About

Scott Atkinson is a fine-art landscape photographer based in Half Moon Bay, California.

Sometime early in his photo career he decided to “stay home” and shoot only in California’s native habitats. Not that it’s a hardship: he lives by the ocean and also travels widely, from coast to valley to mountains to deserts, in his dusty old Toyota truck.

These landscapes are not Half Dome. They’re quiet. They have their own seasons, their own rhythms, their own unique textures and colors. Parks and preserves are crucial, but so are these other worlds we drive by daily. Who will speak for buckeyes, manzanita, valley oak jungle, or pickleweed?

Scott’s images have been published by Audubon, the California Academy of Sciences, The Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club, Sunset, Westcliffe, and The Wilderness Society.

His fine-art prints have graced the walls of many homes, museums and galleries, including the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel, the Monterey Museum of Art, Viewpoint Photographic Art Center in Sacramento, and the Coastside Land Trust Gallery in Half Moon Bay.

Scott has developed, written, and/or photoedited more than 50 book projects, and photographed several more. He was a three-time final juror for the Kellicutt International Photo Show. And he was also for many years a principal photo editor for Sierra Club’s calendars, where he reviewed millions of images, then helped guide each chosen photo down the prepress and production paths, including on-site press checks each year.