Farewell to Summer
September 11, 2025
•
Leave a Comment
Farewell to Summer: A Focus on the Elements
Text and photos by Heather Cline
Summer landscapes offer a wide range of visual opportunities shaped by the elements. Fire, water, earth, and air each bring distinct characteristics to the season—from glowing sunsets and active waterways to sculpted terrain and shifting skies. This post explores how...
Read the Full Post »
Fiery Sunset
September 09, 2025
•
Leave a Comment
There’s nothing better than a fiery sunset—especially in a place like Valley of Fire State Park. As this day faded, the sandstone lit up in deep reds and golds, echoing the sky above in a blaze of color. The heat of the day dissipated as a storm rolled in, making this the perfect end to a great day in the park!
Read the Full Post »
Wildlife of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
September 04, 2025
•
Leave a Comment
Fur, Scales, and Feathers: A Wildlife Journey Through Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
Text and photos by Heather Cline
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is an ecologically rich desert landscape located in southern Arizona along the U.S.–Mexico border. It sits within the Sonoran Desert, featuring mountain ranges and flat desert basins formed...
Read the Full Post »
Morning steam
September 02, 2025
•
Leave a Comment
One morning in Yellowstone, I was photographing the sunrise over Lake Yellowstone when I noticed a few shorebirds starting their day. As they moved along the water’s edge, foraging for food, one Killdeer caught my eye. It paused beside a steaming lakeside geyser, standing still as if soaking in the warmth. Killdeer are common birds—easy to overlook...
Read the Full Post »
The Art of Wildlife Parenting
August 28, 2025
•
Leave a Comment
The Art of Wildlife Parenting: A Practical Look at Survival and Strategy
Text and photos by Heather Cline
A Brown Bear sow leads her cubs on a safe path along the river
In nature, parenting is a survival strategy. Each species has developed its own approach to raising young, shaped by habitat, threats, and evolutionary pressures. These behav...
Read the Full Post »
What do you see?
August 26, 2025
•
Leave a Comment
Yellowstone National Park is often called the Serengeti of North America—and for good reason. Wildlife is everywhere: bears, wolves, elk, bison, and more. But on this trip, I made a point to focus on the landscapes. One evening, after a thunderstorm rolled through, I stopped to photograph a sweeping panorama of a horseshoe bend glowing in the sunse...
Read the Full Post »
The Wonderful World of Woodpeckers
August 21, 2025
•
1 Comment
The Wonderful World of Woodpeckers: Ten Species to Spotlight
Text and photos by Heather Cline
Bearded Woodpecker, Tanzania
Woodpeckers are easy to recognize by the tapping sounds they make as they drill into trees. They do this to find food, mark their territory, or build nests. These birds aren’t just noisy—they help control insect population...
Read the Full Post »
Check out my shoulder pads
August 19, 2025
•
Leave a Comment
I've seen my fair share of songbirds over the years, but this red-winged blackbird perched on a twig, wings fanned wide to reveal its vivid red shoulder patches was a fun and surprising capture. These birds are a familiar sight in wetlands and open fields, but that flash of color never gets old. The males use these bright markings to defend territo...
Read the Full Post »
Lens on Longevity: Documenting the Saguaro’s Story
August 14, 2025
•
1 Comment
Text and photos by Heather Cline
The saguaro cactus is one of the most recognizable plants in the Sonoran Desert. It starts life as a small seed and can grow into a large cactus that lives for over 150 years. Saguaros provide food and shelter for many desert animals, including birds, bats, and insects. Even after they die, their remains continue...
Read the Full Post »
Family Portrait
August 12, 2025
•
Leave a Comment
While out on a recent morning walk, I spotted this delightful scene of a mother ground squirrel and her four curious pups perched on a log. Often dismissed as common or pesky, California ground squirrels are surprisingly complex creatures. They live in social colonies, use alarm calls to warn each other of danger, and even perform a “tail-waving” d...
Read the Full Post »
Photographing the Unexpected
August 07, 2025
•
Leave a Comment
Hidden Gems: Photographing the Unexpected Landscape
Text and photos by Heather Cline
Round shaped concretions, Bowling Ball Beach
Not all beauty is lush, green, or symmetrical. Some of Earth’s most captivating scenes are born from volcanic fury, ancient decay, or mineral mystery. Geothermal basins, salt flats, petrified forests, and hoodoo...
Read the Full Post »
Mono’s Morning Monoliths
August 05, 2025
•
Leave a Comment
The South Tufas at Mono Lake take on an unearthly quality at sunrise, their limestone spires glowing in soft hues of peach and gold. As the first light spills across the still water, the formations cast perfect mirrored reflections. Photographing them at this hour allows for stillness—in both the air and lack of human presence. The low angle of lig...
Read the Full Post »
Do you have GAS?
July 31, 2025
•
Leave a Comment
GAS: A Real Photographic Illness
Text and photos by Heather Cline
On a recent photography workshop, a fellow photographer was telling me about a speech he had given on GAS. It had me laughing out loud and I immediately confessed to him that I would be stealing the idea for a photography blog. So - credit for this blog goes to Ken Cawley!
Gear...
Read the Full Post »
The Tabby’s Untamed Twin
July 29, 2025
•
Leave a Comment
You might look at this photo and think it's a domestic cat but beneath those familiar feline features lies an entirely different type of cat. This is no couch companion, it's a bobcat. While domestic cats are social, adaptable and often affectionate, bobcats are solitary hunters, shaped by rugged terrain and silence. They thrive in various environm...
Read the Full Post »
Dam Good Engineers: The American Beaver
July 24, 2025
•
Leave a Comment
Dam Good Engineers: The American Beaver
Text and photos by Heather Cline
They may be elusive and quiet, but beavers are anything but ordinary. As natural engineers and keystone species, their presence sparks a cascade of benefits—from creating lush wetlands to offering refuge for fish, frogs, bats, birds, and mammals. Their dams don’t just hold...
Read the Full Post »
© Cline Photography