KKoontz Photography

05/27/2026

Hummingbirds! Arizona 2026. From the smallest bird in the US to what happens when you fly too close to cactus - check them out!

05/14/2026

Arizona 2026 Road Trip
One of this year's target birds was to find a Crested Caracara.

04/24/2026

National Park #58 of 63—checked off! We had an amazing time backpacking through Channel Islands National Park on Santa Cruz Island. Heidi and I spent two nights there with our nephew Colton, and was a fantastic trip. (Yes, Heidi did stay in a tent!) We were also lucky enough to spot two of the island’s unique residents—the Island Scrub Jay and the Island Fox, both found nowhere else.

Next stop: Isle Royale in September (round two)!

10/25/2025

Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) tonight over St.George Utah.
We've had high clouds to the west the last couple of nights making the comet barely visible through binoculars. Not my favorite image of a comet that I've ever taken, but any time you get the chance to see one, it's a site to see.

10/13/2024

C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-Atlas - makes an appearance after sunset this evening. Photographed 10_12_24, Beaver Dam, Arizona.

Why do comets have weird, long names?

C is for the type of comet, in this case a comet that is on long orbit (over 200 years) or on an open path, rather than a periodic orbit of less than 200 years. (Which would get a "P")
2023 - The year it was discovered
A - Denoted that it was discovered in the first half of January
3 - The third comet to be discovered in the first half of January
Tsuchinshan - Named after the Tsuchinshan Observatory in China that first discovered it.
Atlas - The Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System in South Africa which also discovered and verified it.

There ya go!

10/01/2024

10/01/2024

Look left, the last sliver of the moon. Look right, comet C/2023 A3, Tsuchinshan-Atlas making its way away from the sun. One of the most difficult objects that I have photographed due to its proximity of the sun. It appears just before sunrise and fades away from sight as the sky grows brighter with each minute. (Northern Hemisphere). Later this month it will transition to our evening skies and hopefully grow brighter as it nears earth.
Really cool to see and boy am I tired from getting up and driving to an open eastern horizon!

09/18/2024

Some more photos from our Alaska trip -

08/29/2024

Bear photos from our trip to Alaska. There's more coming, as I have a lot to get through. Hope you enjoy them, it was an incredible trip.

05/25/2024

Some Burrowing Owls in Arizona -