Landscapes and Seascapes

Landscapes and seascapes from around the world and close to home.

Acacia Tree

Lewa Conservancy, Kenya

A lone acacia tree stands sentinel on the savanna of Lewa Conservancy, Kenya, October 2019, the Kenyan highlands rising in the distance. The flat-topped acacia is perhaps the most iconic symbol of the African landscape — patient, enduring, and perfectly shaped by centuries of wind and browsing giraffes. On a clear morning like this one, with the light just warming the grass, it's hard to imagine a more peaceful scene.

Thomson's Gazelles at Sunset

Mara Naboisho Conservancy, Kenya

Thomson's gazelles graze on the open savanna of the Mara Naboisho Conservancy, Kenya, October 2019, as a dramatic sunset splits the sky behind them. That solitary acacia silhouetted against the clouds completes a scene that feels almost impossibly cinematic. These are the moments that make you understand why people fall in love with Africa and never quite get it out of their system.

Giraffes in Silhouette

Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Kenya

Two giraffes are silhouetted against the evening sky at Lewa Conservancy, Kenya, October 2019. There is something about the giraffe's shape — that extraordinary neck, those impossibly long legs — that makes even a silhouette instantly recognizable. As the light fades and the acacia trees merge into shadow, you could be looking at a scene from a million years ago.

Zanzibar Waterfront

Stone Town, Zanzibar

Sunset over the waterfront of Stone Town, Zanzibar, October 2019. As the day cooled, locals gathered at the seawall to swim, children splashing in the shallows while a traditional dhow drifted silently across the golden water. Stone Town — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the historic heart of Zanzibar — has been a crossroads of Arab, Persian, Indian, and African cultures for centuries, and evenings like this one feel like they've been happening here forever. One of those places where simply walking around is enough.

Santorini Sunset

Oia, Greece

The sun sets over the Aegean Sea from the village of Oia, Santorini, Greece, June 2010. Oia's sunset is among the most celebrated in the world, and every evening visitors gather on the terraces and rooftops to watch it together — strangers united by the same sky. The whitewashed walls, the windmill, the sea turning gold — it's as beautiful as everyone says it is, and then a little more.

Venice Snow

Campo Santo Stefano, Venice, Italy

Snow-covered café tables in the Campo Santo Stefano, Venice, February 2005. Snow in Venice is rare — it falls perhaps once or twice a decade — and when it does, it transforms a city that is already unlike anywhere else into something almost surreal. The tourists stay away, the tables sit empty, and for a few quiet hours Venice belongs entirely to itself. One of those accidental travel gifts you never forget.

Golden Pavilion

Kyoto, Japan

Kinkaku-ji — the Golden Pavilion — dusted with snow in Kyoto, Japan, January 2017. One of Japan's most visited and photographed sites, Kinkaku-ji is stunning in any season, but snow transforms it entirely. The gold leaf exterior glows against the white landscape, the frozen pond reflects nothing, and the usual crowds thin to almost nothing. We were lucky to be there on that particular morning. Snow in Kyoto, like snow in Venice, turns an already magical place into something else entirely.

Rocky Coast Sunrise

New Harbor, Maine

Sunrise over the rocky coast of New Harbor, Maine, August 26, 2021. The sky on this particular morning was extraordinary — great sweeping bands of orange and gold reflected in the tidal pools among the rocks. Maine's coastline is rugged and unforgiving, but at moments like this it is also breathtakingly beautiful. One of those mornings that stays with you long after you've gone home.

New Harbor Sunrise

New Harbor, Maine

Sunrise over the main harbor of New Harbor, Maine, August 2021, viewed from the hillside above the water. The fishing fleet sits quietly at its moorings as the sky ignites in shades of orange and gold, the open waters of Muscongus Bay glowing on the horizon. New Harbor is one of those small Maine fishing villages that feels genuinely unspoiled — and on a morning like this, it's easy to understand why people keep coming back year after year.

Back Cove Boats and Dock

New Harbor, Maine

The fishing boats of Back Cove sit quietly at their moorings as the sky erupts in pink and orange over New Harbor, Maine, August 28, 2021. Lobster traps stacked on the dock, dinghies lined up at the float, the dark treeline reflected in the still water — this is coastal Maine exactly as you imagine it. A working harbor, doing what it has done for generations, indifferent to how beautiful it looks at dawn.