February 2020 - Around the World with Marty Essen

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Monthly archives for February, 2020

It looks fake

February 29, 2020 Written by Marty Essen

Marty’s photo of the day #3177: This is a night heron, taking off along the Sea of Cortez. It’s also one of my weirdest shots from Mexico. Doesn’t it look like I just digitally placed the bird into the scene?

To the top of Canada

February 28, 2020 Written by Marty Essen

Marty’s photo of the day #3176: When Deb and I reminisce about our travels on all seven continents, for my book Cool Creatures, Hot Planet, we inevitably talk about which ones we want to do again. One that I’m reasonably sure we will repeat is our trip to the top of Canada. It was so […]

Polka-dot tree frog

February 27, 2020 Written by Marty Essen

Marty’s photo of the day #3175: This is a polka-dot tree frog, photographed in the Amazon Rainforest of Peru.

Golf is not a sport . . . except here!

February 26, 2020 Written by Marty Essen

Marty’s photo of the day #3174: I’ve never considered golf a sport, because it doesn’t require running, skiing, skating, or catching or hitting a moving object. Instead it’s a game—especially if a slob like Donald Trump can play it and “defeat” someone. Golf is also horrible for the environment, since it requires massive amounts of […]

Not as close as it looks

February 25, 2020 Written by Marty Essen

Marty’s photo of the day #3173: Beware! Objects are farther than they appear. This is a great example of how a photo can compress a scene. I captured this image while standing on the outskirts of the village of Zermatt, Switzerland. It looks like you could hike to the Matterhorn in a matter of minutes. […]

Central America agouti

February 24, 2020 Written by Marty Essen

Marty’s photo of the day #3172: This unusual rodent that I photographed in Costa Rica is called a Central American agouti. Adults weigh about nine pounds.

Colorful bamboo

February 23, 2020 Written by Marty Essen

Marty’s photo of the day #3171: I hadn’t realized how brightly colored bamboo could be, until I saw it growing wild in the rainforests of Borneo.

Flipper is a stupid name

February 22, 2020 Written by Marty Essen

Marty’s photo of the day #3170: Today I’m featuring a photo from my second book, Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico. It’s a bottlenose dolphin, photographed in Costa Rica. And no, his name was not Flipper. It was Hey-You. As Hey-You deftly pointed out to me, […]

Giving Atlas a break

February 21, 2020 Written by Marty Essen

Marty’s photo of the day #3169: I can’t believe it was seventeen years ago today that Deb and I stepped onto Antarctica! It seems like just a few years ago. At the time, we were among the first 100,000 people in the history of the world to step onto the continent. Since then that number […]

Sea lion swimming lesson

February 20, 2020 Written by Marty Essen

Marty’s photo of the day #3168: I didn’t do well when this sea lion gave me a swimming lesson. I totally failed on the swimming upside-down while holding my breath for more than ten minutes part. (Photographed in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico)

It could be worse

February 19, 2020 Written by Marty Essen

Marty’s photo of the day #3167: For everyone up north who has to shovel their driveway over-and-over this winter: “Hey, it could be worse!” Icebergs along the coast of Antarctica.

What can I say?

February 18, 2020 Written by Marty Essen

Marty’s photo of the day #3166: What can I say about this guy, other than, “Jesus Christ, they make ’em big in North Carolina!”

Whipsnake

February 17, 2020 Written by Marty Essen

Marty’s photo of the day #3165: Here’s a whipsnake that I photographed in the Amazon Rainforest of Peru.

Tiny waterfall

February 16, 2020 Written by Marty Essen

Marty’s photo of the day #3164: I shot this photo several years ago, while on a speaking tour in Oregon. After my show, I headed to the ocean and hiked along the coast, exploring tide pools. You are looking at a tiny waterfall from one of those tide pools. It looks bigger than it really […]

The last ethical brain cell?

February 15, 2020 Written by Marty Essen

Marty’s photo of the day #3163: No, this isn’t the last ethical brain cell in William Barr’s skull. That died on the day he was confirmed as U.S. Attorney General. Instead, you are looking at an extreme close-up of water from a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park.

Sharp close-up

February 14, 2020 Written by Marty Essen

Marty’s photo of the day #3162: I shot this cactus close-up on the Baja Peninsula in Mexico.

Finding the toucan

February 13, 2020 Written by Marty Essen

Marty’s photo of the day #3161: The following short excerpt is from my second book, Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico: As a writer, I know it’s my duty to add excitement here by spelling out the sound of the call—with lots of dashes and exclamation […]

Snow vs. Sand

February 12, 2020 Written by Marty Essen

Marty’s photo of the day #3161: As much as I enjoy winter (we got 5 inches of snow overnight), I’d enjoy being back on this Cape Tribulation beach even more. (Photographed in Queensland, Australia)

The logical Democratic presidential nominee is . . .

February 11, 2020 Written by Marty Essen

I took the New York Times Democratic candidate quiz, and for me it showed Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren tied at the top, followed by Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar. In a normal election I would agree with those results, but this is not a normal election. What the quiz did not ask was, “How […]

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