Pandemic Walks Sparked Photographer's Stunning Nature Book

When the pandemic shut down the world in 2020, photographer Jon McCormack started a simple new routine: nightly walks along the beach near his Pacific Grove, California home.

Within a week, something unexpected happened. McCormack began noticing how the tide, light, and wind created tiny compositions that existed only once before disappearing forever.

By the time lockdowns lifted, McCormack had become a different photographer entirely. After 40 years of chasing grand landscapes in Arctic ice caves and above Kenyan savannas, he found himself drawn to small patterns and vignettes he'd never really seen before.

"I just started to see them everywhere," he said.

Those discoveries now fill his new book "Patterns: Art of the Natural World," a collection of stunning images that transform the familiar into the extraordinary. Sand dunes become line drawings, microscopic organisms turn into jewels, and rivers resemble woven yarn more than flowing water.

McCormack estimates two-thirds of the photos were made during and after the pandemic. The rest came from digging through his archives, where he discovered he'd been photographing patterns for decades without realizing it.

While many images come from exotic locations, McCormack emphasizes that nature is never far away. The book includes a macro shot of a hibiscus flower from a friend's suburban garden and photos from those first pandemic beach walks.

The Ripple Effect

McCormack intentionally designed the book to be accessible to everyone, not just fine art collectors. His central message is simple: our world is pretty cool, and you should go see it.

The hope is that once people discover nature's beauty in their own backyards, they'll feel inspired to protect it. From purple patterns water etches into Icelandic sand to the bold plumage of a Kenyan vulturine guineafowl, every image invites readers to look closer at the world around them.

Sometimes the photos required hanging out of helicopter doors 1,000 feet above Kenya's Great Rift Valley. Other times, they just needed a camera and a short walk from home.

The pandemic taught McCormack that extraordinary beauty often hides in ordinary places, waiting for someone to slow down and notice.