The California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica) is the California state flower. It does well in disturbed areas, is drought tolerant and self-seeding. Although it has been recognized for having potential as an invasive species in other parts of the world, it has ironically been displaced by annual invasive European grasses in large parts of its original southern California.

Craig Golden is a Master Falconer who works to keep landfills clear of seagulls. I produced a multimedia story that shares this, his great passion in life. Flying hawks and falcons, training them, hunting with them and caring for them is what defines his existence, but the work also has great environmental value. Flying up the Santa Maria River, more than 10,000 birds used to populate the Santa Maria landfill before Craig began working it. After three weeks of steady hazing that number dropped to about 1,500. And by shutting off their food supply, the ecological picture along the length of the river is also given the chance to return to normal as the gulls are forced back to the ocean. The effect is electrifying! Nothing was posed to produce this shot - it just took just three days of continuous photography around Craig as he worked - plain old photojournalism. That's a Sakar Falcon from the Middle East. Above the falcon is the quarry, most of whom have already noted that a falcon is headed their way.