Welcome Pixcetera Visitors!

[ 8.25.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

My image "Wailau Beach Rainbow" from the north shore of Molokai, HI is featured on the homepage of Pixcetera as part of the 2008 Nature's Best Ocean Views Competition.

I'd like to say thank you again to everyone who has enjoyed my photography and sent me many complimentary emails and print orders! As a professional photographer, it is a sad state that we are in when people just assume that something so beautiful has to be a fraud. I spend almost 6 months each year traveling the world to capture spectacular images using professional camera equipment. I shot this image with a Pentax medium format camera using professional Fuji slide film, which I still use for all of my landscape images. Most of the time, I come back with at least 1 photo from each trip, but often I come back with nothing at all. This incredible rainbow image was just shear luck on the second day of a week long sea-kayaking trip on Molokai. Fortunately, I was able to set up and compose the image in the pouring rain fast enough that I came home with the shot. As often as I put myself out in nature, I still only witness a rainbow like this on average of every other year. If you would like to learn more about rainbows, please visit atoptics.co.uk/bows. Please feel free to email me if you are interested in ordering one of my fine art prints. Thank you.

Sea Otter, Glacier Bay NP, Alaska

[ 7.31.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

I spent 2 very wet days following an incredibly friendly sea otter around a bay that I was anchored in on the outer coast of Glacier Bay NP. I have never had any luck getting within 100 yards of a sea otter, let alone take it's picture. The moms and babies especially want nothing to do with me. But this little guy was a whole different story. When I first found him, he did not react and swim away, rather he just continued his swimming and feeding routine. I spent about 8 hours 2 days in a row following him around and observing his behavior. He was so incredibly cute and tolerant of my presence. This is one of my favorite images of him scratching his head with the beautiful green forest reflection all around him.

Sea Otter, Glacier Bay NP, Alaska

[ 7.31.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

Every time that this sea otter went to the far end of the bay at low tide, he would drop down to the bottom and grab 2 crabs to eat. He must have eaten 20-30 crabs in an hour. It was very cool watching him, and he could have cared less about my inflatable following him around all day.

Sea Otter, Glacier Bay NP, Alaska

[ 7.31.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

This is just a nice simple composition with an incredibly cute subject.

Sea Otter, Glacier Bay NP, Alaska

[ 7.31.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

After shooting 16 GB of horizontal compositions the first day, I turned my focus to shooting verticals the second day. It was a lot harder to perfectly line up his body for the vertical shot using my inflatable than it was for the horizontals.

Sea Otter, Glacier Bay NP, Alaska

[ 7.31.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

I really like the reflection on the calm water as the sea otter continued to give me a tour of its bay.

Sea Otter, Glacier Bay NP, Alaska

[ 7.31.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

This is about as close as you can be to a sea otter with a 400mm lens.

Taylor Bay, Glacier NP, Alaska

[ 7.31.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

I first visited Taylor Bay near Cape Spencer in May and knew that I had to come back. The Fairweather Mountains and the Brady Glacier are just incredible to look at, if you can see them. I am still trying to figure out how to photograph them if the conditions ever allowed for it. In the meantime, I've spent a lot of time exploring the rocky shoreline and moraine flats. This composition came together very quickly for me. It was the only golden sunset light image I got in 15 days of getting rained on in SE Alaska.

Chicagof-Yakobi Wilderness, Tongass National Forest, Alaska

[ 7.31.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

The coastal landscape on Chicagof Island really surprised me. I would have thought that it would have been all tall trees and rainforest, but instead it was all these stunted little trees and bogs. I scouted this location above Mirror Harbor after several days of being boat bound due to a gale in the Gulf of Alaska. I found the landscape reminded me of images I have seen from the Amazon or Coast Rica and not Alaska. This gnarled tree reminded me of a Japanese painting. I think the mountain in the distance must be a volcano.

2008 Nature's Best Ocean Views Photography Exhibit at the Smithsonian

[ 7.6.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

I have 2 images in the summer issue of Nature's Best as part of their inaugural Ocean Views competition. They are also on display at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC through December. This image of a spectacular early morning rainbow was taken on a sea kayaking trip on the remote north shore of Molokai and is one of my best selling Hawaii images.

