This year marked the first time in almost a decade that I did not leave the country. But in the midst of pandemic life, I feel fortunate I had the opportunity to travel (in compliance with COVID-19 protocols) to some incredible places within the U.S.
Below is a selection of images I captured this year.
January — March: Business as usual
Meeting the Mars Rover at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory | Pasadena, CA
In early January, I had the awesome opportunity to tour JPL and see the latest Mars rover (Perseverance) just weeks before it was shipped off to Florida. The rover was launched from Cape Canaveral on July 30, 2020 and should touch down on the red planet on February 18, 2021.
Camping in Lost Dutchman State Park | Arizona
In February, I drove from North Carolina to California. Along the way, I spent two days hiking and camping in southern Arizona. I’ve enjoyed many epic views from my tent, but this is definitely one of my all-time favorites. While I only spent 48 hours exploring this epic landscape, I fell completely in love and have been dreaming about returning for a longer trip ever since.
Waking up with the dawn patrol | San Diego, California
After driving just over 2,500 miles (from Chapel Hill to San Diego), I attended the 2020 Ocean Sciences Meeting. When I wasn’t meeting up with colleagues or attending talks at the conference, I spent much of my time at Ocean Beach — one of my favorite spots in California.
Capturing the night sky over Death Valley National Park | California
The bad news: my car broke down shortly after I arrived in Death Valley, and the tow truck didn’t come until 24 hours later. It was an adventure to say the least. The good news: I had my tent, and plenty of supplies, including my camera gear. There is nothing quite like photographing the night sky over the desert.
Exploring Diablo Canyon | New Mexico
As I made my way back east, I stopped in New Mexico to spend a few days with my dearest adventure buddy, Jon Haas. Jon and I celebrated our birthdays (the end of February and beginning of March) with a weekend of hiking and camping in the wilderness of northern New Mexico. On the first day we hiked through muddy canyons, and the second day we post-holed through deep snow. It was epic.
March — July: Cherishing my tribe
Celebrating Frankie’s First Birthday | Durham, NC
Just a few days after I returned from my cross-country road trip, we celebrated Frankie’s first birthday in Beth and Gia’s backyard. The next day, we all went into lockdown mode as stay-at-home orders were issued across the state of North Carolina and the country. This warm, sunny afternoon in early March will forever be burned in my mind as our final day of carefree fun with friends before pandemic protocols became the new way of life.
Staying Home | Carrboro, NC
As COVID-19 swept across the world, all of my expeditions and field work for 2020 were cancelled or postponed. One of the things that kept me sane during quarantine life was teaching photography to Ryan. With a little guidance from me, Ryan captured this beautiful image on our coffee table one evening. We both love it so much that we printed a large-scale version and hung it in our bedroom — where it serves an important reminder that beautiful photography doesn’t always require traveling to the far reaches of the planet.
Documenting Joe and Kimiko’s Wedding | Chapel Hill, NC
Hands down one of the happiest days of this year — I was honored to photograph Joe and Kimiko’s wedding on a rainy, beautiful Sunday afternoon in Homestead Park. Like millions of couples around the world, these two had planned on having a large, traditional wedding in early summer of 2020. Instead, they had a very simple ceremony with just 10 guests. It was perfect.
Kissing on a cliff at Hanging Rock State Park | North Carolina
When parks and public lands started to reopen in the early summer, Ryan and I packed up the camping gear and headed to Hanging Rock State Park. We enjoyed a beautiful afternoon of hiking the Moores Knob Trail — in fact we enjoyed it so much we did it again the following morning at sunrise.
Discovering new wonders on the Woody Ridge Trail | Black Mountains, NC
I have hiked up Woody Ridge dozens of times over the past five years, but rarely in late summer — I am usually traveling internationally at that time. Obviously this year was different. I have always enjoyed the wide variety of species along the trail, but seeing the prolific number of mushrooms was a special treat.
August — October: Going to sea during a pandemic
Gazing at Mt. Rainier from Quarantine | Seattle, Washington
On September 4th, I boarded a plane for the fist time since January. I flew to Seattle where I spent two weeks in mandatory quarantine along with eight other onboarding Nautilus team members. On the third day of quarantine, I captured this view of Mt. Rainier at sunset from the rooftop of our hotel.
Working in the Control Van | E/V Nautilus
Even after receiving negative test results for COVID-19, all Nautilus crew members were required to wear masks every day. In the unlikely event that someone on board had contracted the virus but had received a false negative test result, we followed strict protocols to protect everyone on board, including mandatory masks, rigorous sanitation protocols, and daily temperature checks.
Collecting deep sea samples on the aft deck | E/V Nautilus
A typical expedition aboard the Nautilus includes a science party of at least a dozen people. This expedition, like everything else in 2020, was far from typical. Our science team included just three people, and they worked non-stop to process all of the samples collected during our 24 hour operations.
Staring contest with a special visitor | E/V Nautilus
We were a few dozen miles off the coast of California when this beautiful owl landed on the aft deck. Many people on board at the time noted that seeing an owl is good luck.
Comparing the Channel Islands to Portugal | California
I love photographing the great state of California from every angle. We spent 10 days navigating around these beautiful islands, and I often had the thought “this looks just like Portugal.”
November — December: Adventuring again (cautiously)
Venturing way out there | Terlingua Ranch, Texas
During the week of Thanksgiving, Ryan and I drove from North Carolina to the border of Mexico. Along the way we stopped in Atlanta, New Orleans, and Austin, then spent three days camping and hiking in the remote wilderness of Big Bend National Park.
Decompressing in the desert | Terlingua Ranch, Texas
After a long day of hiking in Big Bend, Ryan and I returned to our campsite, about 30 miles north of the park. Because all the campgrounds in the national park were full, we used HipCamp to find a remote campsite that offered plenty of space and privacy.
Finding dusty ridge lines | Big Bend National Park, Texas
Our first day in Big Bend was full of clear skies and epic views. Our second day looked completely different — wind and desert sand coated everything, creating this monochromatic other-worldly landscape.
Flying over the crystal coast | Beaufort, NC
After our Texas road trip, Ryan and I both got tested for COVID-19 (just as a post-travel precaution — we did not have any symptoms). Once we received our negative results, we made a trip down to Beaufort to visit our dear friends, Betsy and Sonny. We spent the weekend cooking good food, going on long walks, jumping into the freezing cold water, and flying the drone at sunset.