Greg Shchepanek

 The old Wise Ones of the Desert Mojave Desert Tortoise  ( Gopherus agassizii ) Kelso Sand Dunes • Mojave National Preserve, California, United States. Listed as vulnerable: Conservation Status: imperiled (S2) in California, US (NatureServe). It was an absolute dream to come across this old guy in the Mojave Desert. It was totally " Why did the turtle cross the road ... " & he sure took his time in doing so. But this magnificent creature of the desert was sheer joy to photograph & he kept his gaze upon me as he slowly moved along. It was truly an experience of a lifetime. I have always been so fortunate & lucky with my encounters with wildlife & this guy was surely to make a top position in my adventures in the great outdoors. Who ever thought I would come across one of these rare & precious reptiles while wondering the hot desert ? This all happened while I was on a trip with my father to the American Desert way back in April of 20...

The Beauty of the Florida Everglades Complex Everglades I : Northern Section American Alligator  ( Alligator mississippiensis ) Everglades National Park • Ramsar site no. 374. Conservation Status: Threatened due to similarity of appearance (T (S/A)) (T (S/A)) in United States (USFWS). Peninsular Cooter  ( Pseudemys peninsularis ) Everglades National Park • Ramsar site no. 374. Endemic in Florida, US: native and occurs nowhere else. Anhinga  ( Anhinga anhinga ) Everglades National Park • Ramsar site no. 374.   Halloween Pennant Dragonfly  ( Celithemis eponina ) Everglades National Park, Florida, United States • Ramsar site no. 374. Florida Softshell Turtle  ( Apalone ferox )  Everglades National Park  • Ramsar site. no. 374.Endemic in United States: native   and occurs nowhere else. The Florida Everglades Compex , National Park & Ramsar Site is a most beautiful of ecosystems to be found in North America . What you will find here is m...

 California Dreaming ... so Wish I was There ! Mojave Fringe-toed Lizard ( Uma scoparia ) Kelso Sand Dunes • Mojave National Preserve, California, United States. Endemic in Mojave Desert , US: native and occurs nowhere else. I had the best of times chasing & photographing this amazing little guy as he skittered over the hot desert sands of the Kelso Dunes . I was in heaven & I realised the the American Desert is my second most favourite Ecosystem in the World . It comes in just behind Canada's Arctic which will forever be my most favourite place on earth . OMG! I am so very in love with the Mojave Desert & I so wished I had spent more time there. Mojave Desert Tortoise ( Gopherus agassizii ) Kelso Sand Dunes • Mojave National Preserve, California, United States. Listed as vulnerable: www.iucnredlist.org/details/9400/0  . Conservation Status: imperiled (S2) in California, US (NatureServe) Beavertail Cactus  ( Opuntia basilaris ) Mojave National Preser...

  First Hydrogen Bomb Detonated by the USA : 1952 " How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" ~ Dr. Strangelove .  The United States tests the first hydrogen bomb during November at the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean .  The thermonuclear bomb , codenamed Mike , was dropped on the island of Elugelab in Enewetak Atoll as a part of Operation Ivy .  The island was completely destroyed in the blast which was equivalent to the force of 10 million tons of T.N.T. and the wildlife & vegetation on the surrounding islands was also demolished .  The first hydrogen bomb was a two-stage fusion device designed by Edward Teller & Stanislaw Ulam .  It was about 1000 times more powerful than the original atomic bomb and its successful detonation accelerated the nuclear arms race during the Cold War .  In 1953, the Soviet Union would test their own version.  In the same year,  the United Kingdom tests its first atomic bomb in ...

 Can you Hear me Now ! My first photo to go viral was this  Black-tailed Jackrabbit ( Lepus californicus ) Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Nevada, United States. Ramsar site no. 347. This was my most favourite Ramsar Convention Wetland of International Importance ... and it was so close to Vegas Baby !!