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Q&A with Krista Schlyer: How imagery is fighting against the border wall

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Do you feel empowered to know that images can foster conservation and societal change?

So do we.

That’s why we’re so excited for you to meet with Krista Schlyer, a conservation writer and photographer, as well as a GWC photographer!

For over a decade, Krista has been working on the Borderlands Project, a visual storytelling campaign that is fighting against the border wall. In doing so, she has brought poignant narratives from the US-Mexico borderlands to millions of people, protected a very rare borderlands habitat preserve called the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, and instilled in all a greater understanding of the impact of walls on wildlife, ecosystems, and people.

Read on to learn more about Krista’s inspiring work with the Borderlands Project, and the true power of imagery in creating change.

GWC: Why did you decide to start the Borderlands Project?

Krista Schlyer: The Borderlands Project started in 2008. I started it because I had been working on this conservation story about a transboundary herd of bison. They lived on the border of US and Mexico, and was, at the time, one of only 5 free-ranging herds of wild bison left in North America.

While I was there, I was up in an airplane with a scientist, and we were taking pictures of the bison. And we happened to see them right as they were crossing the US-Mexico border. 

After the flight, we started talking to the landowners on both sides of the border. They said that the bison on the north side came over for a special type of grass that was in a pasture on the north side. On the south side, they were mostly coming to a pond that was one of the only year-round water resources from anywhere for many many miles. 

So their food and water resources were split by the border, and this was about two years after the US Congress passed a bill called the Secure Fence Act, and that bill mandated that the Department of Homeland Security build 700 miles of border wall.

At that time, it became clear to me that not only were the bison going to be harmed if this wall was built through their habitat, but all of the thousands of species that were along the border were going to be harmed. And I didn’t hear a lot of people talking about that.

So I decided that it would be a good thing to work on. At the time, I didn’t think that I was going to spend more than a decade working on it. I thought it would maybe be 6 months to a year.

But the more I worked on it, the more important it seemed, and the more I got engaged to the different stories of different wild species, people, and just all different facets that were going to be impacted by this huge 2000 mile long construction project.

The US-Mexico border wall at the Pacific Coast, separating Tijuana from San Diego. California, USA. February 2011. Photo by Krista Schlyer

GWC: What was the first project that you did for this campaign?

Krista Schlyer: I went to the International League of Conservation Photographers, which I had just joined that organization not long before. And I asked them  if they would let me organize an expedition of their member photographers to go to the border for a month, travel the whole border, take photographs, and then create outcomes from those photographs. 

I got 12 photographers and myself who agreed to go travel the border with me. And we were out there for a month in 2009.

When we finished with the expedition, I gathered photographs from all the photographers, and I put together an exhibit. The result was a 30 piece fine-art exhibit that I worked with members of Congress to bring that exhibit to the House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as some briefings on Capitol Hill to get experts to talk about the impacts of the border wall on wildlife and the land.

Continental Divide exhibit on display. Photo by Krista Schlyer

GWC: So what happened next?

Krista Schlyer: The exhibit was before the election where Barack Obama was elected. The hope was after he was elected that they would stop building the border wall. 

Unfortunately, that’s not what happened. The border wall construction continued.

So the project continued, and it’s sort of been this ongoing search to find ways to get to news outlets. I wrote a book about the ecology of the US-Mexico Borderlands, I started doing lectures across the country. I made a short film with a crew about the border and some of the issues that related to wildlife and ecosystems.

Desert cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii) at the border wall during construction in southern Arizona. USA July 2008. Photo by Krista Schlyer

By 2015, there was no more wall that was being built at that point. There had not been any wall approved by Congress the Secure Fence Act. It seemed that we weren’t going to be building any more wall. 

But then the presidential election rolled around, and Donald Trump made it a real centrepiece for his campaign. When he was elected, I tried to figure out what more I could do to try and get the word out about it.

So the first project that I did was to create a StoryMap on the US-Mexico border, with ESRI’s StoryMap’s team, the Audubon Society, the University of Arizona, Sierra Club, Centre of Biological Diversity, and a bunch of other groups. The goal was to make it a tool for educators who were trying to talk about the impact of walls and other barriers on wildlife, and journalists who were trying to get some background on what had already happened in terms of border wall construction as they were covering this new attempt by the Trump administration.

