Cooped Up? Get Uncooped.

My previous photo series probably gave the impression of a vast, beautiful beach upon which one could frolic and splash in playful waves. This is a false impression. First of all, the series depicts three beaches that are part of Point Reyes National Seashore: North Beach, South Beach, and Drake's Beach. None of them are really fun-in-the-sun, let's-play-beach-volleyball-style beaches.  North has a particularly ominous reputation because the shape of the sea bottom creates a vicious...

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Every time I see someone walking down the street clad in black neoprene with a fish (surfboard) under his or her arm, headed for the beach, a question runs through my mind: "Is that person nuts?"  See, I live in a part of northern California that falls within the ominously named Red Triangle, an area with the highest concentration of great white shark attacks in the world. The number of attacks probably has something to do with...

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I took this on the ferry going from New Zealand's north island to the south island. (New Zealand, by the way, is basically the best ultra-compact country for outdoor adventuring that exists.) If you can't tell, the white triangles are sails. When I showed this picture to my then-five-year-old sister Lilly, she pointed to the triangles and asked, "Are those sharks?"

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 Here are ten tongue-in-cheek tips to avoid turning into a shark biscuit. 1. Stay out of the water. This is 100% effective. 2. If you're bleeding, stay out of the water. Again, 100% effective.3. Don't hang out with seals. Sure, they're adorable. They swim under you and play in the waves and look at you with those big liquidy eyes. They're like dogs except you'll never have to throw them a slobber-dripping tennis ball or...

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