Goodbye Jane

Yesterday on October 1st, 2025 the world learned of the passing of Jane Goodall. It came as a surprise as I had seen her back in April at an event in Carmel, California, where I had the privilege of photographing her onstage with Charles Knowles from the Wildlife Conservation Network.  

Turning the clock back ten years, Jane was the honored guest at the Wildlife Conservation Network's annual Expo in San Francisco. It was at this event I was a volunteer and got to see Jane for the very first time in my life. I could not believe it and joined the long queue with hundreds of others to have my photo taken with her. What I will remember from that is how she smiled throughout, forever gracious and interested in what people had to say. 

Her message of hope for the planet was relentless and even at 91, she was traveling 300 days of the year around the world. It was here in California she bid us all goodbye in her sleep. Goodbye Jane and thank you for making me a better person. 

A Hummingbird in Manhattan!

I never would have dreamed of seeing my work in mid-town Manhattan, but it is currently being displayed by the National Audubon Society as part of their campaign to promote bird conservation during Climate Week. 

How on earth did that happen? A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by Audubon's director of photography with a request to use my photo of an Allen's Hummingbird for a large digital poster to be displayed in several bus shelters for a two week period beginning the week of September 24th.

The photo was taken at the UCSC Arboretum and I captured several images as this colorful male kept leaving to feed and return to his perch. This allowed me to prepare by pre-focusing in the exact spot where he would land and also use a remote trigger so I could stand back and watch his approach. Out of all the images captured, this particular one stood out for me as I loved the dead center, head on pose with wings spread. 

I had submitted the photo a few years back for their annual bird photography competition along with thousands of others every year, so it was an absolute surprise that they somehow dug this up and selected it as the photo they wanted to use. What an absolute thrill and an honor to think my little hummingbird is doing his part for birds and conservation. 

Sea Otters and Jane Goodall's Message of Hope

I recently had the honor of being asked to photograph Jane Goodall at the Sunset Center in Carmel, California. Jane was the special guest at an event hosted by the Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN) to announce their new Sea Otter Fund. 

The goal of the fund is to restore sea otters along their historical U.S. Pacific Coast range. Once abundant from Baja California across the north Pacific Rim to Japan, sea otters were nearly hunted to extinction for their fur. As a keystone species, sea otters provide multiple benefits to nearshore ecosystems, including helping maintain the health of kelp and seagrass systems, promoting biodiversity, and improving resilience to the effects of climate change.

The first half of the event centered on Jane and her life's work through a conversation with Charlie Knowles, founder of WCN. We heard about her childhood growing up in the UK, followed by her initial visit to South African and ultimately to Kenya where she would begin her lifelong and groundbreaking relationship with chimpanzees.

The second half involved a talk by a panel of experts in sea otters including Julie Packard from the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  We learned about the need to protect this beautiful, endearing species and how crucial they are to the future health of our coastal ecosystems.

At 91 years of age, Jane is still going strong, traveling over 300 days of the year around the globe in order to share her message of hope for the planet. So incredibly moving and a such magical and memorable evening I will never forget.