NATURE²

Standing on the Muir Woods floor gazing up at the towering redwoods. The trees have made a circle, the photograph is taken from inside the circle.

Bright pink captive flamingo with water droplets on its head. There is a water drop at the tip of its beak as well.

I believe with my whole heart in the Japanese concept of forest bathing. There is an energy in nature that connects all living things. I find peace when I am in nature and feel a connection to all living creatures. To say that I love animals of all shapes and sizes is an understatement. Animals have been a staple in my life from the very beginning. My life’s dream is to run an animal sanctuary where people can come and interact with the animals, connecting with their loving, healing energies.

Sleepy Santa Cruz

Primrose

Oakland Luck

Lil Fungi Family

I came across this little family of mushrooms while hiking in Reinhardt Regional Preserve. I have to admit there were MUCH smaller ones there too, but due to extenuating circumstances (read my kid fell out), I didn’t shoot any of those. I recently learned that genetically speaking, fungi are more closely related to us than to plants. 🤯

Easter Flowers

I like the way the center of this flower looks. I believe that part is the stamen. I took this on Easter Sunday, 2024. My mom asked me to photograph another plant in her yard, and I took this at the same time.

Sabi Sands Babies

In 2015 I was fortunate enough to travel to South Africa. It had always been a dream of my Mom, and she took us along for the ride. It was AMAZING. I took this photo while on an early morning safari ride with Notten’s Bush Camp in the Kruger National Park. Fun fact – we went in the winter so that there wouldn’t be a lot of vegetation on the “bush” plants, so that we could see the animals better.

Lady Gerber

This was taken in my backyard, with my Canon Rebel T3i. I love Gerber daisies, and I let a pack of live ladybugs go in my yard as a form of natural Pest control, and I found this little guy tucked in there a few days later.

Gothic Luck

This was taken on our second visit to the Reinhardt Redwood reserve in Oakland. East Bay parks kept assuring me that the ladybugs were indeed there. My child fell out about 1/2 there through the hike. We were quite the sight to be seen. 😂 This was slightly anticlimactic – I remember seeing ladybugs herniating at Muir Woods, and it was intense. There were not nearly as many ladybugs this time around, and my photos are in focus, so I’ll take it. My favorite part of this nature shot was that the plants they were on were black. That was unexpected. Also, for those wondering, the hike back was a breeze, played and ran the whole way.

Discover the healing power of nature with these stunning photographs of various forms of nature where you can feel the natural energy.

Cool Plant Man

I took this photo while we were on an all-expenses-paid trip to Carmel Valley Ranch. This cool-looking plant was all over the property, so I wrongly assumed it must be native to the California Pacific Coast. This is a Leucadendron, and it is native to South Africa. (We all learned something new today.)

Muir Canopy

I took this photo at Muir Woods on New Year’s Day. We didn’t know it, but it was during the ladybug migration, and this was the most epic gathering of ladybugs I have ever witnessed. It was truly wild, I think about it literally decades later, and all of my photos of them are blurry. It is now a mission of mine to see a migration of that grandeur again.

Flamingo Drop

I took this with my trusty Canon Rebel T3i at the Oakland Zoo. I know a lot of people are anti-zoo; however, I am not one of those people. Roadside Kentucky Zoo… another story, but accredited zoos like Oakland’s serve a valuable purpose in teaching people about why the earth is so important and fragile. They make at least some of the world’s wonders accessible to everyone.

The Town Lichen

I took this on a family hike at the Reinhardt Redwood Reserve in Oakland CA. I was on a mission to find the migrating ladybugs that East Bay Parks told me were there. In my mind this should be a small branch on a plant growing in a tropical setting. It was 40° outside and drizzling in the Oakland hills. I live for different textures like this, all occupying the same space.

Livermore Red

Introducing the Livermore Red fine art photograph, capturing the vibrant red, orange, and yellow fall leaves of the Raywood Ash tree in Livermore, California. Each print is carefully numbered and signed, comes with a white mat, and is printed on high-quality photo paper. Bring the beauty of fall colors into your home with this limited edition piece.

Yosemite Grass

I took this photograph while I was in Yosemite Valley. It was my daughter’s first trip to the park, and we stayed in the tent cabins. I was struck by the beauty of the individual grass seeds and how they are the building blocks for most life in the valley

Alcatraz Hydrangeas

I took this photograph on my last trip to Alcatraz Island. (I have only been twice.) I was surprised to find this hydrangea growing on the island. In general, there is a lot of wildlife on the island. The views of San Francisco from Alcatraz are unparalleled. I would highly recommend a visit.

Sabi Play Time

My mom took our whole family on a trip to South Africa. If you get the opportunity, GO! My husband and I were a little nervous taking his 10-year-old with us, but it was amazing. The people were amazing, the wildlife was like no other, and being at the tip of a continent is really something else. This trip changed my worldview for sure.

Lil Fungi

East Bay Regional Parks had been posting that you could see thousands of ladybugs that gathered at Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park for hibernation. This is an unexpected wilderness area in the middle of Oakland. We didn’t have cell service, and I was not prepared. We chose the first trail we came to, which happened to be straight up hill. After an hour of hiking it became obvious this was not where the ladies were gathered. This Lil Fungi is a product of that hike.

Not a Monarch

This image gets its name because we went to see the monarchs overwintering in Santa Cruz at Natural Bridges State Beach – they have a nice observation deck for viewing the butterflies. This trip turned out to be somewhat anti-climactic, I saw the Monarchs all clustered together like 20′ – 50′ up in the trees. I got some amazing photos, but not a single up-close monarch. However, I captured this Cynthia Cardui drinking nectar from one of the flowers in the butterfly garden at the ranger’s station.

Purple & Gold

I love wildflowers. I guess, who doesn’t? Some years are better than others, depending on our rainfall. This was taken in Sunol at Little Yosemite. This is a great park to have a family hike.

Sunny Succulent

I took this a few months after my daughter was born, on an iPhone 6. I was probably at a nursery and liked the way the sun was reflecting off the water at the center of this freshly watered succulent. Succulents are a great representation of fractals in nature, and I am a sucker for a geometric repeating pattern.

Overwintering – Santa Cruz

This was the first trip I took after I decided that I was going to start taking my photography seriously. My husband challenged me to be more proactive about finding subject matter. I took my mom and daughter to Santa Cruz to see the monarchs overwintering in a small ravine feet from the Natural Bridges State Beach. This was mildly underwhelming and was the moment I realized that I officially needed a better zoom lens. This was still a cool phenomenon to witness and we had a great time overall.

Allison² Fine Art Photography