Photography

Forty-seven photographs from Iceland, the Pacific Northwest, western China and the cities in between. Select any photograph to see it full screen.

Iceland

Black sand and white water

September 2026, 14 photographs

A loop of the Ring Road in September: the waterfalls and sea stacks of the south coast, glacier ice and the Vestrahorn at sunrise in the southeast, then north and west to Snæfellsnes before closing the circle at Brúarfoss.

The jagged Vestrahorn ridge glowing orange at sunrise, reflected in wet black sand, with streaks of retreating surf in the foreground — The Mirror at Stokksnes
Vestrahorn, Southeast Iceland
At low tide the black sand at Stokksnes holds a thin film of seawater, and for a few minutes after sunrise it turns the Vestrahorn into a mirror. A slow shutter drew the retreating waves into the silk in the foreground.

Black-and-white view of Skógafoss, a wide waterfall pouring over a dark cliff onto a stony riverbed — Skógafoss
South Iceland

A slender waterfall dropping into a moss-covered gorge, with a rushing stream in the foreground — Kvernufoss
South Iceland
16.5 mm, f/11, 1/5 s, ISO 50

A lone figure standing in the mouth of a dark cave, looking out over a misty plain crossed by a curving road — Looking Out from Gígjagjá
Hjörleifshöfði, South Iceland
18 mm, f/9, 1/80 s, ISO 100
Gígjagjá is better known as the Yoda Cave, after the profile its mouth cuts against the sky. That’s me in the doorway, with the road curving away across the Mýrdalssandur plain below.

Black-and-white image of two basalt sea stacks rising from heavy surf off a black sand beach, with a columnar basalt cliff on the left — Reynisdrangar
Reynisfjara, South Iceland
66 mm, f/6.3, 1/400 s, ISO 100

A thin waterfall falling from an amphitheatre of dark hexagonal basalt columns into a boulder-strewn stream — Svartifoss
Skaftafell, Vatnajökull National Park
16.5 mm, f/13, 0.8 s, ISO 50
Svartifoss, the “black falls”, drops over a cliff of hanging basalt columns so regular they look machined. They’re said to have inspired the architecture of Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavík.

A clear chunk of glacier ice on black sand as a wave streams around it under a pastel dawn sky — Glacier Ice
Diamond Beach, Southeast Iceland
16.5 mm, f/8, 1/3 s, ISO 200

A translucent piece of ice glowing with the rising sun on a black pebble beach, surf swirling around it — Sunrise on Diamond Beach
Diamond Beach, Southeast Iceland
18 mm, f/16, 1/5 s, ISO 50
Icebergs calve from Breiðamerkurjökull, drift through the Jökulsárlón lagoon and out to sea, and the surf throws the pieces back onto the sand. Some of this ice is centuries old.

Tufts of dune grass on black sand in front of the jagged Vestrahorn ridge under a fiery sunrise sky — Dune Grass, Stokksnes
Vestrahorn, Southeast Iceland
16 mm, f/8, 1/13 s, ISO 100

Black-and-white photograph of the Vestrahorn ridge with white clouds over its peaks, reflected in wet sand — Vestrahorn
Stokksnes, Southeast Iceland

A river spilling over a row of falls into a narrow rocky gorge under a pink evening sky — Kolufossar
Kolugljúfur Canyon, North Iceland

The cone-shaped Kirkjufell mountain behind a three-tiered waterfall, with storm clouds lit by low sun — Kirkjufell
Snæfellsnes Peninsula, West Iceland
Kirkjufell, “church mountain”, rises 463 metres over the fjord at Grundarfjörður, with Kirkjufellsfoss in front. It’s one of the most photographed views in Iceland; this time a storm was breaking up over the water as the light came through.

A tall, thin waterfall at the back of a dark, moss-covered gorge, with cascades over boulders in the foreground — Into the Gorge
Snæfellsnes Peninsula, West Iceland

Bright blue water rushing through a narrow channel in dark rock, fed by many small falls, under an orange autumn sky — Brúarfoss
Brúará River, South Iceland
Brúarfoss means “bridge falls”. The Brúará splits into dozens of small cascades before pouring into a narrow channel, and its cold, clear water glows an improbable blue.

Pacific Northwest

Sea stacks, waterfalls and volcanoes

June 2026, 13 photographs

A June road trip between the Oregon coast and the Cascades, with a detour north to Mount Rainier in Washington. Early summer meant snowmelt in every waterfall, long evenings on the beach and a clear, dark night under Mount Hood.

