Incredible Women Wildlife Photographers

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.

Suzi Eszterhas

Suzi Eszterhas

Cristina Mittermeier

Cristina Mittermeier

Esther Horvath

Esther Horvath

Krista Schlyer

Krista Schlyer

Melissa Groo

Melissa Groo

Morgan Heim

Morgan Heim

Jaymi Heimbuch

Jaymi Heimbuch

Jen Guyton

Jen Guyton

Susan McConnell

Susan McConnell - Incredible Women Wildlife Photographers

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:

Jennifer Adler

Jennifer Adler

Karen Ann Sullivan

Karen Ann Sullivan

Ellen Anon

Ellen Anon

Cheryl Arena

Cheryl Arena

Bethany Augliere

Bethany Augliere

Sandra Bartocha

Sandra Bartocha

Bee-Elle

Bee-Elle

April Bencze

April Bencze

Sandrine Biziaux-Scherson

Sandrine Biziaux-Scherson

Sarah Blodgett

Sarah Blodgett

Janet Brown

Janet Brown

Alison Buttigieg

Alison Buttigieg

Trish Carney

Trish Carney

Jodi Cobb

Jodi Cobb

Brittany Crossman

Brittany Crossman

Ellen Cuylaerts

Ellen Cuylaerts

Barbara Dall’Angelo

Barbara Dall'Angelo

Jacqueline Deely

Jacqueline Deely

Anja Denker

Anja Denker

Carole Deschuymere

Carole Deschuymere

Isabel Diez

Isabel Diez

Carol Dilger

Carol Dilger

Laurie Dirkx

Laurie Dirkx

Alena Ebeling-Schuld

Alena Ebeling-Schuld

Eilo Elvinger

Eilo Elvinger

Melissa Farlow

Melissa Farlow

Katherine Feng

Katherine Feng

Stephanie Foote

Stephanie Foote

Teri Franzen

Teri Franzen

Carolina Fraser

Carolina Fraser

Jodi Frediani

Jodi Frediani

Colleen Gara

Colleen Gara

Daisy Gilardini

Daisy Gilardini

Cindy Goeddel

Cindy Goeddel

Annie Griffiths

Annie Griffiths

Renee Grinnell Capozzola

Amy Gulick

Amy Gulick

Jessica Hadley

Jessica Hadley

Orsolya Haarberg

Orsolya Haarberg

Hilary Hann

Hilary Hann

Cristina Harboe

Cristina Harboe

Jennifer Hayes

Jennifer Hayes

Hennie van Heerden

Hennie van Heerden

Tanya Houppermans

Tanya Houppermans

Denise Ippolito

Denise Ippolito

Marisa Ishimatsu

Marisa Ishimatsu

Rebecca R Jackrel

Rebecca R Jackrel

Britta Jaschinski

Britta Jaschinski

Cindy Jeannon

Cindy Jeannon

Beverly Joubert

Beverly Joubert

Amanda Joy 

Amanda Joy

Pamela Underhill Karaz

Pamela Underhill Karaz

Arati Kumar-Rao

Arati Kumar-Rao

Lauren Owens Lambert

Lauren Owens Lambert

Lisa Langell

Lisa Langell

Brianne Lehan

Brianne Lehan

Jennifer Leigh Warner

Jennifer Leigh Warner

Kathy Lichtendahl

Kathy Lichtendahl

Sally Mann

Sally Mann

Stephanie Manuel

Stephanie Manuel

Kerri Martin

Kerri Martin

Piper Mackay

Piper Mackay

Mia McPherson

Mia McPherson

Maggy Meyer

Maggy Meyer

Melyssa St. Michael

Melyssa St. Michael

Valerie Millet

Valerie Millet

Yva Momatiuk

Yva Momatiuk

Beata Moore

Beata Moore

Anette Mossbacher

Anette Mossbacher

Annie Marie Musselman

Annie Marie Musselman

Roberta Olenick

Roberta Olenick

Hob Osterlund

Hob Osterlund

Ann M. Pacheco

Ann M. Pacheco

