I find wonder in things close at hand and delight in looking at them carefully. I love exploring the depths of the commonplace and finding creative ways of sharing my experiences.
My love of exploration led to my getting a doctorate in biology at Stanford. And my desire to share this passion led to a decade of helping Stanford biology majors learn to do science, which, in a nutshell, is the art of learning directly from nature instead of from lectures and books. I wanted to share my thrill of learning from nature with still others, so I wrote The Pillbug Project which guides elementary school students as they learn from that delightful, common critter, the pillbug.
As one of the founders of The Monterey Bay Aquarium, I was able to combine my passions, helping over fifty million visitors experience the wonders I had encountered in Monterey Bay.
At Sea Studios, a wildlife film and video production company I co-founded, I worked with others to convey our love of natural history to visitors at zoos, aquariums, museums and national parks and to an even wider audience through broadcast television productions.
Because I so enjoy what I discover nearby, I have given myself one rule: no computer-generated images, only what I capture with my camera. I may layer images, move them across the screen, change saturation or color balance (and Photoshop out cat hairs) but it all starts with what I see within a few miles of here.
Doc Ricketts, Beth, my kids, the quirks of our kitties, the way liquids interact and the all outdoors inspire me.
