Hein Natural History Photography

08/18/2025

We just spent 6 wonderful days camping in the Eastern Sierra, exploring the Bodie Hills, Mono Lake, Inyo National Forest and the Benton Range. The weather was warm, so we mostly stayed high (as in elevation). There were afternoon thunderstorms in the area most of the days, but we dodged the heavy impacts and enjoyed the resulting dramatic light and sunsets. One highlight was finding a new (to me) velvet ant species: Sacken's Velvet Ant (photo #1). I'm still working on some species identifications (anyone know their chipmunks or ants??), but wanted to post before I get busy with the coming week.

01/26/2025

On Saturday, I helped lead a Save Mount Diablo Discover Diablo photography hiking trip to the High Peaks area of Pinnacles National Park. We were obviously hoping for close views and photos of California Condors and as you can tell from this photo, we had some succcess! What is interesting about this photo is that Condor #692 (purple tag = "6" + 92) was with a group of condors who visited the Mount Diablo area in 2023 and 692 flew the closest to Mount Diablo's summit - my brain just exploded!

11/17/2024

It was a cold, but beautiful morning for a hike on Mount Diablo. The highlight was having eye-level views (and photos) of a Merlin perched on a snag near Twin Peaks. Merlins rarely sit still for very long, so I was surprised when this one waited for me to climb up the trail to get closer with a better background for photos. I don't normally hike with a telephoto lens, but was fortunate to have it with me today!

10/29/2024

Save Mount Diablo's 2025 "Images of Mount Diablo and the Diablo Range" calendar is arriving in supporter's mailboxes!

Every year Save Mount Diablo produces a calendar containing my photos. The only way to receive the printed calendar is to become a Save Mount Diablo supporter. However, I created the gallery linked in the post below with the original photos used in the 2025 calendar for you to enjoy. If you aren't already a Save Moun Diablo supporter, I encourage you to become one today!

Gallery: 2025 Images of Mount Diablo Calendar on Hein Natural History Photography

10/10/2024

We made the drive over Tioga Pass to Mono Lake again last weekend, meeting friends to enjoy their companionship and the Eastern Sierra fall colors. However, most of my photos ended up being of the magnficent clouds, light, and shadows that always seem to be a big part of the Eastern Sierra experience.

Gallery: 2024-10-03 Eastern Sierra on Hein Natural History Photography

09/01/2024

A set of photos from a recent trip to the Eastern Sierra. We wandered from the shores of Mono Lake to the heights of the White Mountains while taking time to explore some new back country routes and camp sites. There were many highlights, but the American Pika and Red Crossbill, both observed in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, topped the list! We also got to experience the big, bright, Blue Moon (all night long through the camper windows). Website gallery link for captions:

https://photos.heinphoto.com/-/galleries/journal/2024-08-19-eastern-sierra

08/11/2024

For a variety of reasons I have been quiet recently on social media. One of the things I have been doing is migrating my photo website to a new hosting service and e-commerce platform with a different lab for fulfilling print orders. In the process, I have reorganized and updated the existing galleries, while adding some new content. It is still a work in progress, but If you are interested, you can check it out:

https://photos.heinphoto.com

04/17/2024

I had a really interesting experience with a river otter recently at Point Reyes. We were eating lunch near a small freshwater pond and observed an otter swimming toward the far end where there was a small group of Mallards. Suddenly the otter started chasing one of the female Mallards, which seemed to have trouble flying. The otter almost caught it several times as it struggled across the pond, but it eventually escaped when it reached the far side.

After this happened several times we noticed a small duckling emerge from the vegetation near the back of the pond and realized the female was actually pretending to be injured to draw the otter away. However, she wasn't completely successful as the otter did catch one of the ducklings. We observed these interactions for at least 20 minutes. This was behavior by both the otter and duck that I had never had the opportunity to see in person before.

04/10/2024

We recently spent a nice day at Point Reyes National Seashore birding and “naturizing” with friends. It was very clear with a cold north wind blowing - especially at the lighthouse and other spots around the outer point. As a result it wasn’t particularly birdy. However, at the lighthouse we did have great views of the local pair of Peregrine Falcons and a Coyote who didn’t seem happy that we had interrupted his morning rest.

04/03/2024

A few photos from a recent backpacking trip into the East Bay Regional Park District’s Ohlone Wilderness. We had previously explored this area in April 2021 to document the impacts of the SCU Lightning Complex fire and wanted to re-visit some of those places. It was a beautiful couple of days of hiking with perfect temperatures, dramatic clouds/light, and spectacular displays of golden violets covering entire hillsides!

03/23/2024

Mount Diablo rising above Keller Ridge on a spectacular spring day.

03/04/2024

Checker Lily (Fritillaria affinis) from the Mitchell Canyon area this morning. It is probably my favorite early spring wildflower on Mount Diablo. I love how their subtle colors blend in so well with their surroundings making them easy to miss - even when growing right next to the trail!