Science Communication
Exploring Cenotes
(Photo Story)
Chasing the Spawn
(Photo Comment)
Coastal Livelihoods in Constant Tension (Field Story)
Swimming with Whale Sharks
(Photo Story)
The True Value of Kelp in B.C.
(Photo Essay)
Perspectives of a Fisherwoman
(Photo Essay)
Listening to Artisanal Fishers
(Photo Essay)
Photographing a Bubble
(Photo Story)
Videography
After spending a month interviewing artisanal fishers in Yucatán for a research study, I wanted to spotlight their stories beyond quantitative science. In this short documentary, Amada tells us about her life as one of the only fisherwoman in the fishing town of Celestún, Mexico.
Come along on a reef dive in La Paz, Mexico as I test out the macro on the Olympus Tough TG-6 camera.
Get a glimpse of Uxmal – an ancient Maya city in Yucatán, featuring local wildlife and a caco ceremony.
This short film ‘A Pleasant Surprise’ touches on nostalgia and living far from family. Coursework project for the Vancouver Film School Intro to Cinematography course.
Check out this unique beach in Campeche, Mexico where Mayan pottery pieces wash up—thousands of years old! This region of Mexico has immensely rich culture and history influenced from years of Mayan civilization.
Vancouver Film School – Intro to Directing 'Shot by Shot' Assignment: Paris scenes from the movie 'Midnight in Paris' recreated in Vancouver, Canada.
Photography
Do you notice how bubbles cause two opposite reflections of its surroundings? No two bubble photos will ever be the same.
A huge school of Big-eyed jacks (Caranx sexfasciatus) swarm divers in the renowned marine reserve of Cabo Pulmo, Mexico.
Dive guide looking into a crevice near the entrance of cenote X'batun in Yucatán, Mexico.
A grey whale (Eschrichtius robustus) spy-hopping our boat in Puerto Chale, Baja California Sur, Mexico.
A whale shark (Rhincodon typus)—the biggest fish in the ocean in the Mexican Caribbean. Swimming with them is an undeniably unique experience if done responsibly, and photographing them is no easy task!
A blue morpho butterfly (Morpho peleides) in Costa Rica's Diamante Eco Adventure Park.
A pink flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) in Celestún, Yucatán—an iconic species important for ecotourism in the region.
A green iguana (Iguana iguana) makes eye-contact at Costa Rica's Diamante Eco Adventure Park.
A humpback whale fluke (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Canada pierces through the ocean surface along the same horizon as Mount Baker in the USA.
A vibrant reef in La Paz, Baja California Sur. Can you spot the curious red fish in the foreground and the divers in the background?
A blue agave (Agave tequilana) in Tepoztlán, Mexico radiates a beautiful blue at dusk after rainfall.
Rocky skies — lake reflections in Mount Seymour, Canada yield a new perspective.
A wild howler money mother (Alouatta palliata) and her young chimp swing through the trees in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
A young and playful California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) pirouettes in front of SCUBA divers in Los Islotes, Mexico.
Slack-liners practicing at Cenote Yaakun in Playa del Carmen, México.
Pacific herring roe (Clupea pallasii) captured on a piece of seaweed at Qualicum beach, Vancouver Island during the annual herring spawn.
Gulls feast on Pacific herring during the annual herring spring spawn in Vancouver Island, Canada
An underwater sculpture acts as the beginnings of an artificial reef in Cozumel, Mexico.
A brain coral photographed during a dive in Cozumel, Mexico where reefs are vulnerable to rising temperatures.
K'omoks First Nation Totem Pole—a historical landmark in Hornby Island, Canada.
A couple enjoys a vibrant post-hurricane sunset in La Paz, Mexico.
Pink flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber) in Campeche, Mexico. A species that drives ecotourism in the region.
A small coral Hawkfish (Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus) emerges from between the coral in a reef in La Paz, Mexico.
An egg yolk jellyfish (Phacellophora camtschatica) drifts across the ocean surface in Tuwanek, Canada.
The aurora borealis reaches Kitsilano beach, Vancouver. Can you see the big dipper?
Awards
Special Recognition at the OceanPrediction DCC Photo Contest “Ocean’s Beauty” category, 2025
Third Prize at Ocean Exposures Photo Contest “Below the Surface” category, 2024
Photo Contest winner “Botany and Zoology Wellness Initiative”, University of British Columbia, 2021
Photo selected for the Convention on Biological Diversity “Celebrating 25 Years of Biological Diversity” book, 2018
Publications
Pozas Franco, A. L. Visual storytelling for inclusive and equitable research communication. A Field Guide to Ocean Equity and Justice: Politics, Practices, and Possibilities. University of Georgia Press. (In press)
Pozas-Franco, A. L., Rosen, D. A., Trites, A. W., García-Rodríguez, F. J., & Hernández-Camacho, C. J. (2025). Environmental heterogeneity plays a bigger role than diet quality in driving divergent California sea lion population trends. PLoS One, 20(11), e0324108.
Cisneros Montemayor, A. M., Gutzmann, S., Pozas Franco, A. L., Frías Hernández, L. E., Ayala Bocos, A., & Becerril García, E. E. (2025). Valoración económica de los servicios ecosistémicos del Parque Nacional Revillagigedo, México. In Diagnóstico de la acuacultura en México. Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana.
Bossier, S., Ota, Y., Pozas-Franco, A. L., & Cisneros-Montemayor, A. M. (2025). How much time and who will do it? Organizing the toolbox of climate adaptations for small-scale fisheries. Frontiers in Marine Science, 12, 1521526.
Montelongo Alfaro, I., Vázquez-Vera, L., Garza de Yta, A., Pozas Franco, A. L., Torres Origel, J. F., & Walther Mendoza, M. (2022). Situación de la acuacultura en México. In L. Vázquez-Vera & P. Chávez-Carreño (Eds.), Diagnóstico de la acuacultura en México. Fondo Mexicano para la Conservación de la Naturaleza, A.C.
