospection and more engagement with the world around them rather than less. As someone who suffers from excessive amounts of introspection; it’s hard for me to be sure about this. I had just managed to park my car and catch literally the last few seconds of smoky alpenglow on Mount Hood when I took this shot handheld with a 400mm lens. Hood sits at 3,429 m (11,249 ft) altitude and forms part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc. Mount Hood National Forest, Northern Oregon. USA.

Mount Shuksan Alpenglow

The last of the alpenglow on Mount Shuksan (2,783 m or 9,131 ft) about 40 minutes after sunset. The name Shuksan is derived from the Lummi word šéqsən, which is thought to mean "high peak". Traditionally however the mountain was most likely called shéqsan ("high foot") or ch’ésqen ("golden eagle") in the Nooksack language. The highest point on the massif is a three sided peak known as the Summit Pyramid. Looking across The Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest to the North Cascades National Park, Washington State, USA

Grizzly at Rest

An an ABC Islands bear (Ursus arctos sitkensis) or Sitka brown bear taken on Baranof Island takes a rest against a stump in the rain. It is a subspecies of brown bear or grizzly bear that resides in Southeast Alaska and is found only on the ABC Islands (Admiralty Island, Baranof Island, and Chichagof Island) . The bear is slightly different to a standard brown bear in that around 6.5% of the X chromosomes from the ABC Islands bears have recently come from polar bears. This is in contrast to 1% of the ABC Islands bears genomes containing polar bear DNA. It is believed that the present polar bear DNA stems from a group of polar bears that were stranded in Southeast Alaska at the end of the last glacial period due to receding ice. Male brown bears migrated to the island and interbred, leaving the phenotype and genotype of these bears to be primarily brown bear. The story of the ABC islands bear is warning as to the future of all polar bears as the arctic continues to warm at twice the rate of the rest of the world and the fastest rate in measurable history. The media often focuses on the record low summer sea ice coverage which according to NASA is declining at a rate of 13.2% per decade and accelerating. However perhaps more startling is the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) report released in April on the age of arctic sea ice which provides a better indicator of the decreasing thickness of the ice and total ice volume. Ice older than one year covered 61% of the region in 1984, compared to just 34% in 2018. Only 2% of the Arctic’s sea ice is now five years old or older, compared to 30% in 1984. With several consecutive years of winter heatwaves in the arctic, the total surface area of the ice is now shrinking in across all seasons, not just in summer. Seems we are heading for an ice free summer arctic within 10 and 30 years from now. The bears have been known to weigh up to 680 kg (1,500 lb), standing up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) tall on their hind legs , or 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) at the shoulder when on all four legs. This shot was taken at Fortress of the Bear, a volunteer run refuge for orphanned bears. Sadly cubs are often left behind when their mothers are hit by cars or trucks, or when their mothers are shot for entering built up urban areas. Orphaned cubs that are human socialised though the rescue process are difficult to reintroduce to the wild, often spending their entire life in reserves such as this one if they are lucky enough not to be put down. The state of Alaska has no bear rehabilitation program in place, and unfortunately orphaned cubs are normally simply shot by the Department of Fish and Game for lack of an alternative. Sitka, Alaska.

Frederick Sound Iceberg

Sometimes, if only for a moment, time seems to stand still. It’s amazing to think that 91% of the iceberg is hidden under the water. The shot was taken near the entrance to LeConte Bay in Frederick Sound. It’s a single hand held exposure taken from a moving boat. Alaska, USA.

Stranded LeConte Iceberg

Iceberg stranded by the large tides in South East Alaska. LeConte Bay.

New York, New York

Panoramic landscape of New York city as the sun sets for the day from Liberty Island in New York Harbor. Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan, is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, and where the city was founded in 1624. New York City, USA.

Umbrella Falls

Late afternoon sun at Umbrella Falls, Mount Hood National Forest, Northern Oregon. USA.

Washington Monument

The Washington Monument, designed in the simple shape of an ancient Egyptian obelisk, was built in honour of George Washington. Constructed between 1848 and 1884 it was the tallest structure in the world at the time of completion, until the construction of the Eiffel Tower in France in 1889. The monument however remains the world's tallest stone structure standing 554 feet 7 11/32 inches (169.046 m) tall. It has an aluminum apex, which at the time of casting was the largest piece of aluminum in the world with Aluminum being relatively unknown having a value similar to silver. The slight change in shading of the marble at 46m (150ft) came from a halt in construction between 1854 and 1877 due to lack of funds and the civil war with construction eventually resuming from a different source of stone. National Mall, Washington DC, United States of America.

Steller Sea Lions Alaska

Rugged, isolated, teeming with life. Steller Sea Lions (Eumetopias jubatus) congregate at a remote rookery that we sailed past in South East Alaska. Also known as the Northern Sea Lion, they are the largest of the Otariid (eared seal) family with adult males reaching up to 3.4 m in length (11 feet) and weighing up to 1,120 kg (2,500 pounds ). In contrast to true seals, sea lions can turn their hind flippers forward for walking on land. Despite limited historical economic value the lions were still hunted commercially in the 19th Century for their skin, meat, oil, and whiskers (which were sold for use as tobacco-pipe cleaners). Added to the list of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife in 1990; the eastern population of the Steller sea lion was removed from the list in November 2013 after having grown from about 18,000 in 1979 to over 70,000 in 2010. The genetically distinct western population is still however listed as threatened and a controversial cull still exist in Japan, allowing 1030 Steller Sea Lions to be culled over a 5 year period, with the belief that the sea lions compete with their commercial fisheries.

