Today I have the privilege of introducing you to the work of acclaimed photographer Layne Kennedy. He is our "Featured Photographer" for June. Layne takes photos of landscapes, mammals, flowers, thunderstorms, the stars, sled dogs, birds, the people of Burning Man -- you name it. He also enjoys making photos with his iPhone and teaching others to do so, as he explained recently on his blog. That's Layne at right with Uusaqqak Henson, grandson of polar explorer Matthew Henson. (Layne was on assignment in Greenland to cover the Polar Inuit people for Smithsonian magazine.)In 2005, Layne met Editor Chuck Hagner in the Bahamas. Chuck was researching a story for Nature Conservancy magazine about Kirtland's Warblers and the scientists who study them on the island of Eleuthera; Layne shot the photos that accompanied Chuck's article. In his "Featured Photographer" gallery, Layne presents 12 handpicked photos, each as stunning as the last. The haunting portrait of the Boreal Owl above is among them. Enjoy the gallery, and be sure to click "Full Screen" so you can see the photos big! --Matt Mendenhall, Associate EditorAbout our Featured Photographers:Featured Photographer is a new, fun feature on our website. Every month, we invite one of our favorite photographers to handpick and describe a selection of his or her photos.>> We started in March with the photos of Marie Read.>> In April, we presented photos by Brian E. Small.>> For May, we featured Mia McPherson's photos.>> This month, we are happy to showcase the work of Layne Kennedy.