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...

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...

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...

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!

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

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. 🦎🌎

If everything goes according to plan tonight, I'll be spending some time in the water with this big fella - a neotenic california giant salamander. If I can't find him, hopefully some of his relatives will be in the waterways nearby. 🦎

How vulnerable are #amphibians to extreme heat? 🐸🌡️ Our paper in @nature.com shows that many amphibians are already overheating, and many more species will be impacted by climate warming globally. See the thread below for a digest 🧵 Link to the paper: doi.org/10.1038/s415... #Nature

"We all know the only thing efficient about this administration is how quickly it can break the law so a select few can profit," said @bretthartl.bsky.social.

Finally had a chance to read this fascinating CBC interactive by @jaelabernstien.bsky.social and Emily Chung about buried rivers across Canada and around the world being "daylighted." Congrats on the recent award from @aaas.org @kavlifoundation.bsky.social! newsinteractives.cbc.ca/features/202...

Went (unsuccessfully) looking for lamprey but successfully enjoyed the outdoors. Hopefully more lamprey next time though.

The news may be awful, but @biographic.bsky.social is committed to shining a light on the beauty and wonder that still exists--like these tiny ecosystem engineers that clear dead material, alter forests' architecture and soil chemistry, and feed wildlife. My latest:

Dang. Have to replace small latches on my strobes which wore out over the years. Almost $600, more than I was hoping it'd cost. Not new equipment, just a trivial repair. Underwater (& wildlife in general) photography isn't cheap. There are a lot of unseen costs to producing images. Pay photographers

The San Francisco gartersnake - one of the USA's most beautiful and endangered snakes. Many people don't believe a bright blue and red snake can be discreet - but when seen in its habitat you can see how these snakes can evade notice.

1st newt shoot of the year earlier this week. I had some equipment issues but still came away with some keepers. Never get tired of photographing these newts 🦎🌎

Really pleased that my image of California newts laying eggs was highly commended in the behavior category of Underwater Photographer of the Year 2025! My favorite subjects, happy to have them go the distance.

There's lions in these hills. I've probably walked past prints may times without noticing them but impossible to miss these clear mountain lion tracks on a trail in the Diablo Range of California. Love to see it 😍

A few fun Valentine's Day images of romance. 1. Marine iguanas share a tender moment after the male spent all day fighting & leering at every female. 2. Newt orgy!! 3. Tiny male spider with a giant female - mate or get eaten, he won't know until he tries! 4. Chinook salmon spreading the love.

Images that didn't make it into my recent LA fire & wildlife article. Alligator lizard, a common sp in the wildland-urban interface. Red-legged frogs were reintroduced to the Santa Monica mtns ~decade ago & whose breeding is hampered by fire-induced mudslides. Coyotes which may favor burned habitat.

“Burgum and Trump are strapping dynamite to basic rules that protect our natural world,” says Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity.

Gorgeous anemones and gorgeous conditions just off the coast of Monterey, California.

I am a simple man - I see @antonsrkn.bsky.social and I know it's excellent work and therefore repost. Well done, Anton!

Great piece by @antonsrkn.bsky.social delving into all the nuance surrounding how the L.A. fires might impact wildlife. Happy to have been part of it, check it out!

I don't venture into marine environments too often but have to admit, kelp forest is such a special ecosystem. Besides swimming through the amazing 3D environment - highlight had to be this cormorant that took a few loops around us as it chased a fish.

welcome to the world new spider genus Siskiyu. you've been lurking in the dark, magical woods of far northern California for millenia. Now the humans have finally gotten around to telling your story, at least in part this research was funded by the NSF OA here zookeys.pensoft.net/article/1402...

About 2 years ago, this was published - at the time I remember how odd I felt to have my images next to an article about possible nuclear war. Somehow, things have only gotten worse. I've seen my images/writing sandwiched between posts on genocide, on the ongoing dismantling of American democracy...

Hot off the press! An article I wrote for Smithsonian on how the LA fires have impacted wildlife. I believe its the deepest dive into the LA fires' effects on fauna so far & not just because we talk diving fish & newts! Deeply grateful to all the experts who spoke with me & Joe's excellent editing🌎