Eilish Palmer

Eilish Palmer

Melissa Penta

Melissa Penta

Joanna B Pinneo

Joanna B Pinneo

Verena Popp-Hackner

Verena Popp-Hackner

Kari Post

Kari Post

Margot Raggett

Margot Raggett

Lynda Richardson

Lynda Richardson

Sam Rose Phillips

Sam Rose Phillips

Ellie Rothnie

Ellie Rothnie

Tui De Roy

Tui De Roy

Laurie Rubin

Laurie Rubin

Gabby Salazar

Gabby Salazar

Vicki Santello

Vicki Santello

Karin Saucedo

Karin Saucedo

Krisztina Scheeff

Krisztina Scheeff

Kristel Schneider

Kristel Schneider

Karen Schuenemann

Karen Schuenemann

Ashleigh Scully

Ashleigh Scully

Camille Seaman

Camille Seaman

Sandy Sisti

Sandy Sisti

Shayla Snowshoe

Shayla Snowshoe

Ann Toon

Ann Toon

Wendy Shattil

Wendy Shattil

Amy Shutt

Amy Shutt

Sarah Skinner

Sarah Skinner

Maggie Steber

Maggie Steber

Samantha Stephens

Samantha Stephens

Rachael Talibart

Rachael Talibart

Tara Tanaka

Tara Tanaka

Kika Tarsi Tuff

Kika Tarsi Tuff

Ingrid Taylar

Ingrid Taylar

Brenda Tharp

Brenda Tharp

Amy Toensing

Amy Toensing

Inger Vandyke

Inger Vandyke

Ami Vitale

Ami Vitale

Michele Westmorland

Michele Westmorland

Diana Whiting

Diana Whiting

Shannon Wild

Shannon Wild

Jessica Winter

Jessica Winter

Andy Wolcott

Andy Wolcott

Big Picture Natural World Photography Competition Finalist!

big picture natural world photography competition finalist photo - pampas cat

Pampas Cat (Leopardus colocolo) in altiplano at night, Ciudad de Piedra, western Bolivia

I am honored to announce that my Pampas Cat picture is a finalist in the terrestrial wildlife category in the Big Picture Natural World Photography Competition, organized by the California Academy of Sciences.

Congratulations to all the winners and finalists of this years competition! I would like to especially congratulate Nayan Khanolkar for the coolest camera trap shot of a leopard I have ever seen and Pete Oxford, who is the definition of a conservation photographer, and a personal hero of mine.

You can see the overall category winners here:
http://bigpicturecompetition.org/the-2016-winning-images/

and the other terrestrial wildlife finalist images here:
http://bigpicturecompetition.org/finalists-terrestrial-wil…/

Finally, you will be able to see all the pictures in person starting July 29th, 2106. I hope you are able to!

This Pampas Cat photograph was taken as part of the Cat in Thin Air project and would not be possible without the help of the Andean Cat Alliance, Juan Carlos Huaranca Ariste, Alejandra Rocio Torrez Tarqui, and Ma Lilian Villalba. Thank you to all of you!

*If you are interested in purchasing any of the pictures displayed in this post, please check out my fine prints page for pricing.*

California Wildlife Photography Workshop Dates Released

california wildlife photography workshop

There are workshops covering everything from salamanders to sea otters!