Seawater pouring into a round hole in dark volcanic rock at sunset, under a fiery sky over the Pacific — Thor’s Well
Cape Perpetua, Oregon
20 mm, f/16, 2 s, ISO 50
A sinkhole in the lava shelf at Cape Perpetua that seems to swallow the Pacific. On a rising tide the waves surge up through it, then drain back down in a ring of white water. At high tide it’s one of the most dangerous places on the coast to stand.

The massive Haystack Rock and two smaller sea stacks silhouetted at sunset, reflected in the wet sand of the beach — Haystack Rock
Cannon Beach, Oregon
22 mm, f/10, 2.5 s, ISO 100
Haystack Rock stands 235 feet above Cannon Beach, with the Needles just to the south. At low tide the wet sand holds the whole sky, so the sunset happens twice.

A tall, thin waterfall behind a steel footbridge, with a rocky creek and fresh green leaves in the foreground — Latourell Falls
Columbia River Gorge, Oregon
21 mm, f/13, 1.3 s, ISO 100

A powerful waterfall plunging into a misty turquoise pool surrounded by moss and tall conifers — Koosah Falls
McKenzie River, Oregon

A long ribbon of water falling down a dark basalt cliff into a mossy basin with small cascades — Watson Falls
Umpqua National Forest, Oregon
16 mm, f/13, 0.4 s, ISO 50
One of the tallest waterfalls in Oregon, falling in a single ribbon from a cliff of columnar basalt into a bowl of moss.

A moss-covered log and boulders in a stream below a tall waterfall — Below Watson Falls
Umpqua National Forest, Oregon
16 mm, f/13, 1/3 s, ISO 100

Snow-covered Mount Hood rising above a river lined with floating homes and sailboat masts — Mount Hood from the Columbia
Portland, Oregon
226 mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 s, ISO 100

Mount Hood glowing pink at sunset, mirrored in the still water of Trillium Lake, with rocks in the foreground — Trillium Lake
Mount Hood National Forest, Oregon

Mount Hood under a starry sky with the Milky Way, lights on its flank, reflected in a misty lake with rocks in the foreground — Midnight at Trillium Lake
Mount Hood National Forest, Oregon
18 mm, f/2.8, 60 s, ISO 1250
A minute-long exposure gathers the Milky Way over Mount Hood. The lights on the mountain’s flank belong to Timberline Lodge.

Panorama of the Milky Way arching over a forested lake shore, with Mount Hood and its lights at left and mist on the water — The Milky Way over Trillium Lake
Mount Hood National Forest, Oregon
f/2.8, 39 s, ISO 2000
Stitched from a row of exposures to hold the whole arch of the Milky Way, from Mount Hood on the left to the bright core above the trees.

A waterfall framed by the arch of an old stone road bridge, dropping into a mossy canyon — Christine Falls
Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
28 mm, f/10, 8 s, ISO 100

A cascading waterfall below a footbridge, with snow-covered Mount Rainier and pink clouds behind it, framed by firs — Myrtle Falls
Paradise, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
A short walk from Paradise, Edith Creek tumbles over Myrtle Falls with Mount Rainier, 14,410 feet of glaciated volcano, filling the sky behind it.

A weathered wooden mill on stilts beside a forest creek with small waterfalls, surrounded by lush green trees — Cedar Creek Grist Mill
Woodland, Washington
25 mm, f/11, 0.8 s, ISO 50

China

Mountains and water

2023–2024, 5 photographs

In Chinese, the word for landscape is 山水, shanshui: literally “mountains and water”. These come from the north side of the Tianshan in Xinjiang and from the high valleys of western Sichuan, where the nights are dark enough to camp under the Milky Way.

Rolling green meadows and dark spruce forest below a snow-dusted mountain range lit pink at sunset — Below the Tianshan
Xinjiang 新疆天山
Spruce forest and summer pasture on the northern slopes of the Tianshan, the “heavenly mountains” that run some 2,500 kilometres across Central Asia.

Black-and-white aerial view of a braided river spreading across a wide canyon floor under dark storm clouds — Anjihai Grand Canyon
Shawan, Xinjiang 安集海大峡谷
Seen from above, the Anjihai River braids across the floor of the canyon it has cut into the foothills of the Tianshan, under a storm gathering at the far end.