Shortly after that came out, I did some talks about that StoryMap and about the border and I started having some conversations with some filmmakers that are friends of mine. We decided that we were going to make a feature film about the border and border wall. 

From 2017 to 2019, I worked on a film called Ay Mariposa, in collaboration with Morgan Heim (a GWC partner photographer!) and filmmaker Jenny Nichols. Ay Mariposa means “Oh butterfly”, and the film follows three characters, an immigrant woman, the head of the National Butterfly Society, and the butterfly, and looks at what it means to be building a wall in this place. We’ve been doing screenings across the country, and that now is the latest outcome of the Borderlands Project.

GWC: That’s amazing! How important is it to have collaborations with other photographers and non-profits in a campaign like this?

Krista Schlyer: I think to me, collaboration is essential to everything that I do. 

I mean, there’s no way I could do what I do without collaborating with nonprofits and NGOs and government and other organizations. Because I don’t have that kind of reach. 

There are all these people that have been focusing their lives around how to make change, or the environment, to conserve what we have and try to rebuild what we’ve lost. To not cooperate and collaborate with those folks and those organizations would just mean that the reach of the project would be minuscule in comparison to what it could be when you cooperate. So I’ve always really believed so strongly that collaboration with organizations is just foundation to any kind of a project like this.

And collaborating with photographers comes with its own value. I think because you get to hear the ideas and see the visual viewpoint of different people that you really respect and find ways to communicate that you just wouldn’t think of on your own. So that I think was an important decision to make at the outset, to reach out to other photographers and nonprofits and see what we could do together.

Sometimes one of the things that’s hard for people when they’re starting out doing this kind of work is that you don’t always get a responsive person at an organization. But when you do find that person who sees the value of this kind of collaboration, then it doesn’t just open one door, it opens as many doors as that person knows people, and their connections.

So you know, making those connections can really be one the hardest parts of this work, but once you kind of get that ball rolling, it really does take on a life of its own.

Great kiskadee with a granjeno berry. Photo by Krista Schlyer

GWC: What motivates you to keep going and to keep doing more projects?

Krista Schlyer: Sometimes I wonder about that myself. But I have times when I feel despair, and I feel very sad, and I just can’t do it anymore. But then I just give myself a little time to rest and then I start again and keep trying.

I think for me what it all goes back to, is that when I spend time taking photographs of wild creatures in particular, I feel a sense of responsibility towards them. And you know, whatever else happens, however else I might feel about my ability to be successful at this work, I can’t stop, because no matter what, that responsibility is always there.

I just try to find new ways and, you know, just don’t give up. I just can’t give up.

Javelina at the border wall in the San Pedro River Valley. Photo by Krista Schlyer

GWC: So do you find that your passion for this, the passion that you put into your projects, is maybe why you think this narrative touched so many people?

Krista Schlyer: That’s the key to any project like this. People can see when you love something, and if you show them that you care so much about this place or this animal or this cause, and you’re willing to kind of put that out there. In my experience, people really respond to that. They learn to care about a place or an issue or an animal through you. 

And some of them, maybe they feel that through you, and then it becomes their own thing. They do, whether it’s about the same issue or a different issue, they find a path of their own to care and to take responsibility. It’s really powerful, that’s what I’ve found over the years, that it’s a powerful thing to show that you care about something, and that you’re willing to take responsibility.

GWC: So if someone wanted to follow your footsteps and make their own visually powered action campaign, what kind of advice would you give to them?

Krista Schlyer: Gosh there’s a lot. I think one thing is to find something you really love. Find something that speaks to you, and not only speaks to you, but you think maybe that other people don’t – haven’t thought about it in the way that you’re thinking about it.

And then, think about who is the audience you think you need to affect most of all. For the Borderlands project, it’s really changed throughout the project because there’s so many audiences that play a role in what’s happening. Sometimes I’ll focus more on decision-makers, like members of Congress. Sometimes I’ll focus more on the press. Sometimes more on the general public. And in some instances, some issues, you might find that only one of those audiences or a different audience altogether is what matters, but some issues might be all of them. 

And then think about: what is the best way to convey a message? Is it a magazine story? Is it an exhibit that you put in a particular place? Is it doing a talk? You know, one of the audiences for the Borderlands Project that I never even imagined I would need to speak to was the national non-profits agency. Because I thought to myself, well the conservation organizations are surely all going to be on-board, they don’t need to hear from me. But didn’t turn out to really be true for some complex reasons. So sometimes one of the things I do is do my presentations to conservation organizations, and try to get people on board within these organizations so that they would then get the organization more invested in the issue. 