Please visit more of my images from Molokai.

2008 Nature's Best Ocean Views Photography Exhibit at the Smithsonian

[ 7.6.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

I submitted several of my landscape and wildlife images from the marine environment this past January to Nature's Best for consideration in their inaugural Ocean Views competition. This image of glacial ice in Johns Hopkins Inlet at sunrise was awarded an Honorable Mention in the Landscape category and is currently on display at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC through December.

Please take a look at more of my images from Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska.

2008 Shell/BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year

[ 7.6.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

I recently got my 2008 entry returned to me. I again did not have any of my wildlife or landscape images make it into the competition, however, I did have 8 out of my 12 images that I submitted make it to the Semi-Final round of judging, including this image of the spectacular Cuernos at sunrise from the shores of Lago Pegoe in Torres del Paine National Park in Chilean Patagonia.

Please visit more of my images from Torres del Paine National Park.

Alaska Airlines In-Flight Magazine

[ 6.29.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

In the July issue of Alaska Airlines, I will have 4 of my images featured in the Alaska wildlife section, including the double page opening spread with this image of humpback whales bubble-feeding in Chatham Strait.

Please visit more of my humpback whale images.

Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, California

[ 6.29.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

I am very pleased to announce that the world-renowned Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, CA will now be carrying my mini prints in their gift shop. Initially, they will be carrying 6 different images from my marine wildlife collection, including this image of Stellar sealions underwater from Hornby Island, British Columbia. They will also be carrying several of my humpback whale, lemon shark, horned puffin, and spinner dolphin images.

Steven Kazlowski's "The Last Polar Bear: Facing the Truth of a Warming World"

[ 6.25.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

On May 15, 2008, the US listed the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Almost immediately every oil and extraction politician in Alaska and the rest of the US, along with conservative pundits like Rush Limbaugh attacked the move and questioned the science. In case anyone has been asleep and thinks that global warming is not a proven fact, please take the time to look at my friend and fellow photographer Steve Kazlowski's new book. Steve has spent most of the last decade photographing polar bears in northern Alaska. His dedication to his subject has allowed him to put together one of the finest photography books that I have ever seen. The book is titled "The Last Polar Bear: Facing the Truth of a Warming World" and is available from The Mountaineers books here in Seattle. Steve's accompanying exhibit of 40 large prints will be on display at the Burke Museum at the University of Washington starting this Saturday June 28 until Dec 31. Please make it a point to stop by and see some of the most beautiful and important images of our time.

To see more of Steve's amazing images, please visit his website Left Eye Productions.

Harbor Seal, Tracy Arm, Alaska

[ 6.21.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

I visited Tracy Arm for the first time in 2007. I had wanted to try and photograph the harbor seals and their babies on the ice flows, but was not successful. I knew that I would have to come back and spend more time, as well as figure out how to get closer without spooking them. I thought about it all winter and new that I was going to have to conceal my red inflatable in order to use it as a blind. I bought a couple of white shower curtains that I cut in half and used to cover my boat's tubes. The other thing I did was I let the wind blow me in the right direction while laying down on my boat's floorboards. My plan worked exceptionally well this time and I was able to capture some very beautiful portraits of the harbor seals without disturbing them.

Please visit more of my Harbor Seal Photography.

Harbor Seal Mom & Baby, Tracy Arm, Alaska

[ 6.21.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

This mother harbor seal was very tolerant of my somewhat concealed presence. I must have looked very funny and out of place. I was a big white thing floating by like any other iceberg, but with my big lens held up to my face. This mom kept glancing in my direction, but couldn't figure out what I was, and not feeling threatened, she went back to resting with her newborn baby. Note the umbilical cord on the baby's stomache.

Please visit more of my Harbor Seal Photography.

Harbor Seal Mom & Baby, Tracy Arm, Alaska

[ 6.21.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

This is an image of a mother harbor seal and her baby trying to figure out what the heck I was. This is a much more typical look that I got right before they dove into the water. Now that I know what this looks like, I can tell that this is the more common image of harbor seals compared to the softer images that I was after.

