This photograph is from Fisheating Creek Wildlife Management Area, near Florida's Lake Okeechobee. This is on the trail to Memorial Tree, taken on my return. As the dawn light became a bit more powerful, it began to filter through the trees more, casting a beautiful golden glow across the landscape. To me, this is a perfect example of a Florida forest. They truly have a unique beauty all their own. The mixture of sabal palmetto, bald cypress, and live oak (among others) gives the woods a distinctly primeval feel. And when the sun rises, the dense grassy undergrowth covered in dew is almost as bright as the morning sky.

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This massive bald cypress with giant, far-spreading knees is the famous Memorial Tree. It's so named because a local fisherman, while fishing here, was tragically killed when he went to help with an accident on nearby highway 27. This stretch of Fisheating Creek was his favorite spot, so his ashes were spread around the base of this tree. I can see why it was his favorite place. I've only been once, and already I've fallen in love. Most of the pictures you'll see of this tree online are from the wetter months, when it is flooded and much more green. I like that look a lot, and will be sure to return in the wet season!

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There are so many hot springs and geysers in Yellowstone that it's hard to keep track of them all. I recall this one being named Crystal Geyser, but I can't seem to confirm that online. I can't even recall for sure whether it was even a geyser. There are certain iconic places that everyone remembers the name of: Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic, Mammoth Hot Springs. And while those places are incredibly beautiful, sometimes the quieter, more remote features were more special. This small, perhaps unnamed thermal spring (or geyser?) is a perfect example. The beautiful turquoise waters seemed to journey to the center of the earth, while the thick steam rising from the spring seemed to shroud it in mystery. And I had it all to myself.

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Marine Iguanas are incredibly common throughout the Galapagos Islands. Despite being commonplace, they are still one of everyone's favorites. It's so captivating, almost funny, the first time you see them swimming around the rocky coast, trying to eat the algae while the waves keep trying to pull them away. It doesn't seem like the most peaceful way to eat a meal, but they are so close to the jagged rocks that it's probably pretty safe from predators. The beach, however, is a different story. Wide open spaces and high visibility don't exactly make for a safe refuge. So the iguanas rely on safety in numbers. And in addition to the beach providing ample sunlight for these cold-blooded reptiles, they are more than happy to recycle each other's body heat, too.

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The Blue-footed booby is one of the most unique-looking birds around, and one of the most iconic bits of wildlife in the Galapagos Islands. However, while often associated with the Galapagos, they are by no means endemic. They live all over the Pacific coast, from Baja California to South America. The blue feet are actually a "sexually selected trait," which means that bluer feet increases their chances of finding a mate. So it's possible that this guy's comical pose is more than just falsely anthropomorphized vanity. Maybe he really is excited about how blue his feet are after all! (They were some of the bluest I saw on the island).

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The Galapagos Islands are overrun with wildlife in general, but especially one creature in particular: the Sally Lightfoot crab. These crabs are everywhere. And they are very pretty, too -- a bright vibrant orange. When keywording a photograph of wildlife, I always look up the scientific name, if I don't already know it. When I found out the scientific name of the Sally-Lightfoot crab, I chuckled a bit. Graspus graspus. What a fitting name for a crab, grasping at everything with its claws. Especially these crabs, that constantly walk around picking at algae on the rocks. It seems like an almost comical scientific name to me!

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Magical worlds of unspoiled nature exist around every turn in Ecuador's Galapagos Islands. But of all the wonders I witnessed, the Waved Albatross courtship ritual was definitely the most memorable. During the courtship dance, the males create different combinations using certain set moves. All the males (they usually congregate) are doing the same moves, but in different orders. It's quite an odd sight to behold. The moves include things like bobbing their heads back and forth, or sword-fighting each other with their beaks. My personal favorite is when one starts to chatter his beak rapidly, as if he was shivering. Then, the other usually responds by lowering his head, then shooting his beak vertically skyward with a loud clicking noise. It's downright hilarious, and almost no one can stifle their laughter the first time they see it, especially if its unexpected. I highly recommend you search for a video online!

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In this piece you can see the rolling gypsum dunes of White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, with the beautiful Sacramento Mountains in the background. This photograph plays a bit of a trick on you. The moderate brightness of the dunes, coupled with the dark sky, seem to convince the viewer that this is likely a nighttime photograph. But in reality, it's not. It's the only photograph where the title is intentionally misleading, in order to further the ambiance of the image. In reality, this photograph was taken at near midday, with the sun almost directly overhead. The gypsum is so reflective, that the dunes were far brighter than even the desert sky. Thus, exposing for the sand yielded a dark sky. You can tell orientation of the sun by looking at the dunes, where the shadows are only present on the vertical wall of sand.

Higher resolutions of this image are available (the maximum resolution for this image is 6321x278). For usages that require a resolution higher than 3000px, or are otherwise beyond the standard terms and conditions, please email me directly at matt@matttilghman.com to discuss use-specific pricing.

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This is the kind of scene that if it were in the Appalachian Mountains, it would not be the same. (Or so I imagine.) Every waterfall I know on the East Coast that looks like this is overrun with tourists. Kids just can't seem to help themselves from sliding down the rocks and busting their bums. But here at Golden Cascade, deep in California's Santa Cruz Mountains, I was practically by myself. But maybe it's not an East Coast vs West Coast thing. Could be the fact that it's a six mile, semi-strenuous hike to get here. Could also be that for several months out of the year, these mountains don't get much rain, and this waterfall wouldn't be "slide-able." In fact, maybe it would never really be slideable, because there's not much of a pool at the bottom. But something tells me that they'd have built a road anyways, and at the very least it'd be a tourist trap.

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This is a photograph I had wanted in my portfolio for a long time. The forest vistas from Russian Ridge, which include views of redwood other evergreen forests in Big Basin and Portola State Parks, are at the same time intimate and stunning - a combination which is hard to capture. After attempting in many types of light and conditions, I feel I have finally captured this enigma. This is taken shortly after sunrise with the landscape compressed by a 480mm focal length, and the thin wispy fog adding just enough interest.

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