By land and by sea

A Chinook salmon and a small dog eye each other at the Winchester Dam fish ladder on the North Umpqua River near Roseburg, Ore.  The fish ladder is a fun place to take pictures.  The species of fish passing through change depending on the time of the year.

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Critters

Earlier this year I traveled to the Gulf Coast to photography the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.  I was mostly interested in documenting the effects on the animals.  Here is a slide show I put together with some of my work from the spill.  My photos are represented by Zuma Press.

Barn owl

I spotted this barn owl sitting on a fence post along Interstate 5 north of Roseburg, Ore., a few months ago.  My mother loves this image and I recently ordered her an 11x14 print.  Prints of my animal and nature pictures are available.  Check this gallery for online print ordering.

Critters of the Week

 I have two photos in the Animal Tracks online slide show on msnbc.com this week. They picked up a couple of photos via my photo agency Zuma Press.  My animal and nature pictures are often published in magazines, books, and websites worldwide.

Smiling lizard

A wild western fence lizard, also know as a blue-belly, basks in the sunshine on a fence post along a pasture in rural Douglas County, Oregon. With a little stealth it's easy to sneak up on these cool little lizards.  They often use the time honored method of not moving to avoid predators.  I easily could have picked this one up and taken him home as a pet.

Fox kits

Earlier this year my friend Evan Kruse, of Kruse Farms, told me about a fox den in an alfalfa field on his family farm west of Roseburg, Ore. Using my car as a blind I captured some fun pictures. I used my super-long telephoto lens to capture this little moment.

Fence sitter

I love shooting in twilight with a bit of fill flash.  This little guy was climbing on the deer fence around my raised beds.  I'm not sure what type of critter he is.  Any guesses?

She mates and then she kills

I found this little lady near my photo studio in Roseburg last week.  From what I've read, the western black widow spider does not eat her mate. This makes me want to rent 1987's Black Widow staring Debra Winger and Dennis Hopper.

Critter conversation

A katydid and a beetle meet on a sunflower.  Sounds like the setup for a joke.  What do you think they're talking about?

Guess the Critter

 

Can you guess the species?