A well known Eastern Sierra Photographer, Stephen Ingram is an award-winning nature photographer specializing in the botanical treasures and landscapes of California. Stephen Ingram Nature Photography provides sharp, colorful images of nature subjects ranging from abstracts to panoramic landscapes of the Eastern Sierra, from clouds to California gardens, and from tropical rainforests to deserts.
Stock Coverage: Stephen’s files include tens of thousands of images as high-resolution digital files. Categories of strong coverage include the following:
• California native plants
• Eastern Sierra Landscape Photography
• Plants and animals of the Mojave Desert
• Cacti and Orchids
His background and part-time work as a botanist and plant ecologist have given him a good understanding of ecological processes, and Stephen tries to let that inform his photography. Stephen notes that “Whenever possible, I like to include plants as important foreground elements in landscape images, and I tend to think of landscapes in terms of habitats for plants and animals, so I try to convey the idea of a “living landscape” in my photos. I really enjoy making close-up photos of flowers and trees, so I sometimes try to present them in a way that is different and might give the viewer a new way of seeing plants. The more people recognize the beauty of plants and landscapes, the more likely they are to cherish and preserve these resources.”
Stephen’s work has been used extensively in several natural history books, such as Death Valley and the Northern Mojave: A Visitor’s Guide (Cachuma Press, 2003), and Sierra Nevada Natural History (U.C. Press, 2004), and in gardening books, such as California Native Plants for the Garden (Cachuma Press, 2005), and Reimagining the California Lawn (Cachuma Press, 2010). His first book, Cacti, Agaves and Yuccas of California and Nevada, was published by Cachuma Press in 2008 and revised in 2017. The California Native Plant Society Press published Rock Creek Wildflowers in 2015. It is a must for flower lovers that venture into the Little Lakes Valley at the head of Rock Creek Canyon in the high Sierra Nevada. Bristlecone Forest Wildflowers, a companion to the previous title, was self-published in 2022. Stephen’s photos have also been used in numerous other books, calendars, field guides, note cards, advertisements, and in magazines such as California Wild, Field & Stream, Nature’s Best, Outdoor California, Sierra, Sunset and others. He currently uses full-frame digital Nikon D600 and Z 7II bodies with a variety of Nikon lenses.
Photo Articles for a General Audience:
“Where Have the Frogs Gone?” in Outdoor California. 58(6), November-December 1997.
“Wildflower Glory of the Eastern Sierra” in Sierra Heritage 17(5), April 1998.
“Bitterbrush: Wildlife Winter Resource Faces Threats” in Outdoor California 61(5),September-October, 2000.
“Eureka Dunes” in California Wild 53(4), Fall 2000.
“Yellow-Legged Frogs Leap Back Home” in Mammoth Monthly, September/October 2003.
“Look Who’s Coming to Dinner” in Mammoth Monthly, December 2003.
“The Sierra as a Wildflower Canvas” in Mammoth Monthly, May/June 2004.
“Autumn Underfoot” in Mammoth Monthly, September/October 2005.
“Sierra Wave: Our Mountain Cloud” in Mammoth Monthly, April, 2007.
“The Coryphanthas of California” in Fremontia, 36(4), Fall 2008.
“Circumambulating Mt. Tom” in Eastside Magazine, Spring 2010.
“James Sherwin: A Man to Match the Mountains” in Sierra Heritage Magazine, August 2014.