Please visit more of my Harbor Seal Photography.

Harbor Seal, Tracy Arm, Alaska

[ 6.21.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

This is one of the most relaxed images of a mother harbor seal that I photographed. She could tell that something was unusual about the iceberg that I was appearing to be as I floated by her, but again, she was relaxed the whole time and went back to resting with her newborn.

Please visit more of my Harbor Seal Photography.

Fords Terror, Endicott Arm, Alaska

[ 6.21.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

I find Southeast Alaska to be incredibly frustrating for landscape photography. I like sunrise/sunset images, and you basically do not get any up there. I find it very hard to photographically convey the heavy overcast rainy days that are so common. However, I feel like I have done a good job with this image. I visited Fords Terror 3 different days and finally got the right conditions of a lot of clouds and rain. I used my inflatable to cover the 25 miles from where my boat was anchored to Fords Terror. I wore every layer of clothes that I own, and used my new secret weapon for Southeast, plastic rain gear. Forget wearing Gore-tex up there. Fords Terror is one of my favorite places that I have visited in Southeast. The cliffs surrounding it and waterfalls everywhere you look is just spectacular scenery.

Please visit more of my Southeast Alaska Photography.

Bald Eagles on Icebergs in Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska

[ 6.21.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

Eagles are surprisingly difficult to get close to in the wild. Sure, I have been only a few feet away from them on a boat dock while someone was cutting up a salmon, but to get close to them in a more natural setting is very difficult. They spook very easy, and when I am on the water, they can see me coming from a long way away. These 2 posed long enough for me to get a few shots with the nice blurred mountain background before they too took flight.

Please visit more of my Bald Eagle Photography.

Humpback Whales and Pilot Whales Underwater

[ 6.8.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

While photographing these males competing for the affection of a nearby female, there were hundreds of pilot whales in the area. At one point I even noticed a couple of oceanic white tip sharks in the distance. Sometimes I don't know what to think and just let my primal senses take over when I am surrounded by so many wild creatures in such an alien environment.

Please visit more of my Humpback Whale Photography.

Humpback Whale Calf Nursing Underwater

[ 6.8.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

I'm still editing my images from this winter and thought that this was a pretty unusual image. When I encountered this group of whales, I noticed after a while that the calf was taking a break and was nursing! It was pretty amazing to witness and photograph.

Please visit more of my Humpback Whale Photography.

Green Sea Turtle Encounter, Hawaii

[ 6.5.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

Back in February, I noticed this little pelagic turtle floating in the deep blue many miles off shore of the Big Island. The seas were calm and there weren't any bigger critters around, so I decided to jump in and take this little guys picture. It was not very big and had probably not seen land for a long time, so it immediately took an interest in the boat and anyone who jumped in the water. This turtle even climbed on top of my camera housing while I was swimming next to it! All the fun ended when an enormous Galapagos shark that was bigger than myself came rocketing out of the deep to check me out. I did not see it until it was upon me. Fortunately, it just came at me and turned very abruptly at the last second. My boat captain heard me screaming and quickly came over to pick me up. I did not get back in the water that afternoon, but I did the next day and the rest of the trip. Sorry, I did not get any images of the shark!

Please visit more of my Sea Turtle Photography.

Harbor Seal Underwater, Nanaimo, British Columbia

[ 5.28.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

My buddy Paul and I went up to Nanaimo last week for a few days. I have been wanting to do some cold water diving for awhile. I also just bought a new 8" dome port for my Ikelite housing that I wanted to try out. Paul has the same boat that I do, a 22' C-Dory, so we took it on the ferry with his big truck and wasted a lot of gas. After all of the expense and effort to get up there, the underwater visibility was less than 5'. It sucked. I managed to get this one image (which is not that great in my opinion) of a harbor seal staring at its reflection in my dome. Even when the images are not that great, it is always amazing to swim with marine animals. I will have to try again when the visibility is better next winter.

Please visit more of my Harbor Seal Photography.

Stumble It!

Humpback Whales Underwater Trying To Get a Female's Attention

[ 5.8.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

These big males were pursuing this mother and her new a calf for hours. She did not really want to have anything to do with them, but they stayed with her regardless.

