Observing and Preserving

 Pretty much every aspect of Jen Vanderhoof’s life is connected to the outdoors. There’s scuba diving: “I learned in Puget Sound,” says Vanderhoof, who lives in Seattle. “And I think that diving in British Columbia is unbeatable.”

Underwater photography: “I waited until I had 150 dives logged before I started doing underwater photography. I wanted to be an extremely efficient diver with solid buoyancy control before adding a camera to my workload.”

She’s been a triathlete since 2007. “In 2009 I completed my first iron-distance race at Ironman Canada,” she reports, two days after completing her second Ironman competition, in Penticton, B.C..

And with “tri-season,” as she calls it, wrapping up, it’s time to get out for some backpacking. “My primary backpacking pal and I both enjoy photography, so we don’t move along quickly,” she says, “but we sure do stop and smell and photograph the flowers.”