The University of California Santa Cruz sits nestled amongst towering redwood trees, flanked by maritime chaparral, oak savannas and coastal wetlands teeming with life. It was here, while falling in love with the rich biodiversity of this place, that I began my career in conservation photography. In the classroom, I studied how animal behavior is shaped by ecology and evolution. Outside the classroom, I spent my days searching for salamanders and photographing habituated deer browsing the manicured bushes of the dorms. An almost fully grown bobcat kitten I named Henry scents the air for his mother, who was hunting gophers just on the other side of the hill in Santa Cruz, California. The meadows surrounding the school are prime habitat for...