Exploring Nature

                                                              Yellowstone, on July 11, 2011

On this webpage, I would like to share with you some of my memorable adventures into the natural world with my camera.


Great Blue Herons and Giant Turtles

I have become more serious about photography after I joined the Photo Club led by Stephen Hung (洪啟峰) in early 2008.  With a camera, I have become more eager to explore the world, especially nature.  A great majority of the photos in this website, including those on the “Albums and Videos” page, were taken during the short and long trips with Stephen and other photo friends.

In the Washington DC area, I have become particularly fond of Brookside Gardens (click here) and Great Falls (click here), where I have learned more about flowers, turtles, great blue herons, butterflies, and various natural beauties.  In addition to scientific understanding of the universe, I tend to view creatures large and small from the Taoist imaginations and speculations.   I must say that I am only an amateur photographer.  I tend to use photography as a tool for understanding the world in which we live.

In the past, I have often shared some stories and thoughts with my photo friends, especially about two giant turtles found at Brookside Gardens and great blue herons found at both Brookside Gardens and Great Falls.  I have decided to weave them into an article as “Great Blue Herons and Giant Turtles.”  In some respects, it reflects my religious and philosophical perspectives.  The meaning of my personal name 頌鵬 is explained in the story.  In this respect, it is also somewhat autobiographical :)  The article is partly serious, partly entertaining, and partly speculative.  It contains many photos about two giant turtles and one particular great blue heron.

     Click here:  Great Blue Herons and Giant Turtles


Turtle: The Incredible Journey

My experience with the "giant" turtles found in Brookside Gardens brought my attention in February, 2012, to a film called "Turtle: The Incredible Journey." It tells a story about a female loggerhead, hatched off the coast of Florida, in her journey all over the Atlantic Ocean and after 21 years back to Florida to make her own nest.  It depicts many kinds of living things and dangers in the ocean as seen from the perspective of the sea turtle.  Though the film was actually woven from many loggerheads, it tells an incredible story about their life cycles and migrations since about 200 million years ago and how they have survived.  I wonder how a turtle can have the instinct or "knowledge" of navitating in the big ocean and finding its birthplace after 20 some years.  Amazing!  A two-minute version of the film can be found at the following link:

    Turtle: The Incredible Journey

The film adds a new dimension to my stories told in "Great Blue Herons and Giant Turtles" and "My Paternal Ancestry and Human Migration."


Geology of American Southwest, Great Falls, and Taiwan

My participation in the Photo Club has led me to explore many places and related scientific investigations.  In September of 2012, a group of us toured American Southwest.  I became fascinated with its geology.  From there I became curious about the geology of Great Falls where we spent countless hours taking photos of its sceneries and great blue herons.  Then I was led to the geology of Taiwan where I was born.

As the result of this chain of curiosities, I wrote an article in December of 2012, summarizing the results of my research.  This article is 17 pages long, but over half of it consists of selected photos I have taken in Southwest America, Great Falls, Taiwan, and a few other places.  More photos can be found in my public Picasa Gallery.

Please click the following link to read my exploration into the wonderful world of geology. In order to keep the photos reasonably sharp, I have converted the original Word document to the PDF format.  Being a large file, it will take some time to load the article.

    Geology of American Southwest, Great Falls, and Taiwan

© Sung-Peng Hsu 2011