Please visit more of my Humpback Whale Photography.

Humpback Whales Underwater Taking A Closer Look At Me

[ 5.8.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

These underwater digital images require a lot of work to remove as much of the cyan-blue cast as possible. I hope that you enjoy the results.

Please visit more of my Humpback Whale Photography.

Male Humpback Whales Underwater Blowing Aggresive Bubbles

[ 5.8.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

I am getting back into working on my digital images that I took a few months ago. These 2 males were blowing bubbles at each other to show dominance while pursuing a female.

Please visit more of my Humpback Whale Photography.

Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska

[ 5.6.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

I just got back from my first trip to SE Alaska for the year. I was hoping to be in Glacier Bay before anyone else this year and while it still looked like winter. The weather and photo opportunities were disappointing, but that is SE Alaska for you. This image was created on Leland Island during the only nice sunset I got in 11 days of effort. I really enjoyed the shells on this beach looking up towards the snow capped peaks enveloped in the clouds. I could hear the Steallar sea lions barking on a nearby island as I took this photo. There was very little wind, so my boat was anchored in the lagoon behind me. It was a perfect Alaska wilderness experience.

Please visit more of my Glacier Bay National Park Photography.

Olympic Peninsula Photography Workshop

[ 5.6.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

A few weeks ago, I lead a private photography workshop for Mark & Ross from Minnesota. We had a very busy 3 day trip photographing the rainforest in the afternoon and beaches at sunrise and sunset. I had not been out to Second Beach for several years, but it was as spectacular as ever. I think that we all agreed that this sunset image was the nicest of the whole trip.

Please visit my Nature Photography Workshops page to learn more about my private photography workshops or visit my Olympic National Park Photography page to see more of my images from the Washington coast.

Humpback Whale Underwater

[ 4.6.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

Here is another new image of an amazing humpback whale encounter. This large male came incredibly close to me, with his pectoral fin coming within a foot of my camera moments after this images was taken!

Please visit more of my Humpback Whale Photography.

Oceanic Whitetip Shark, Hawaii

[ 3.28.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

I have been spending the last few weeks updating and organizing the website. I hope that you like the new layout. I am now starting to get back to editing my recent images from my trip to Hawaii. My friend and well-known underwater photographer Doug Perrine was kind enough to take me out on his boat for a shark encounter. We went out to one of the FAD buoys and waited for a few minutes, and sure enough 2 oceanic whitetip sharks made their appearance! We spent about 2 hours in the water trying to photograph them. It was my first time with oceanics and it was very beautiful. I've always heard that they will come right up to you and bump you, which sure enough they did. This was the best shot that I got while the sun was still out.

Please visit more of my Shark Photography.

Wallace Falls State Park, Washington

[ 3.21.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

I spent an afternoon at Wallace Falls last week. It is a nice hike, that is best done during the week when nobody else is there. This is the time of year to start looking for those beautiful mossy green rainforest images on a cloudy day. This is the image that I got for my effort. Also, if you are a regular visitor to my site, you might have noticed that I have been updating it and adding some new pages. I hope that you enjoy the new work.

Please visit my Nature Photography Workshops page to learn more about my private photography workshops or visit my Central Cascades Photography page to see more of my images from Washington's Cascade mountain range.

Humpback Whale Underwater Encounter

[ 3.15.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

I just returned from a great diving trip and had an amazing encounter with a humpback whale. I'll let this image speak for itself.

Please visit more of my Humpback Whale Photography.

2008 VIMFF Photography Exhibit - Mountain Flora & Fauna - 3rd Place

[ 2.23.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

One of my favorite new bald eagle images has been awarded 3rd Place in the 2008 Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival Photography Competition. I captured this moment while visiting the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve near Haines, Alaska last fall. I approached this eagle through the woods and got down as low as I could on the ground to capture the perfect background blur behind it just as it called out to another eagle flying overhead.

Please visit my Nature Photography Awards page to learn more about my award winning nature photography or visit my Bald Eagle Photography page to see more of my bald eagle images.

