Stephanie Short Photography

In 2009, I realized a long-time dream to see the beautiful mountain gorillas of Africa. The hiking was intense, with 7 day-long treks over 9 days. The work was difficult, but incredibly rewarding. Each hike resulted in an hour-long encounter with the gorillas, which included mothers, young, and large silverbacks. I had the rare experience of meeting a pair of baby twins! Unfortunately, this species is critically endangered with remaining populations numbering less than 1,000. The photographs in this collection are of gorilla families in the Virunga Mountains of Uganda and Rwanda and in the breathtaking Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. My trip was expertly organized and executed by Volcanoes Safaris.

Katmai National Park in the United States is home to one of the densest populations of Brown Bears in the world during the summer salmon run. I visited for the first time in 2005 and again in 2013, both times staying at Brooks Lodge. Visitors to the lodge arrive by float plane and literally walk among bears from the time you step onto the shore. Daily hikes to the famous Brooks Falls allowed for photographing dozens of fishing bears at a time, including old and seasoned adults as well as first-year cubs just learning to catch the salmon. This is truly an unforgettable place. While in Alaska, I also visited Denali and Kenai Fjords National Parks.

In 2007, I took my first major international wildlife trip to the national parks of Tanzania. Over two weeks, I explored the Tarangire River Valley, the plains of the Serengeti, and the one-of-a-kind Ngorongoro Crater. The sights, sounds, and smells were all spectacular, and many of the photo collections on this web site feature images from that adventure. This collection is of the big cats of Africa, including lions, jaguar and cheetah. This trip was wonderfully organized and executed by Thomson Safaris.

Raja Ampat in the Coral Triangle contains some of the most pristine coral reefs remaining on the planet. This trip was a major undertaking - from the 36 hours of travel to get there to the 8+ hours of snorkeling every day, often in intense currents. The rewards were well worth the effort. I swam through schools of fish so dense I could barely see, and saw first-hand some of the most amazing marine species in the ocean, including the blue-ringed octopus, nudibranchs of every color, enormous moray eels, and a deadly stone fish.

Bengal tigers are the most numerous of the tiger subspecies with a wild population of approximately 2500, and yet even they are at risk of disappearing. The Indian Bengal Tigers in this collection were photographed in Northern India's national parks - Bandhavgarh, Kanha, and John Corbett. I feel very lucky to have seen them in the wild, a truly spectacular site.

The national parks of Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda are home to some of the most amazing and varied birding in the world. I have to admit that I was not all that interested in bird photography until coming here and found that it was impossible not to be mesmerized by the shapes and colors and designs of these animals. My wildlife guides with Thomson Safaris and Volcanoes Safaris were so knowledgeable that they had me hooked by the first day of viewing. Many thanks to them for opening my eyes to the beauty of their birds and for answering my endless questions.

These photographs show the polar bears of the Arctic Circle near Svalbard, Norway. This trip with National Geographic took me to just over 82 degrees North latitude. Seeing them swim was one of my favorite parts of this trip.

In 2012, I travelled to Guadalupe Island, 150 miles west of Ensenada, Mexico, to photograph Great White Sharks. The waters of Guadalupe are cold - averaging 70 degrees Fahrenheit - but the visibility is around 100 feet. Each day, I would take four hour-long shifts in the shark cage waiting for one of the big animals to arrive. When they did, the encounters were spectacular. This trip was arranged by Shark Diver and the live-aboard The MV Horizon.

In 2008, I spent a week camping and kayaking with orca whales near Johnstone Strait, at the north end of the amazingly beautiful Vancouver Island.

Landscape photographs from across the globe, including the United States, Canada, Norway, Tanzania, Indonesia, and the Arctic. Photos feature the Svalbard Archipelago in the Arctic Circle, the Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire National Park in Tanzania, Volcanos National Park in Rwanda, Katmai National Park in Alaska, the Serengeti, Butchart Gardens in British Columbia, Raja Ampat in Indonesia, and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Park near Washington DC

Mammal photographs from across the globe, featuring giraffes, water buffalo, antelope, elephants, hippos, zebra, gazelle, jackal, rhinoceros, hyena, dik dik, and bats.

In the summer of 2015, I went to San Diego to swim with the largest animal on the planet - the Blue Whale. Being in the water with them was an awesome experience. They glide past slowly, silently and disappear into the blue. They are so massive it is hard for your mind to grasp it at first. At one point, I was sitting on my sea kayak in quiet calm waters, when all of a sudden a loud blow from a Blue Whale sounded right next to me. On this same trip, I saw a humpback whale (relatively rare in these waters) and swam with an enormous pod of dolphins as they called back and forth to one another. This trip was beautifully arranged and executed by Big Animals Expeditions, with the amazing Nick LeBeouf as guide.

For those who are curious, here are some "behind the scenes" shots of my trips and photography.

In 2012 and again in 2016, I had an amazing time swimming with humpback whales on the Silver Bank, which is 100 miles North of the Dominican Republic and a mating and calving ground for North Atlantic Humpback Whales. Both times, the trip was wonderfully arranged and executed by Tom Conlin's Aquatic Adventures.

I love living in Washington DC because it's great home base from which to explore the beautiful places up and down the East Coast of the United States. When I'm not traveling around the world, some of my favorite photography sites are right near home.