Three environments. Three dramatically different visual experiences. One connecting force: water.
In April 2027, my solo exhibition Edges of the Earth: Fragile Ecosystems from Reef to Glacier will open at the Cornell Art Museum in Delray Beach, Florida.
The exhibition brings together photographs created in Looe Key in the Florida Keys, the Pacific coastal environment of San Diego, and Greenland's Ilulissat Icefjord.
The locations were deliberately selected because they allow viewers to experience environmental fragility at radically different scales.
The Reef
At Looe Key, the story begins beneath warm tropical water.
Photographed from the air, coral formations become living patterns. Their shapes resemble branching systems, networks, and organic blueprints.
This work became the foundation of The Living Blueprint: Florida Keys — Abstract Realism from the Air.
The photographs are visually beautiful, but their meaning extends beyond aesthetics.
A coral reef is not merely a pattern beneath the sea. It is a living ecosystem.
Luminous Fractals of Looe Key
Luminous Fractals of Looe Key reveals the underwater world from an elevated vantage, capturing the intricate geometry of coral formations against the vivid expanse of turquoise water. This fine art nature photography piece invites viewers into a visual dialogue between order and fluidity — where nature’s patterns unfold as living abstraction. Photographed from above the protected waters of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, the image transforms the reef into a dynamic tapestry of form and color, merging the observational clarity of aerial photography with the expressive qualities of abstract realism.
The Kelp
Travel west and the visual language changes.
Along the San Diego coast, kelp forests drift beneath the Pacific.
Dark organic forms move through brilliant water while waves, tidal patterns, cliffs, and rocky shoreline create another kind of abstraction.
Here the environment feels less architectural than the reef.
It moves.
Kelp bends with currents. Waves continually redraw the shoreline.
The landscape becomes a collaboration between water and time.
Elevated Echoes of the Turquoise Kelp Realm
Elevated Echoes of the Turquoise Kelp Realm reveals an unexpected convergence of wildlife, water, and marine habitat along the San Diego coastline. Photographed from a helicopter, the image looks down upon a crystalline expanse of turquoise Pacific water where numerous sea lions gather within a landscape shaped by kelp, currents, and light. From above, their warm, earth-toned bodies become part of a larger organic composition—a living mosaic suspended within the cool colors of the sea.
The Glacier
Then there is Greenland.
The scale changes completely.
At Ilulissat Icefjord, ice becomes monumental.
Icebergs move through the fjord. Fractures create extraordinary geometric structures. Meltwater cuts pathways across surfaces that appear almost otherworldly.
Seen from the air, the ice can look like stone, architecture, sculpture, or an abstract painting.
Yet once again, what appears abstract is completely real.
Echoes of Greenland’s Fjords
Echoes of Greenland’s Fjords reveals a striking aerial perspective of an arid expanse where earth and water coexist in quiet tension. The fractured, sunbaked ground stretches unevenly toward a softened horizon, its cracked surface layered with intricate textures that speak to resilience and the passage of time. At the heart of the composition, a small body of water holds steady—a delicate, jewel-like contrast to the surrounding desolation. Its subtle blue-green reflection draws the eye and invites a moment of contemplation amid the vast stillness. This image challenges the conventional notion of beauty by highlighting the raw, unembellished character of a landscape shaped by both scarcity and endurance, capturing a powerful sense of solitude and subtle grace within a seemingly inhospitable environment.
Why Bring These Places Together?
At first, Florida, California, and Greenland may appear unrelated.
That is precisely why I wanted to bring them into one exhibition.
The connecting element is water.
Water surrounds coral.
Water moves kelp.
Water freezes into glaciers and icebergs.
It shapes every environment represented in the exhibition.
The photographs invite viewers to move visually from warm tropical ecosystems to temperate coastal waters and finally to the Arctic.
Art and Environmental Storytelling
I do not want the exhibition to function only as a collection of beautiful photographs.
My goal is to create an experience.
Photography will be accompanied by environmental storytelling and video components, helping viewers understand more about the landscapes behind the images.
A museum provides an opportunity for people to spend time with work in a way that our increasingly fast digital world rarely encourages.
You can stand before a large photograph.
Look closely.
Step backward.
Return to it.
Notice something you missed.
That experience matters.
Looking Toward April 2027
Edges of the Earth represents an important evolution in my work as a fine art nature photographer.
It brings together landscape photography, aerial abstraction, environmental fieldwork, and conservation storytelling.
Most importantly, it reflects what continues to motivate my photography: curiosity about the natural world and a desire to encourage others to look more closely at it.
A portion of purchases from Doreen McGunagle Fine Art supports Global Voices for Nature Foundation Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to conservation education and awareness.
Through art and storytelling, the Foundation works to help protect the connection between people and the natural environments we share.
From reef to glacier, that connection is the story.