Mammals like this kit fox have started feeling the impacts of climate change in the borderlands. They may soon need to start moving north to find hospitable habitat. Photo by Krista Schlyer

I could literally go on forever about it. But really, just taking the first step I think is the most important thing. You know, you take a step, and then you take the next, and then you have a life, like the project has a life. And it just starts to become, you know, if you’re invested in it and you care about it, it starts to become what it needs to become.

Responses have been edited for length and clarity

To learn more about Krista’s work against the border wall visit: https://kristaschlyer.com/borderlands-2/

Written by Alice Sun 

Growing up, Alice’s dream was to become a National Geographic photographer. This passion led her to spend much of her high school years photographing and sharing stories of wildlife in her own backyard, which earned her a spot in the 2016 NANPA High School Scholarship Program. She then went on to pursue a degree in environmental biology and a graduate certificate in environmental visual communication, sharpening her skills and building a foundation for a career in visual storytelling. Today, she is a freelance science communicator and conservation storyteller based in Vancouver, Canada. Inspiring young people to pursue the same dream she had is something that Alice is passionate about, and why she’s extremely be on the Girls Who Click team! Visit Alice’s website (alicesun.ca) to see the stories she has told over the years. 

Wilderness Living

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by Janet Kleyn

Click here to sign up for Janet’s FREE smartphone photography workshop on June 27, 2020 at 9am PDT!

You don’t have to actually live in the wilderness to be a wildlife photographer.  You could, as most photographers do, travel between different destinations and return home between trips.  

This is how I used to work until I was offered a permanent position as a photographer in a remote wildlife reserve in Botswana.  Accepting this position would mean living far from the luxuries and conveniences of towns and cities.  It would be an adjustment, but after years of working as a freelancer, I was excited for the opportunity to work and live in the wilderness.

I have now been at Mashatu Game reserve, in the South Eastern corner of Botswana, for over three years.  The nearest town to where I live is 60 miles away. This is a very small town with only a few shops selling basic amenities. If I need more, I travel 120 miles to the nearest city.  

But living on a beautiful game reserve with wild animals including lions, leopards and many large herds of elephants more than makes up for the lack of shops nearby. I stay in a staff village where all the staff that work at the lodge where I’m based live.

Being part of a small community, living and working so closely together, it is very important to have good relations with your colleagues. Team work and respect are vital for surviving in the wilderness.  Here, when something goes wrong you rely on each for help.  If your car breaks down you can’t call the AA, if you’re out of supplies and can’t get to town you’ll need to ask your neighbors. 

Many people think our life is a vacation – it’s not.  It’s a good life but it is hard work and as a woman perhaps more so.  I was fortunate to have been trained to work in this industry and part of my training covered the essential skills required like 4×4 driving on all terrains, how to change a tyre and emergency repairs on a vehicle.  I am often out alone on the reserve and these skills are imperative if I don’t want to be stuck out there.

The great thing about working on one reserve for such a lengthy period of time is that I have come to know the area very well and also some of the individual animals and their specific behavior.  This is a great advantage when photographing animals as I am better able to anticipate what they will do and get into the right position to get the photo.

This is part of what my job is – assisting visiting photographers to get into the right place and position for photographing wildlife. I’ll try anticipate behavior of animals and ensure guests are ready when the action happens – perhaps as the leopard pounces after its prey, or the elephant squirts water from his trunk. 

At Mashatu we have a hide (blind), that has been specially adapted for photography. This is a container sunk underground in front of a waterhole. Here we can take photos of animals at eye level as they drink.  This is my favorite place on the entire reserve but also comes with its own work.  The animals, especially the elephants, roll around in the mud and make the waterhole bigger and that needs to be contained or they dig up the water pipes which needs fixing.  For this we bring in heavy machinery to help us. I have to keep the hide clean, dust free and free of critters such as scorpions and frogs so that our guests are comfortable when in the hide.

My average day starts at about 4:30 am so that I can meet the guests before the sun rises.  We need to be out in time to catch the good morning light.  We’ll spend the morning looking for good photo opportunities or going to the hide and waiting for animals to come in.  By late morning when the sun is too bright and the animals move to shady areas , we head back to camp for breakfast with plans to meet again in the afternoon.

