Portfolio: Jon Cornforth, Nature Photographer

• Second Beach Sunset
  Olympic National Park, Wash.
  This was the very first sunset that I photographed after I bought my medium format camera system in the summer of 2002. It was a rainy day on the Washington coast and I was not expecting much to happen at sunset. I had already put away my camera gear and was walking back to my camp, when I noticed this beautiful pink glow underneath the clouds out on the horizon. I quickly set up my camera gear again and started shooting one of the most amazing sunsets that I have ever witnessed.
  
  
  

  Jon Cornforth

• Pinnacle Saddle Reflection
  Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
  When I visit a location for the first time, one of my first stops is to the postcard rack at the local gift shop. I like to look at what other photographers have already captured of the area to help me figure out where the best vantage points are located. That is how I first learned about this location in the Tatoosh Range, which is one of the best views of the mountain. The pond only exists for about a week each summer after the snow melts and before it evaporates. I got very lucky with the clouds the afternoon I took this photo and it is now one of my best-selling images.
  
  
  

  Jon Cornforth

• Paradise Wildflowers
  Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
  Mount Rainier is one of my favorite locations in the world and just happens to be located only 2 hours from my house. I have visited this sleeping volcano during every season, but there is no doubt that when the wildflowers are blooming during the first few weeks of August is the most spectacular time of year. This image is one of my most popular. I created it using a 4x5 technical camera that allowed me to get within 12" of the flowers and keep the mountain in focus at the same time.
  
  
  

  Jon Cornforth

• Stormy Double Rainbow Sunset
  Denali National Park, Alaska
  I photographed several spectacular rainbows at sunset during my second visit to Denali in 2006. On this particular day, I was taking the bus back to the Wonder Lake campground after a long day shooting. When the light started to get really good I asked the bus driver to drop me off. The combination of the tundra being at the peak of fall color, the dramatic storm clouds, and the rainbow made this an incredible scene to shoot.
  
  
  

  Jon Cornforth

• Alaska Humpbacks
  Frederick Sound, Alaska
  Every summer in Alaska, hundreds of humpback whales gather to feed in the nutrient-rich waters. After each dive in search of food, they return to the surface to breathe. On the surface they grab a few breaths of air before their final breath where they then raise their tale flukes out of the water to do a deeper dive.
  
  
  

  Jon Cornforth

• Humpback Whale
  Pacific Ocean near Hawai'i
  Over the past 8 years, I have spent a lot of time scuba diving and snorkeling in Hawaii and been fortunate to have been visited by humpback whales underwater on several occasions. They can be incredibly curious. It is always amazing to see them suddenly come out of the deep blue and swim within a few yards or closer to look at me. Every encounter is memorable even if the pictures are not.
  
  
  

  Jon Cornforth

• Green Sea Turtle and Moorish Idols
  Place of Refuge, Big Island, Hawai'i
  Sea turtles are one of the first creatures that I ever snorkeled with and photographed underwater. As long as I do not disturb them, they will usually just ignore me and go about whatever they were doing. This sea turtle was swimming along and allowing me to photograph it, but it was only when I got home and looked at the film did I realize that the beautiful Moorish Idols were also in the picture.
  
  
  

  Jon Cornforth

• Lago Pehoe Fire Sunrise
  Torres del Paine National Park, Chile
  The dramatic mountain scenery of southern Chile and Argentina is more commonly known as Patagonia. I got the chance to visit this spectacular part of the world for the first time in 2007 and was not disappointed. Photographing these incredible lenticular clouds at sunrise above the Cuernos del Paine from the shore of Lago Pehoe is one of my personal most memorable photographic moments.
  
  
  

  Jon Cornforth

• Wave Sunset
  Coyote Buttes Wilderness, Arizona
  Visiting the Wave in the Coyote Buttes Wilderness of Northern Arizona is every photographers dream and it definitely lives up to its reputation as being incredibly photogenic. On my first visit in the fall of 2005, I was unable to create the image that I had envisaged due to the sunset light getting blocked by a band of clouds late in the afternoon. However, I figured out that if I ever came back that I should do it as close to the winter solstice as possible for the optimum angle of the sunset light. I had the opportunity to return a few months later in January and was rewarded with this beautiful image.
  
  
  

  Jon Cornforth

• Torres Dramatic Sunrise
  Torres del Paine National Park, Chile
  I did not have enough time to include a backpacking trip to the Los Torres viewpoint during my first visit to Torres del Paine National Park in 2007, so it became my main objective when I returned in 2008. After backpacking 12 miles and setting up my camp, I then got up before sunrise 4 days in a row to hike an hour up hill to shoot this spectacular location. I was very fortunate that I had perfect weather and got to see the Torres every day, but it was not until the last morning that I created this incredible image with the perfect amount of sunrise light and dramatic clouds in the sky.
  
  
  

  Jon Cornforth