Documenting Vernal Pool Life – An Expanded Vision
Steven Johnson
Professor of Visual and Communication Arts
Eastern Mennonite University

Photographer Steven Johnson’s recent sabbatical offered him the opportunity to delve deeper into the oft-hidden lifecycles of the amphibians and macroinvertebrates found in the temporary ponds of our Appalachian forests. He developed a system for photographing minute copepods and daphnia in the field and witnessed a tiger salamander migration for the first time. Much of this work appears in a new e-book he developed for the North American Nature Photography Association titled Vernal Pools: Documenting Life in Temporary Ponds. In this talk, Steve will share natural history images from his sabbatical project and discuss the field documentation process.

Steven David Johnson is a conservation photographer and Professor of Visual and Communication Arts at EMU. His photography of the natural world has appeared in Orion, Nature Conservancy Magazine, Ranger Rick, Virginia Wildlife, National Science Teachers Association Press books and numerous conservation publications and journals. Steve is vice-president of the Virginia Wilderness Committee and an Affiliate of the International League of Conservation Photographers. When not in the office, you’ll probably find him crouched next to a vernal pool photographing Appalachian salamanders. stevendavidjohnson.com