A mountain stream cascading over dark rocks beside moss-covered banks and rhododendron thickets — Mountain Stream
Hengduan Mountains 横断山脉

The Milky Way rising over a V-shaped mountain valley at night, with a small tent glowing at the edge of a meadow — Camp under the Milky Way
Western Sichuan 川西
A tent in a high valley, under a sky dark enough to show the dust lanes in the core of the Milky Way. Mist hangs below the peaks at the head of the valley.

Bleached driftwood logs along a mountain river at night, with tall conifers and the Milky Way over a distant peak — Driftwood and Stars
Western Sichuan 川西

Skylines

Chicago and other cities

2022–2026, 15 photographs

Chicago is home: a city where the sunset lines up with the street grid twice a year and, once in a long while, the aurora reaches the lakefront. Then Hong Kong, Qingdao, Shenzhen, Los Angeles and Kyoto, and to close, two things in the sky above all of them.

Panorama of the Chicago skyline lit up at dusk across calm water, under dark clouds and a pink sunset glow — Chicago at Blue Hour
From the Museum Campus, Chicago
47 mm, f/14, 13 s, ISO 100

Pink and green aurora glowing in the night sky above the Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan — Aurora over Chicago
South Side lakefront, Chicago
In November 2025 a severe geomagnetic storm pushed the northern lights far enough south to glow pink and green over the skyline, bright enough to show through the city’s own light.

The setting sun glowing between skyscrapers at the end of a downtown street, above elevated train tracks and evening traffic — Chicagohenge
The Loop, Chicago
Twice a year, around the equinoxes, the setting sun lines up with Chicago’s east–west street grid and sinks straight down the canyons of the Loop, here just above the ‘L’ tracks.

A large full moon in a pink twilight sky above a white lighthouse with a red roof at the end of a breakwater — Moon over the Harbor Light
Chicago Harbor Lighthouse
A full moon over the Chicago Harbor Lighthouse at dusk. The light has marked the entrance to the harbor since 1893.

The Chicago skyline under clouds blurred into long lilac streaks by a long exposure, above smooth water — Passing Clouds
From the Museum Campus, Chicago

Sunset over the gothic buildings of the University of Chicago campus, with the downtown skyline on the horizon — Hyde Park at Dusk
The University of Chicago
Home, for now: the University of Chicago’s gothic quadrangles at dusk, with the Loop on the horizon seven miles to the north.

Hong Kong Island’s dense skyscrapers lighting up at dusk below the silhouette of Victoria Peak, with the harbour at right — Hong Kong at Dusk
Hong Kong Island 香港
100 mm, f/5, 1/125 s, ISO 6400
The sun goes down behind Victoria Peak and Hong Kong Island lights up beneath it, from the convention centre on the harbour to Two IFC. Taken two days after Lunar New Year.

Stone steps and a wooden railing leading down to the sea, facing illuminated skyscrapers across the bay at night — Steps to the Water
Qingdao, Shandong 青岛

Moored sailboats and dinghies in the foreground, with a glowing waterfront skyline across dark water at night — Harbour Lights
Qingdao, Shandong 青岛
23 mm, f/2.8, 1/15 s, ISO 3200

Shenzhen’s skyline stretching to the horizon through golden haze, with forested hills and a flock of birds — Golden Haze
Shenzhen, Guangdong 深圳

City lights of Los Angeles spreading to the horizon under an orange afterglow, with the towers of Century City in the distance — Los Angeles, after Sunset
From Griffith Park, Los Angeles
70 mm, f/2.8, 1/60 s, ISO 400

The lit towers of downtown Los Angeles rising above a vast grid of city lights at night — Downtown, after Dark
From Griffith Park, Los Angeles
70 mm, f/2.8, 1/8 s, ISO 1000

A path through a tunnel of closely spaced vermilion torii gates inscribed with black Japanese characters — Senbon Torii
Fushimi Inari Taisha, Kyoto
Thousands of vermilion torii line the paths up Mount Inari, each one donated by a person or business whose name is painted on its pillar.

A comet with a long, faint tail in a twilight sky fading from deep blue to orange near the horizon — Comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS
Comet C/2023 A3 in the twilight of October 2024, its tail pointing away from the sun that had just set. It won’t be back for tens of thousands of years, if ever.

A full moon with exaggerated blue, teal and orange tones showing variations in surface minerals, against a black sky — Mineral Moon
A full moon with its colour pushed far past what the eye can see. The blues trace titanium-rich lava plains; the warmer tones, ground poorer in titanium.