Delmarva natives know all about how beautiful Assateague Island is, and the coolest part is that this seashore is right in our backyard.

When people visit Delmarva, the wild ponies walking on the shoreline are a must-see. And they’re walking on some of the most beautiful natural landscapes around. As you can imagine, these beautiful views attract many local artists.

Photographer and writer Mark Hendricks tells us all about his new book, Natural Wonders of Assateague and how exactly he was inspired to transform his pictures into a full-fledged story.

Photo by Mark Hendricks

Mark spent a lot of time as a child at Assateague.

“Camping, hiking, surfing, getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, etc.,” Mark says.

Mark is a wildlife and conservation photojournalist. He writes and photographs projects for different publications and all his work has a conservation message.

“I’ve written and photographed travel and wildlife articles for different publications about Assateague and I realized that many people did not realize that Assateague had so much wonderful lifeforms within its boundaries,” Mark says. “Also, the vast majority of books about the island are about one thing and one thing only-  the famed wild horses. Horses are great, but there is so much more.”

Photo by Mark Hendricks

Mark signed a contract with publisher, Schiffer, in 2015. However, he spent eight years prior to signing a contract photographing and exploring Assateague Island. He had a large list of things he wanted to document and luckily was able to capture photographs of everything he wanted to and published his book, Natural Wonders of Assateague, in June 2017.

Purchase the book here and check out his photography website here.