Author: Michael Fuchs Photography

Arctic tundra is a bit different than I originally expected.  From a distance it looks like rolling hills of short brown or green grass.  A bit closer up, you notice that it often has small flowers, Arctic Cottongrass, and clumps of different plants.  Looking even closer, it is neat to observe that it is a very dense ecosystem of many small plants mixed together. It is often quite soft when not frozen.  Walking on it is difficult as you sink down into the soft mossy surface and into the mud that separates the tundra from the underlying permafrost.

The midnight sun shines across the arctic tundra covered foothills of the Richardson Mountains.

I photographed this female Stone Sheep in northern British Columbia in the Canadian Rockies. It’s impressive how easily they maneuver along the rocky cliffs.

I photographed this Starburst Sea Anemone along the California coast.  I like all of the subtle color, textures, and slight transparency.

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.