
Carla and Chris
My devotion to nature photography blends my need to be outside, my urges to create and my desire to share what I see and experience with others. I am happiest and most free when wandering through the unfathomable world of nature. Carrying a camera intensifies that state, by heightening my presence. The camera says to me, “Pay attention! Magic and mystery await! Are you ready?”
When photographing animals (and fungus, plants and landscapes), I am most interested in capturing a glimpse of the
umwelt of the creature, that is, its unique character, personality and world view. We talk about being able to walk in someone else’s shoes but can we also travel in another’s paw, hoof or wing? Like many other nature photographers, I feel the need to witness and document what we have on planet earth and what we are quickly losing.
I grew up in western Pennsylvania, went to college in Washington State, moved to Massachusetts where I finished undergraduate and graduate degrees. Along the way I have been a freelance illustrator, a psychotherapist and a Buddhist teacher. In 2001, I headed west and found myself in California and in a new relationship. Twenty years later, my partner, Chris, and I lost our home and belongings in the CZU wildfire in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Not wanting to rebuild and seeking a new lifestyle, we bought an RV and are living the nomadic life for now. This gives me the chance to visit and revisit wild areas and capture beauty and wonder with heart and my camera.
thank you Carla for your experience with artichokes. I too ate this wonderfully odd vegetable as a child. I loved the process it took to come to its heart. A vegetable with a heart.
Hi Nan, I hope you are well. Yes, a vegetable with a heart, what could be better! Hope to see you in MA sometime this year.
Carla, I finally remembered to check out this website for your blog. Thank you for sharing so many beautiful quotes, your own reflections, and the stunning photos. And you haven’t even set off on your trip yet! I look forward to whatever you can offer along the way, and wish you a journey beyond what can be imagined. As Sri Nisargadatta says in the classic “I Am That,” a transcription of his many dialogues with students, “The unexpected is bound to happen, while the anticipated may never come to pass.” So enjoy the unexpected!
Carla, I just discovered your wonderful blog site, with all your amazing photos. I have a favor to ask. I’m a paleontologist, presently working on an article for the international research journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, describing some Jurassic arthropod tracks preserved on a sandstone slab that was collected from the mountains of Iran. I would like to include a few photos of modern crustacean tracks, and I am hoping you will grant me permission to reprint your lovely photo of ghost crab tracks from March 9, 2013. I can’t promise anything except a photo credit, since this kind of publication effort falls in the “labor of love” category. – Thanks, George
George Mustoe, Research Associate, Geology Department, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225. Mustoeg@wwu.edu
Hi Carla,
I just found your amazing blog site while searching for some photographs of South Dakota. Your work is absolutely beautiful!!
I am working on a climate project and was wondering if we could use some of your photographs. thank you. Rachel
Hi Rachel,
Thank you for your interest in my photography! Let me know more about your project and what photos you are interested in. I usually give permission to non-profits and projects for the environment. You can also email me at brennan.carla@gmail.com.
Warmly,
Carla
I love your photography and shared information from photography settings to names of plants and animals!
Carla, I’d like to receive your blog posts. Am I correctly signed-up?
Sent from my iPhone
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