Baby Animals: Take a Time Out for Cuteness

My glamorous, jet-setting career of being a travel photographer has suddenly become not so alluring during this Covid-19 pandemic! All of the contracts and gigs I had lined up for spring have been canceled and I’m stuck at home for the foreseeable future.

Luckily, my silver lining is that I’ve had more time to dig through my archives and marvel at all the amazing places I’ve been. I find the most solace in images of our beautiful natural world, and of course, nothing cheers me like images of adorable baby animals! I hope to be sharing more images with you over the next weeks (or months?) of social isolation. Please enjoy these baby animal pictures and stay healthy and safe!

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If “stay-at-home” measures had me crammed next to my sibling and literally being sat on by a parent, I wouldn’t be so happy either. Luckily, these gentoo penguin chicks were made for these rocky, close quarters and the warmth of a parent’s belly. Port Lockroy, Antarctica.

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This young sloth is a vision of social isolation with its own cecropia tree for both eating and sleeping! Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, Upper Amazon, Peru.

Zimbabwe.

These elephants huddle together to protect the newest member of their pack. Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe.

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Remember, we’ve got each others backs during these trying times. Two juvenile brown bear cubs stand back-to-back while their mother hunts for salmon in Southeast Alaska.

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Sea otters float in kelp beds in the nutrient-rich waters surrounding the Inian Islands in Southeast Alaska.

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Mornings are the most lovely time to be out on safari. I photographed these white rhino while on assignment for National Geographic Traveler. uMkhuze Game Reserve, South Africa.

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Downy Adelie penguin chicks must stay in the colony while their parents go out to sea to hunt. If your children are getting cranky staying home during this pandemic, you could always remind them that at least their next meal won’t be regurgitated! Brown Bluff, Antarctica.

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A Nazca booby safeguards its chick at Punta Suarez in the Galápagos Islands.

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A pod of orca, including this female and juvenile, swim off of Trinity Island, Antarctica.

Zambia.

Fat and happy lion cubs rest together after having feasted on a kill. Kids, don’t follow their example, because rules of social isolation don’t apply to cubs! South Luangwa National Park, Zambia.

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An Antarctic fur seal nuzzles her pup on a rocky beach at Fortuna Bay, South Georgia Island.

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This young southern elephant seal stole my heart at Gold Harbour on South Georgia Island.

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This family of noisy night monkeys is doing an excellent job at social distancing. Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, Upper Amazon River, Peru.

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Surprise, it is fish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! A female Great frigatebird feeds her chick in its nest on North Seymour Island in the Galápagos Islands.

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Young Galápagos sea lions frolic along the rust-colored shoreline on Rábida Island.

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A young guanaco in the grass at Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia, Chile.

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Remember when you grew as tall as your parents but you had acne and didn’t quite fit into your body yet? Well, teenage years are awkward even for blue-footed boobies. Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.

Safari in the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.

A tender moment between a mother giraffe and her baby. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya.

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Keeping six feet of distance between penguins would be impossible in this king penguin colony! Gold Harbour, South Georgia Island.

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Number 2 is in the lead! A young tortoise ventures down a path at the Galapaguera de Cerro Colorado reserve in the Galápagos Islands of Ecuador.

Durban and Kwa-Zulu Natal in National Geographic Traveler magazine

On Newsstands: Durban for National Geographic Traveler

In January, I went Into the Zulu Kingdom with travel writer extraordinaire, George W. Stone, for National Geographic Traveler magazine. The folks at Traveler already knew I was in love with South Africa from a piece I shot for them a few years ago and I was more than happy to return to explore a different area of the country.

George and I, with the unfailing support of our fixer Rhys, made it our mission to discover the highlights of the province of KwaZulu-Natal. We ventured to the near unpronounceable iSimangaliso Wetland Park and were rendered speechless by the wildlife we spotted. We explored Zulu culture in the beautiful rolling hills outside of Durban. And while in the Northern Drakensberg Mountains, we went in search of the world’s second tallest waterfall only to be foiled by fog and spoiled by other gorgeous vistas.

