There are landscapes we believe we know until a change in perspective reveals something entirely different.
For Doreen McGunagle, Ph.D., that change in perspective came from a helicopter high above the San Diego coastline.
The objective of the aerial photographic fieldwork was intentionally narrow: move away from the built environment and focus exclusively on nature. The Pacific Ocean, coastal kelp forests, water, shoreline, and the patterns created by their interaction became the subjects.
What emerged was an unexpected visual world.
Discovering the Kelp Forest From Above
Seen from shore, kelp is part of the familiar character of Southern California's coastal environment. Seen from the air, it becomes something altogether different.
Against luminous turquoise water, golden-brown strands gather into dense formations, separate into open passages, and bend with the movement of the Pacific. Currents organize the kelp into sweeping lines and organic shapes that can resemble brushstrokes across a painted surface.
Individual plants become part of a larger visual system—a living mosaic shaped by water, light, movement, and time.
It is here that reality begins moving toward abstraction.
When the Ocean Reveals Fractals
The aerial journey revealed another visual language along the coastline.
Breaking waves created intricate networks of white foam across deep green and blue water. Large formations divided into smaller pathways, which branched again into increasingly delicate lines.
From above, these temporary structures exhibit fractal-like qualities, visually echoing forms found throughout nature: veins, roots, branching trees, river networks, and other repeating patterns.
Yet the ocean's compositions are extraordinarily fleeting.
A wave arrives. The pattern forms. Water retreats. Seconds later, it is gone.
Photography preserves a single instant within that continuous process.
Aerial Abstract Realism
The San Diego collection represents the continuing evolution of McGunagle's exploration of aerial abstract realism.
The images are grounded in actual landscapes and ecosystems. Nothing within the compositions is constructed. Instead, altitude removes many of the visual references through which a landscape is ordinarily understood.
Water becomes color.
Foam becomes line.
Current becomes gesture.
Kelp becomes pattern.
The natural world creates the abstraction.
This relationship between documentation and abstraction is increasingly central to McGunagle's photographic practice and her exploration of fragile environments around the world.
Beyond the Photograph
The San Diego aerial fieldwork extends beyond the creation of fine art.
These experiences contribute to McGunagle's broader work at the intersection of photography, research, environmental storytelling, and education. Firsthand observation provides another way of examining the relationships that exist within natural environments and creates opportunities to bring those observations into research and the classroom.
The San Diego series will also become a chapter in McGunagle's forthcoming 2027 publication, Edges of Performance: A Global Journey Through Earth’s Most Fragile Ecosystems.
The new short film, San Diego From Above: Where Nature Becomes Abstraction, offers a first look at this evolving body of work—but intentionally does not reveal the complete collection.
See the Complete Collection
The new San Diego aerial works will be revealed during:
From Water to Aerial Realism: An Afternoon with Doreen McGunagle, Ph.D.
Saturday, November 14 | 2:00–4:00 p.m.
Artists’ Studio & Gallery of Tequesta
The afternoon will offer an opportunity to experience the new work and explore the evolution from water and landscape photography toward aerial abstract realism.
Watch the new short film: San Diego From Above: Where Nature Becomes Abstraction.
A portion of proceeds from Doreen McGunagle Fine Art Photography supports Global Voices for Nature Foundation Inc., helping advance conservation and education through photography.