Author: Michael Fuchs Photography

The east side of the Sierras is one of my favorite areas to visit.

We often spot sea otters along the California coast, and it’s always fun to watch them busily feed among the kelp or even sleeping on the surface.  I photographed these two otters in Monterey Bay.  It was interesting to watch these two because they were sharing food.  In a disorganized way, they would take turns hunting for food and then share the meal. In this case the one in the back had just surfaced with a large abalone and they were both sharing it.

This is a closeup image that I took of a Painted Lady Butterfly wing using a microscope (300x magnification). It’s impressive that such a delicate wing isn’t damaged when they fly.  I like how the blue colors that normally seem iridescent are actually partially transparent when magnified.

Although California sea lions sometimes become problematic when humans encroach/share their natural habitat, but they are quite interesting to watch.  It’s pretty amazing to watch them effortlessly maneuver in the water, and it’s impressive how far offshore they go to fish.  Their social behavior seems almost dog-like at times.

This is a cute little female Red Squirrel that I photographed in a forest on the Kenai Peninsula.  I know squirrels aren’t exactly exotic wildlife, but I always enjoy watching animals in their native habitat.

I love evening light through trees.  Other than the awesome color, it makes such a nice soft glow.

Broken up river ice in a rocky arctic canyon.

We ran across this big beaver in an arctic pond near the Ross River in the Northwest Territory, Canada.  We camped on the bank of the pond for a few days waiting for the river to be passable. It was nice to spend some time and watch this beaver busily working on its pond.  Every once and a while it would announce its territory by slapping the water with its tail and make a big splash.