From Micro to Mega, Jon McCormack’s Striking Photos Reveal Nature’s Patterns

Growing up in the Australian Outback, where he first picked up a camera as a teenager to document his surroundings in the bush, Jon McCormack developed a keen eye for the beauty and subtleties of nature. Throughout his career, he’s stepped foot on all seven continents. Yet the idea for his new book, Patterns: Art of the Natural World, emerged from a period of quieter reflection.

Like many of us during the pandemic, McCormack’s travels were limited to his immediate area. He began visiting the same spots repeatedly and “discovered a new way of seeing, using photography to reveal the hidden harmony and symmetry of the natural world,” says a statement. Patterns, forthcoming from Damiani Books, draws upon this patient and attentive approach to nature’s rhythms, emphasizing its interconnectedness, resilience, and fragility.

a photograph by Jon McCormack of bright yellow aspen trees along the edge of a lake in the mountains — Golden aspens and their reflection join to shape a luminous triangle of color

The snapshots view slivers of our world from a range of perspectives, whether honing in on the recurring features of crystals or flying over a flamboyance of flamingos in Kenya. Patterns contains 90 striking images and text contributions from fellow photographers and conservationists.

Find your copy on Bookshop, and keep up with McCormack’s travels on Instagram.

a photograph by Jon McCormack of an aerial view of streams that look abstract — Patterns of minerals left behind by volcanic eruptions in Iceland

a photograph by Jon McCormack of an abstract pattern in nature — A microscope reveals the crystalline patterns of caffeine

a photograph by Jon McCormack of prismatic spray above a waterfall in Yosemite National Park — A prismatic waterfall at Yosemite

a photograph by Jon McCormack of birds flying over yellow streams, seen from high in the air — Flamingos in flight mirror the shifting patterns etched across Kenya’s Lake Magadi

a photograph by Jon McCormack of dolphins swimming, seen from a vertical perspective — A pod of dolphins swim near the Channel Islands

a photograph by Jon McCormack of microscopic crystals in repeating patterns — In every drop of water, diatoms are algae with glass-like silica shells that resemble tiny jewels under a microscope

the cover of the book 'Patterns' by Jon McCormack featuring an abstract up-close image of stone

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