And then there was Durban. We got to explore this breezy city on the banks of the Indian Ocean and its rainbow of cultures, flavors, and activities. We sniffed out the up-and-coming scenes and visited old classics.

I gauge the real success of an assignment on how badly I want to return to a place. This assignment has done nothing to abate my desire to return to South Africa and catch a wave in a pastel sunrise on Durban’s waterfront.

Click on a photo below to see it larger. Bonus: Can you find my cameo?

Head to a newsstand to read the full story in the current May 2015 issue of National Geographic Traveler magazine and see more photos in an online gallery here.

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Thanks to the team at Traveler for a great story, especially Dan, Christine, and Jerry. And kudos to George for being such a wonderful travel companion and collaborator!

Editor’s Note: The recent xenophobic attacks in Durban and other parts of South Africa are shocking and tragic. If I’ve learned anything from my visits to the country, it is that South Africans are proud, strong and resilient. I hope that this dark, passing cloud is brief over the sun of South Africa. I encourage you to visit this amazing country to see the beauty of its people and culture firsthand.

On Newsstands: Cape Town in National Geographic Traveler

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Artists Dani Le Roy (left) and Laura Summs (right) work on one of their signature crochet rugs in the studio of Moonbasket. They create pendant lights, stiffened bowls, jewelry, and motif carpets using crochet and they hire and empower women from the Khayalitsha township to produce the bulk of their materials.

Last November while I was visiting Cape Town, I was given a short assignment by my friend and former colleague Carol Enquist to photograph the Woodstock neighborhood of Cape Town for National Geographic Traveler magazine. With Cape Town being named World Design Capital for 2014, it was the perfect time to explore Woodstock, a neighborhood filled with designers, artists, and innovation tucked at the foot of Devils Peak. I roamed the colorful streets and popped into old warehouses turned new, looking for subjects for my lens, falling more in love with this South African city by the minute. Along the way I was also lucky enough to get to meet up with the writer of the piece, the talented Sarah Khan who is now living in Cape Town.

Go grab the April 2014 issue of National Geographic Traveler off of newsstands and stay tuned here for a blog post of some outtakes from the shoot. Then be prepared to want to book a one-way ticket to the Mother City.

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The article on Woodstock ran in National Geographic Traveler‘s Best of the World section and a photo from the artist DALeast‘s studio at Side Street Studios ran on the contents pages of the April 2014 issue.

Looking Back and Looking Ahead

My, what a year 2013 was. An update is long overdue. In 2013 I made my annual pilgrimage to New Orleans to don not one, not two, but four costumes and photograph one of the greatest festivals on earth, Mardi Gras. My San Francisco feature story photos hit the press and came out in the April issue of National Geographic Traveler. I worked with Dan Westergren and Mark Thiessen teaching weekend photo workshops in DC and explored the city through the eyes of curious photography students. I was inspired and rejuvenated at the annual National Geographic Magazine Photo Seminar in January and at the Look3 festival in June. In August I bid adieu to my office and colleagues at National Geographic Traveler after seven wonderful years of photo editing. I packed up my DC apartment and hopped a plane to Africa to explore eight different countries. I survived a hippo-riddled canoe ride on the Zambezi River, marvels at the wonder of Victoria Falls, and fell in love with leopards. I spent an entire month in the gorgeous city of Cape Town before heading back to my home state of Oregon. Thousands of photos later, it is 2014 and I’ve repacked my bags for the next big thing. Today I’m boarding a ship which I’ll call home for 114 days while working as photographer for the Institute for Shipboard Education’s program, Semester at Sea. Follow along at my travel blog or through the Spring 2014 voyage blog where I’ll be contributing. Then in June and October I’ll be on a ship again, cruising through the Galapagos Islands with National Geographic Expeditions as a photography Expert and instructor. With almost a third of 2014 being spent on a ship, I best find my sea legs. I’ll leave you with a few of my favorite photos from Africa in 2013.