I spend these few hours between drives to download and edit photos, keep up to date with admin work and social media which has become a big part of a wildlife photographer’s life.  I also use this time to go out and clean the hide, fuel my vehicles and deal with any maintenance issues I may have.  

In the afternoon we head out again, hoping to catch some more action, hopefully during golden hour when the light is best.  By the time we get back to camp it’s dark already.  Most nights after dinner and before heading to bed I like to take a few minutes quiet time where I sit outside on the porch and just take it all in.  It’s these quiet times that are my best-loved.  I think about the incredible sightings I’ve seen during the day and listen for the sounds of the nocturnal animals.  If I’m lucky I hear a leopard rasping in the distance or some lions calling as they head out for the night, leaving me wondering what natural wonder awaits me the following day.

5 creative photography ideas that you can do in your backyard

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Are you feeling uninspired? Is your daily itinerary filled with nothing but lying on the couch all day? Terrified by the doom of the world looming on the horizon, but also feeling powerless because this is just a sign of the greater problem of climate change and ecosystem collapse? Well, this article is for you.

This is a scary time. A lot of us are in tough spots right now and it’s hard to focus on photography. But regardless, we do hope that this blog will bring a bit of light, reignite that creative spark if you will, and remind you of why you started photography and why it’s so important to all of us.

So without further ado, here are 5 creative project ideas that you can do right in your own backyard.

1. Meet Your Neighbours

In 2009, Clay Bolt and Niall Benvie founded the Meet Your Neighbours (MYN) project, a photographic initiative that reveals the vital but under-appreciated wildlife that live amongst us. Bolt, a longtime supporter of women in nature photography and Advisory Board Member of Girls Who Click, says the main goal of the project “is to help people connect with the wildlife in their own communities.” 

Unlike a lot of wildlife photography, MYN is centred around using an inexpensive field studio, letting the beauty and uniqueness of local species stand out on a pure white background. “One of my personal goals for MYN is to dispel the myth that rarity equates to more important, more amazing, or more beautiful.” says Bolt.

There are conservation photographers all over the world involved with this project, raising awareness for wildlife we often overlook (including GWC’s Karine Aigner). But any passionate photographer is welcomed to join. All you need is a white background, some lights/flashes, and curiosity and empathy for the biodiversity that live around us. Check out this video or the MYN Youtube or this interview from B&H for more information on the project and how to get started with your very own field studio!

Photographing wildlife against a white background highlights the beauty of local species like this red salamander (Pseudotriton ruber), and gives the MYN project its characteristic look. Photo by Clay Bolt.

2. Create a nature photography sanctuary

Not finding enough diversity in your backyard? You can take matters into your own hands and bring wildlife to you (ethically), and that means creating wildlife habitat.

One of the easiest ways to do this is to set up a bird feeder. Once birds discover a feeder, it can become a site full of diversity and activity, providing perfect photo opportunities.

Before you start, Lynda Richardson advises that it’s important to consider the location of your feeder, both from a photographic and ethics point of view. For example, what’s the light like? Is the background clean? Is there somewhere you can conceal yourself (i.e. being indoors or using a blind) so that you can get amazing behavioral shots without disturbing the subjects? Are there shrubs nearby that birds can shelter in so that they don’t get attacked by sneaky raptors or the neighborhood cat? 

Once everything is set up, experiment! Set up a branch so that the birds land on it before going to the feeder. Capture birds in flight. Push the limits of your creativity.

If you have a little more time and resources, you can also make your backyard into a full-blown nature sanctuary, like Mary Ann and Joe McDonald. 

Named Hoot Hollow, the McDonald backyard is filled with vernal pools, bird feeders, and a variety of pollinator-friendly plants. “It’s our little piece of heaven here. We can walk right out the back door and photograph.” Mary Ann says, “It’s really cool to be able to get out there and say, ‘Wow, we helped bring them here, because we developed this for them.’ It’s fun to be able to give back so much by creating this habitat.”

To help you get started, Mary Ann has been working hard to create a series of backyard photography tutorials for GWC. At this time, the videos are still being produced, but they will be shared soon.

3. Go outside your comfort zone

“This is not your ordinary macro lens. It’s a speciality lens that will photograph from 1:1 life size to 5-times life size.” says Kathy Adams Clark in her latest blog post.

