Nature Gallery – Kathryn True – PNW Nature Photographer

My nature photography provides me with one way to speak for those without human voices. When we learn about the biodiversity that surrounds us in a forest, city park or shoreline, we begin to see these places as more than places to recreate — we understand that they are “home” to plants, animals and other organisms that deserve our respect, protection and stewardship.

In her amazing Council of All Beings, the late Joanna Macy called for solidarity with non-human lifeforms. It makes sense for every lifeform to have a seat at the table when making decisions that have consequences for the health of our shared planet. These photographs are my way of inviting everyone to the table.

Fringecup captured by Kathryn True — Fringecup *(Tellima grandiflora)* produces sweet-smelling flowers that attract hummingbirds. The blossoms change color from yellow-green to pink after being pollinated.
Photographed by Kathryn True

Red-trumpet Calcareous Tube Worm captured by Kathryn True — The red-trumpet calcareous tube worm *(Serpula columbiana)* has showy feather-like radioles that act as gills and help the animal sift microscopic organisms from the water for food. The trumpet-shaped element is a door (operculum) that will seal the worm safely inside its tube if it feels threatened.
Photographed by Kathryn True

Horned Nudibranch captured by Kathryn True — The horned nudibranch *(Hermissenda crassicornis)* is a common and striking sea slug of the Salish Sea intertidal zone. They have the unique ability to ingest the stinging cells of anemones and repurpose them for their own defense by storing them in their cerata (the tentacle-like projections on their backs). Their bright colors advertise their stinging capabilities to would-be predators.
Photographed by Kathryn True

Pacific Tree Frog captured by Kathryn True — Pacific tree frogs *(Pseudacris regilla)*, also called chorus frogs, are known for the males’ raucous spring mating calls that lure females to breeding ponds. They range in color from brown to copper to green and, rarely, blue! They can change color for camouflage.
Photographed by Kathryn True

Pacific Sideband Snail captured by Kathryn True — Endemic to the forests of the Pacific Coast, the Pacific sideband *(Monadenia fidelis)* is an attractive snail with an unusual mating habit. Snails are hermaphrodites, and when two sidebands decide to mate, they exchange “love darts” — shooting each other with little arrows made of calcium carbonate that carry a hormone to make the exchange more successful. Top that, cupid!
Photographed by Kathryn True

Rufous Hummingbird captured by Kathryn True — Rufous hummingbirds *(Selasphorus rufus)* migrate to the Pacific Northwest from their wintering spots in Mexico and the Gulf Coast each spring. This 3,900-mile journey is the longest for a bird of this size — they weigh less than a nickel! This female is keeping hatchlings warm on a nest woven of plant fibers, moss and spider silk.
Photographed by Kathryn True

Camas captured by Kathryn True — In addition to producing gorgeous flowers, camas *(Genus Camassia)* is a nutritious tuber with a sweet, nutty taste akin to a baked pear. The plant is significant to Coast Salish tribes who historically tended camas prairies with fire, weeding and other techniques. Harvesters must take caution not to confuse it with its poisonous lookalike, death camas *(Toxicoscordion venenosum)*.
Photographed by Kathryn True

Brant Geese captured by Kathryn True — Brant *(Branta bernicla)* are dainty-looking geese with black heads set off by “pearl necklaces” — white neck rings. Flocks gather along Seattle shores in spring to gorge on sea lettuce and eelgrass before flying northward to their Arctic breeding grounds.
Photographed by Kathryn True

Spotted Coralroot Orchid captured by Kathryn True — Spotted coralroots *(Corallorhiza maculata)* look too exotic to thrive in Pacific Northwest forests. These delicate orchids lack chlorophyll and are myco-heterotrophs, plants that side-step traditional photosynthesis to draw all their nutrients from the mycelia of certain fungi. So, they are quite at home in our mossy woods.
Photographed by Kathryn True

Candle Snuff Fungus captured by Kathryn True — Candle snuff fungus *(Xylaria hypoxylon)* is also known as carbon antlers for its branching growth pattern. These saprophytic fungi play a key role in the forest ecosystem by decomposing dead wood. If you flick them gently with your finger, the spores release in a powdery cloud.
Photographed by Kathryn True

Woodland Skipper captured by Kathryn True — Summer has truly arrived when woodland skippers *(Ochlodes sylvanoides)* dart around the garden. Aptly named for a bouncy flight pattern, skipper butterflies rest with their wings open — looking a bit like tiny paper airplanes.
Photographed by Kathryn True

Spider Web captured by Kathryn True — Orb web spiders weave curtains of beauty every fall, their handiwork marvelously visible on foggy mornings when dew outlines their intricate webs.
Photographed by Kathryn True

Piggyback Plant Blossom captured by Kathryn True — Take a closer look at the unassuming piggyback plant *(Tolmiea menziesii)* to see its intricate flowers opening in May. It’s also known as “youth-in age” because young “plantlets” form at the base of mature leaves and then drop to the ground to root.
Photographed by Kathryn True

Mushroom at Sunset captured by Kathryn True — Fall rains are prime time for mushrooms, which emerge suddenly in Pacific Northwest forests as if by magic. They are the fruiting bodies of fungi’s meandering rootlike mycelia, which grow in vast underground networks.
Photographed by Kathryn True

Cedar Waxwing captured by Kathryn True — Cedar waxwings *(Bombycilla cedrorum)* are named for the unusual waxy red tips on some of their feathers. Recognized by their striking black masks, these birds throng berry bushes in fall and sometimes become intoxicated on overripe fruit.
Photographed by Kathryn True

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