Transamerica Pyramid

Transamerica Pyramid , San Francisco, USA

Lost Lake

Blue hour at Lost Lake with a touch of alpenglow on Mt Hood. Known as Wy'east to the Multnomah tribe, Hood is still a potentially active volcano. The lost lake mysteriously drains in late summer and turns into a meadow. There are two hollow lava tubes at the bottom of the lake and when the flow into the lake starts to reduce over summer the level begins to drop. Mount Hood National Forest, Cascade Volcanic Arc, Northern Oregon. USA.

Liberty

Birds swarm as the sun sets on the Statue of Liberty, New York Harbor, New York, USA

Golden Gate

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, USA

The Big Apple

Aerial view of New York and the Island of Manhattan with the Hudson river to the left. Over 1.6 million people call the Island of Manhattan home. You can see the statue of liberty in the foreground on Liberty island. New York, USA

Scenery Cove Aurora

It is rare to find such stillness. No wind, no waves, no sound. So still I could set my tripod up on the deck of S/V BOB while at anchor and take a long exposure of the sky with no visible star movement. The silence out here can be deafening at times (at least once my kids are finally asleep!). Amazingly the G3 solar storm a few days ago was bright enough to cut though the endless blue twilight one experiences this time of year during the fleeting hours of semi darkness that you have when you’re up this far north. Happiness has always seemed a subjective state of mind to me, somewhat along the lines of Lucius Annaeus Seneca's words from two millennia ago that “a man’s as miserable as he thinks he is.” I do love mountains, sailing, and auroras; super chuffed to have combined them all in one shot. Scenery Cove, South East Alaska, USA.

Lady Liberty

Statue of Liberty, New York, USA

National Mall DC

Looking across the National Mall towards the Washinton Monument and Congress building from the Lincoln memorial. Washington DC, United States of America.

Eastern Gray Squirrel in Fall

Squirrel playing in the leaves during fall (autumn). All of the Squirrels in New York are all eastern grey squirrels or Sciurus carolinensis even the brown-rusty color ones like this. Central Park, New York, USA.

Devils Thumb Alpenglow

“Like the Sirens who lured Ulysses to a blissful yet certain death, the northwest face of the Devil’s Thumb continues to tempt the alpinist onto her flanks" Dieter Klose. Late night alpenglow adds a soft touch, however few peaks inspire the same mix of fear and respect as the Devil's Thumb. A relatively low altitude peak at 2,767 m (9,077 ft) the notorious northwest face rises 2,042 m (6,700 ft) from its base. With an average angle of 67 degrees it is considered the steepest wall of that magnitude in all of North America. While the peak itself was first climbed by Fred Becky in 1946, the northwest face remains unclimbed after five decades of attempts by scores of climbers including some of the world’s top mountaineers. Most never even made it to the start of the face, while at least three teams have perished in the process. Dieter Klose who in 1982 made it halfway up the route, higher than anybody else alive, commented in the American Alpine journal that ‘as a rock climb it’s a perfect place to commit suicide”. The warm coastal winds, extreme Alaskan precipitation levels, and Patagonian style variability in weather all combine to make the conditions on the face notoriously slippery and prone to avalanche. A small theoretical climbing window is possible during the spring transition when storms can create thaw-freeze conditions and stabilise the face however many believe the level of weather variability is so extreme that it will never be climbed. No one has attempted the face since 2003 when two Canadian climbers perished. The mountain was known as Taalkhunaxhkʼu Shaa in native Tlingit, which translates to the "the Mountain That Never Flooded". The thumb is located in the Stikine Icecap region of the Alaska–British Columbia border, near Petersburg, and is often simply identified as Boundary Peak 71 on survey maps.

Misty Manhattan

Downtown Manhattan at night, New York, USA

Lincoln

Wonder what Lincoln would be thinking this morning? Lincoln memorial. Washington DC, United States of America.

Lower Manhattan

Giant reflections glimmer in the Hudson river providing an extra dimension to the colossal nature of the architecture of Lower Manhattan. The site of the original colony of New Amsterdam, that eventually became New York City, Lower Manhattan is now most frequently associated with wall street and the financial district. New York City, USA.

Wahkeena Falls Sunset

Fires continue to rage in Columbia River George. It’s hard to imagine the normally wet george, which holds North America’s largest concentration of waterfalls (including 77 that are officially named) actually burning. The blaze was started by a 15 year old boy with some fireworks. It’s easy to blame the boy; but in reality we need to look at the causes behind the changing climate and increasingly regularity of these abnormal fire conditions. It’s been such a nightmare fire season right across BC and Alberta in Canada and throughout the US Pacific North West. In BC it has been by far the worst on record in terms of hectares burnt along with scores of long standing all time temperature records being smashed this summer. Here is hoping the wet micro climates in these side gullies protect some of the more fragile parts of what is often considered Oregon’s crown jewel. All we can do now is wait and see. Last light at Wahkeena Falls, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon, USA.

New River Gorge Bridge

A shot taken of the New River Gorge Bridge from a light aircraft. The steel arch bridge sits 3,030 feet (924 m) long over the New River Gorge near Fayetteville, Fayetteville, in the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States. With an arch 1,700 feet (518 m) long the New River Gorge Bridge was for many years the world's longest single-span arch bridge and is now the third longest. The roadway crossing the New River Gorge Bridge at 876 feet (267 m) above the New River makes it one of the highest vehicular bridges in the world, and is currently the third highest in the United States. The bridge sits within the US National Park Service's New River Gorge National River area. West Virginia, USA