Midgard
The middle world, stretched between sea and sky.
Pronghorn
North America's fastest land animal—60 mph top speed, evolved to outrun American cheetahs that haven't existed for 12,000 years. Spectacularly over-prepared for modern life.
Pine Siskin
By some improbable stroke of luck, I caught the sunlight bending through a siskin’s wings—tiny rainbows hiding in a shadow. A very happy accident indeed.
Pileated Woodpecker
The pileated woodpecker looks like it escaped from prehistory—part pterodactyl, part jackhammer. It sails through the trees in a wild, looping flight, then pauses to pound on wood as if collecting unpaid rent.
Blue Jay
Blur for the background, focus for the Blue Jay — and me, caught somewhere between. Turns out even an ordinary backyard can look extraordinary if you shake the camera just right.
Blue Jay
In a world of frost and sun-swirl, a lone blue jay waited, glowing like it had found the only warm idea in February. I stitched the scene wide to hold not just the bird, but the spectacle of swirling bokeh balls of winter sunlight.
Western Grebe
Photographed mid-courtship in a North Dakota prairie pothole. These birds will shortly rear up and patter across the water's surface in what can only be described as synchronized swimming meets Riverdance. It's extraordinarily silly and utterly magnificent in equal measure.
Wood Duck
A wood duck, looking as if it dressed for the opera and forgot its ticket, flaps away the chill of a Minnesota morning—just down the street from home, where nature still performs for free.
Black-capped Chickadee
This chickadee has no idea it’s part of an elaborate experiment involving Christmas lights, camera lenses, and mild cabin fever — the sort of thing that happens when one spends too many mornings photographing the same pine tree.
Trumpeter Swan
The floating blind is a marvelous contraption — it lets you slip unnoticed into the private world of birds. Most keep a sensible distance, politely pretending you’re not there. But swans are another matter. When the cygnets are about, the parents paddle straight up as if to say, “And just what do you think you’re doing here?” At such moments, the 600mm lens feels about four feet too long, and I can't seem to back away fast enough.
Belted Kingfisher
Belted Kingfishers don’t just have a favorite perch — they have an entire commute. They cycle through a handful of carefully chosen lookout posts scattered around the marsh, pausing at each like a seasoned angler checking old, reliable fishing holes before moving on to the next.
Trumpeter Swan
Through a cathedral of cattails and the warm haze of distant fires, a trumpeter swan lifted its wings to greet the day. From my floating hide—half engineering project, half folly—it felt like being granted front-row seats to the secrets of the swamp.
Hooded Merganser
I thought the floating blind in the rain could be fun… it was. I thought I packed enough towels to keep my gear dry… I didn’t. 💦
Wood Duck
Every spring, the wood duck returns to these quiet puddles of half-melted ice and cattails, looking improbably tropical—like someone who missed their flight to the Bahamas but decided to make the best of Minnesota anyway.
Barred Owl
Barred owls never migrate—they simply materialize, as if conjured by moonlight and the faint sound of mice. This one appeared in my backyard, looking both wise and slightly disappointed by my lack of field mice.
Black-capped Chickadee
The black-capped chickadee—an ounce of feathers and optimism—flared into my frame after a hundred empty shots. Two flashes, a fistful of seed, and a bit of luck turned backyard chaos into this moment of improbable grace.