We are beyond thrilled to announce our collaboration with National Geographic on an all-new photography book: Natural Wonders. It goes on sale this October and is available for preorder now. This marks the first time Modernist Cuisine founder Nathan Myhrvold’s landscape photography has been featured in a dedicated volume, bringing his lifelong passion for exploration, nature, and photography to life in breathtaking, large-format detail.

Nathan has loved photography from an early age, especially landscape photography. When he was 12 or 13, he attended a talk by Ansel Adams at Royce Hall at UCLA. Nathan worked up the courage to talk with him afterward—Adams was very kind and took the time to encourage a budding photographer, which made a lasting impression.

 Inspired by both the sublime and the supposedly mundane, the photos in this book represent Nathan’s curiosity about the world around us. With Natural Wonders, Nathan unveils a different dimension of his photography, approaching nature with the same innovative spirit, artistic vision, and eye for meticulous detail that drives his food photography.

It’s been an honor for him to work on this book with National Geographic, which has always understood and championed the power of great photography. With Natural Wonders, we hope to share with you the wonderment of the world around us and our place within it. Keep reading for a preview of what’s inside.

A Journey across the Globe

Natural Wonders takes readers on a stunning visual journey across five continents. Featuring 184 images, this book showcases the beauty of breathtaking landscapes, unusual phenomena, wildlife, and the familiar spaces humans have carved into our planet.

Captured with custom-built cameras and groundbreaking technology, these photographs preserve fleeting moments of natural wonder with striking clarity and color. Nathan’s signature approach—a combination of scientific precision and artistic vision—results in images that are both awe-inspiring and deeply immersive.

 It’s difficult not to feel a sense of awe when you see the remarkable moments and phenomena that he’s preserved in this collection of images. Within this 336-page volume,  you’ll travel to places near, far, and even farther to stand in the pathway of a thunderstorm, witness the delicate intricacy of snowflakes, and feel the humbling magnitude of the Milky Way. Here’s a look at the book’s four thematic sections.

Part 1: Deserts, Valleys, and Canyons: Carved History and Expansive Beauty

Erosion shapes the land we live on. Running water carves out canyons and valleys. Windblown sand creates deserts. Though not everyone can venture out to these remote and seemingly barren landscapes, this chapter will bring you as close as paper can.

Experience the rock formations found in Canyonlands National Park, the northern rim of the Grand Canyon, the Sonoran Desert, intimate slot canyons, the rising buttes throughout Monument Valley—and so much more.

Part 2: Water and Ice: Liquid Elegance and Frozen Grace

Water covers more of Earth’s surface than anything else, taking on many stunning forms—from towering glaciers to cascading waterfalls. Nathan traveled to extraordinary locations to capture these photographs, including Iceland’s frozen beaches, the snow-dusted peaks of the Cordillera del Paine, and the iconic Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina. Water in its liquid form is also gorgeously represented, with images of Norway’s Seven Sisters waterfall, alpine lakes in the Dolomites, and the rugged coastlines of the Isle of Skye.

These mesmerizing photographs will change the way you see water, revealing its beauty in extraordinary detail.

Part 3: Stars and Storms: Celestial Brilliance and Frozen Grace

Some of the most impressive sights on Earth occur in the atmosphere. The tremendous power and energy of a storm is conjured up above, as is the vibrant dance of the aurora borealis or the steady movement of star trails.

Witnessing such spectacular sights is difficult, depending on where you live. Some weather and atmospheric phenomena only occur in certain places, and city lights obscure the night sky. This chapter of Natural Wonders brings the sky to you. You’ll see domineering storm clouds, technicolor sunsets and auroras, colliding meteor showers, rarely seen red sprite lightning (which look like jellyfish in the sky), and much more.

Part 4: Human Influence: Transformed Landscapes and Constructed Monuments

People have long shaped the landscapes they live on. Though most of this book captures natural landscapes, there is something equally stunning and graceful about built environments. The photographs in this section will connect you with humanity—past and present, near and far.

This section documents the interplay between nature and technology over the decades. The photographs will take you to timeless monuments, modern cityscapes filled with urban canyons, and panoramic agricultural vistas that will surprise you.

Experience the Wonder

More than just a collection of stunning landscapes, Natural Wonders is an invitation to see the world through a new lens. Whether you are drawn to the raw power of a storm, the endless depths of a canyon, or a megaflock of snow geese taking flight, this book offers a chance to pause and appreciate the wonders of our planet.

Natural Wonders arrives on October 14, 2025—preorder now at the Modernist Cuisine Shop or wherever fine books are sold. Join us in celebrating this breathtaking journey through some of the most extraordinary places on Earth.