Torres del Paine at Sunrise, Patagonia

[ 2.8.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

I have just returned from a 14 day trip to Patagonia. It took me over 27 hours of travel to fly from El Calafate back to Seattle. I spent 5 days backpacking and trying to photograph the famous Torres at sunrise. I was fortunate that I was able to photograph the spires 4 mornings in a row. I had to hike up a big hill for about an hour every day to be in place for the sunrise. On my final attempt, the wind was just screaming and it was very difficult to shoot. Right as this cloud came over the top of the spires, there was a brief lull in the wind and I was able to capture one frame that was sharp at the peak of the drama.

Please visit more of my Torres Del Paine National Park Photography from Patagonia.

Snow & Ice Covered Trees at Mount Rainier, Washington

[ 1.15.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

I went down to Mt Rainier on beautiful but crowded Sunday afternoon. The trail down from the Paradise parking lot to the start of Mazama Ridge was pretty solid, so I decided to walk up there and shoot the sunset. Most of you who have known me the past few years know that I have been trying to avoid snow, but this winter I have been putting in some effort to get some nice images. These snow covered trees are blasted by the wind and were encased in some spectacular ice formations. I thought that this composition was the best of my efforts.

Please visit more of my Mount Rainier National Park Photography.

Hawai'i Magazine Cover

[ 1.2.2008 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

The new issue of Hawai'i magazine has just hit the newsstand and I have the cover image! I provided them with several images a few months ago. They were so impressed with my work that they decided to use my image "East Pond Lava Vent" on the cover of their February issue which commemorates the 25th Anniversary of the Kilauea eruption that started on Jan 3, 1983.

Please visit my Publication Credits page to learn more about my nature photography publishing business or visit my Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Photography page to see more of my Hawaiian images.

Alaska Airlines & Horizon Airlines In-Flight Magazine

[ 12.12.2007 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

If you happen to be on an Alaska or Horizon flight this month, turn to page 81 and you will see one of my best selling images of Mt Rainier as the 'cover' for the Destination Washington section. I look forward to working with Alaska again in the future for their in-flight magazine image needs.

Please visit my Publication Credits page to learn more about my nature photography publishing business or visit my Mount Rainier National Park Photography page.

Outdoor Photographer Showcase

[ 10.15.2007 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

My image "Cloudy Fall Colors" is in the Showcase section of the November issue of Outdoor Photographer which just hit the news stands. I created this image at Mt Rainier 1 year ago on a morning where I could not see the summit at sunrise, but the fall colors were at their peak, so I took advantage of what I had available.

Please visit my Publication Credits page to learn more about my nature photography publishing business or visit my Mount Rainier National Park Photography page.

2007 Nature's Best Awards

[ 8.16.2007 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

I was contacted in July by Nature's Best and asked to submit 3 of my original slides for consideration for the Finals. I had 1 image in each of the following categories, Art In Nature, Plant Life, and this image of Denali in Landscapes. Unfortunately, they did not choose any of them for this years awards, but it is still quite an accomplishment to get as far as I did.

Please visit my Nature Photography Awards page to learn more about my award winning nature photography or visit my Denali National Park Photography page to see more of my Mt McKinley images.

2007 Shell/BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year

[ 7.18.2007 | Seattle, WA, USA ]
Jon Cornforth

I just opened my returned submission from the 2007 BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. It is the premier nature photography exhibit in the world. This year they had over 32,000 entries from 78 countries. Unfortunately, I did not have any of my images selected for the exhibit. However, of the 5 original transparencies that I submitted, all 5 of them made it into the Semi-Finals, and 2 of them made it into the Finals! My image "Cloudy Fall Colors Panorama" at Mt Rainier made it into the Finals in the In Praise of Plants category. Also, my image "Arctic Ocean Sunset Panorama" made it into the Finals into the Wild Places category. Consider for a moment that typically over half of the entries into these nature photography exhibits are in the Landscape categories, and you can understand that this is still quite an honor, even if nobody ever knows it but me.

Please visit my Nature Photography Awards page to learn more about my award winning nature photography or visit my Ivvavik National Park Photography page to see more of my Firth River images from the Arctic.