The Adventure of Photography
The September issue of National Geographic features this image as a two-page spread, leading off the “Visions” section (formerly “Visions of Earth”). The magazine only publishes three images this way each month, selected from thousands around the world for their “intriguing” and “breathtaking” qualities.
National Geographic is the gold standard of photojournalism, and I’m honored not only to have this image included in the magazine, but to have it in “Visions” where for years I’ve admired the work of photographers like Paul Nicklen, Tim Flach, and David Doubilet.
The photograph was taken at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco and features their incredible albino American alligator, Claude. I’ve made several visits to the Academy just to photograph Claude. You need permission to photograph from this part of the exhibit, and with the low light and reflective glass, it’s a challenging scene.
While my work has been published a number of times on NationalGeographic.com, I was surprised that after traveling all over North America the last few years taking pictures, it was a photo taken an hour from where I live, at a very popular attraction, that National Geographic chose to print.
Thank you Claude.
Prints of this image, including archival signed copies, are available for sale here.