Edit: Please feel free to copy this post and add to wherever you like, its all about getting these women’s incredible work in front of as many people as possible!
Original Post:
The International League of Conservation Photographer‘s annual conference called WiLDSPEAK recently took place in Washington D.C. As always, leaving the event meant the mental batteries were re-charged and inspiration was running at full steam. Yet, there was one other glaring take away. Women are not only still largely under-represented in wildlife photography, but they are also incredibly under-appreciated.
Jodi Cobb was part of the programming, enlightening the audience with her work on Geishas and modern day slavery. Her photographs were absolutely stunning, her stories grippingly captivating. I sat there embarrassed. I had no idea who she was. She has completed over thirty stories for National Geographic, working for and with the magazine for over thirty years. I didn’t have the slightest clue. I was humiliated by my complete ignorance.
Now I realize that as a man, I have been afforded opportunities woman have not. And quite honestly, I feel very conflicted about writing this blog post in the first place. Is it appropriate for me as a male to write about the under-representation of females in the industry at all? The reason I ended up deciding to do so is that this is not about me, but rather about the many incredible women wildlife photographers who produce amazingly inspiring work and of whom everyone should be aware.
Please check out their work.
One thing that you may have noticed is that all of these women are not only wildlife photographers, but also conservation photographers. They are all using their images to raise awareness, save species, and fight for the planet. True heroes in my book!
Update December 7th, 2017 – I posted this list on Facebook yesterday and asked other’s to share their inspirational women photographers. The comments kept flooding in. It was tremendous. I want to include their suggestions here. I will update this list as more suggestions come in (leave them in the comments here!)
Update December 11th, 2017 – Since wildlife is or at the very least should be the top priority for all wildlife photographers, I am not adding links for photographers who bait or lure mammalian predators or raptors, including owls, or who promote game farm photography.
Listed in alphabetical order:
Sandrine Biziaux-Scherson