In anticipation of next year, I finalized the dates for a bunch of California wildlife photography workshop classes, mainly around Santa Cruz and the San Francisco Bay Area. You can check out all the info here: http://www.pumapix.com/wildlife-photography-workshops-and-lessons/

Workshop dates are as follows:
February 27th, 2016 – Santa Cruz and Moss Landing, California – Sea Otter Photography Workshop
February 28th, 2016 – Santa Cruz, California – Salamanders of the central coast of California Photography Workshop
May 14th-15th, 2016 – Pinnacles National Park, California – California Condor Photography Workshop
May 21st, 2016 – Santa Cruz, California – Brown Pelican Photography Workshop
August 20th, 2016 – Point Reyes National Seashore, California – Tule Elk Photography Workshop
October, 22nd through November 5th, 2016 – New Zealand – Birds of New Zealand Photography Workshop

Photographing in the High Andes

I recently returned from the high Andes of Bolivia and Argentina as part of the Cat in Thin Air project, and let me tell you, it was amazing! First of all, one has to get used to the high altitude of course (I saw one fellow passenger experience extreme altitude sickness pretty quickly in Bolivia as she had difficulties breathing and a major headache). Once you get used to the idea that you will be out of breath just by tying your shoes, you can start to focus on all the awesome nature that surrounds you.

So what does the landscape look like at 13,000 feet or even 14,000, (or even at 15,000 feet)? Probably not what you expect when you think of those elevations in the US.

Altiplano at about 13,300 feet, Ciudad de Piedra, western Bolivia

Altiplano at about 13,300 feet, Ciudad de Piedra, Andes, western Bolivia

Altiplano at about 13,300 feet, Ciudad de Piedra, western Bolivia

Altiplano at about 13,300 feet, Ciudad de Piedra, Andes, western Bolivia

Altiplano at about 13,300 feet, Ciudad de Piedra, western Bolivia

Altiplano at about 13,300 feet, Ciudad de Piedra, Andes, western Bolivia

Beautiful for sure, but there are some places, like the Valley of the Moons in northwestern Argentina, that stand out above the crowd.

Sandstone rock formations, Valley of the Moons, Jujuy Province, northwestern Argentina

Sandstone rock formations, Valley of the Moons, Andes, Jujuy Province, northwestern Argentina

Once you start to calm down about how amazing all the landscapes around you are, you start to notice the critters that fill those places.

Vicuna (Vicugna vicugna) mother nursing cria, Andes, northwestern Argentina

Vicuna (Vicugna vicugna) mother nursing her cria, Andes, northwestern Argentina

Chilean Flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis) flock flying over miraged lagoon, Andes, northwestern Argentina

Chilean Flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis) flock flying over miraged lagoon, Andes, northwestern Argentina

Southern Viscacha (Lagidium viscacia), Ciudad de Piedra, Andes, western Bolivia

Southern Viscacha (Lagidium viscacia), Ciudad de Piedra, Andes, western Bolivia

Lesser Rhea (Rhea pennata), Andes, Jujuy Province, northwestern Argentina

Lesser Rhea (Rhea pennata), Andes, Jujuy Province, northwestern Argentina

Even seeing the domesticated Llamas can be awe-inspiring.

Llama (Lama glama) herd grazing at sunset, Andes, Jujuy Province, northwestern Argentina

Llama (Lama glama) herd grazing at sunset, Andes, Jujuy Province, northwestern Argentina

I was there of course for the cats, but to hear about those you will have to be a little bit more patient. One thing is for sure, I am already looking forward to returning to the high Andes!

*If you are interested in purchasing any of the pictures displayed in this post, please check out my fine prints page for pricing.*

Cat in Thin Air project launched!

CatinAirLogo

 

The Andean Mountain Cat has been in my heart for a very long time. It is a high altitude specialist and less than 2.500 remain. This is not another sad depressing environmental story however. The Andean Cat has a real chance at survival, but its up to us who care to make sure that happens. The Andean Cat Alliance has been working exclusively on this amazing species since 1999, and they have made real progress. Since however there are less than 10 high resolution pictures of this cat in existence, I want to do my part in helping the Andean Cat by getting more high resolution pictures which can then be used to introduce a ton more people to the cat.

And so, the Cat in Thin Air Project was born. The goals of the project are to first get more pictures of this very elusive cat, but then, and much more importantly help with established education programs as well as create additional avenues to show the cat to the world. Have an interest in wild cats, go check out the project page, want to help? Email me!