She’s talking about the Canon MP-E 65mm lens she rented. This heavy duty lens even has an extremely shallow depth of field at f/16 and requires a focusing rail. Long story short, it’s not an easy piece of equipment to maneuver.

But with the extra time at home, Kathy was able to test out this lens as well as a few other setups to capture a monarch butterfly egg on a milkweed plant. In doing so, she was able to truly understand the pros and cons between different super-macro photography equipment, and write an awesomely informative blog post about it.

After three different camera setups, Kathy Adams Clark finally got this super-macro photo of a monarch butterfly egg. Photo by Kathy Adams Clark

So, if you have a technique you’ve been dying to try out, but have been scared to do so, now is the perfect chance. Whether that’s super macro, studio portrait photography, light painting, etc, go and experiment! If you don’t own the right gear, you can rent some from Borrow Lenses (a company that is a generous sponsor of GWC workshops).

Struggling with ideas? Definitely check out Denise Ippolito’s blog post for fun creative photography techniques you can try at home to create some stunning abstract shots.

Stuck at home? Create some interesting macro photos using water droplets and Rain-X. Photo by Denise Ippolito

4. Give yourself an assignment

If you’re looking to practice your storytelling skills, take this idea from a recent podcast episode of Impact: The Conservation Photographer’s Podcast by Jaymi Heimbuch.

In the episode, Jaymi suggests looking at a familiar place or activity from a new perspective by giving yourself a “photo assignment”. That means looking at your “boring” routine, finding a story, and then shooting it like you would as an assignment for a magazine.

For Jaymi, that “boring” routine was taking her dog to the beach every morning. She figured out what her story was by creating a shot list for her photo essay. And she looked at other photographers for inspiration and ways that she can push her own photography out of her comfort zone.

With a plan in mind, Jaymi went out every morning, same as always, but with a new purpose. Take a look at her results on here, and also give her entire podcast a listen! One of her recent episodes focuses on conservation photography projects you can start today. Another source of inspiration.

To break through a creative block, Jaymi Heimbuch gave herself an assignment, to photograph her dog at the beach. Photo by Jaymi Heimbuch

5. The little joys

Last but not least, photograph what makes you happy. Often, our homes are one of the most special places in our hearts, and the one that we overlook the most. So why not take some time to document it through photography?

So what makes you happy? What are the little joys that are getting you through the day?

Maybe it’s your dog happily bounding in your backyard.

Maybe it’s your second cup of coffee in the morning.

Maybe it’s the warm afternoon sun slanting into your living room.

The important thing is that you now have the time to look and experience the magic all over again. 

As Brenda Tharp says in her blog post about “The Value of Home”: “Sometimes after coming home I see more deeply the things in my garden, and around my neighborhood. I view it with fresh eyes – eyes that have been ‘washed’ with nature’s beauty elsewhere are now able to see a-new the beauty right around me.”

So stop, look closely and remember. Remember the things that made you feel light. Remember the small wonders that captivated your mind. 

And capture it. Because ultimately, isn’t that what photography is all about?

Nature’s beauty can be right in front of you, but only if you look for it. Photo by Brenda Tharp

Written by Alice Sun 

Growing up, Alice’s dream was to become a National Geographic photographer. This passion led her to spend much of her high school years photographing and sharing stories of wildlife in her own backyard, which earned her a spot in the 2016 NANPA High School Scholarship Program. She then went on to pursue a degree in environmental biology and a graduate certificate in environmental visual communication, sharpening her skills and building a foundation for a career in visual storytelling. Today, she is a freelance science communicator and conservation storyteller based in Vancouver, Canada. Inspiring young people to pursue the same dream she had is something that Alice is passionate about, and why she’s extremely be on the Girls Who Click team! Visit Alice’s website (alicesun.ca) to see the stories she has told over the years. 

Even Wildlife and Nature Photographers Cook!

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Easy Trail Mix Cooking Recipe for Girls Who Click from Mary Ann McDonald at Hoot Hallow Farm.

Mary Ann McDonald is a kick-butt wildlife photographer. She is also quite the chef. Mary Ann and her husband Joe created this cooking video for Girls Who Click. The trail mix recipe is easy to make and delicious!

Mary Ann and Joe run Hoot Hallow Farm. They have many recipes available from the Hoot Hallow Farm Cookbook available on their Facebook Page.

Watch out for the surprise ending!

To see what Mary Ann and Joe do when they are not stuck at home, visit their website at https://www.hoothollow.com/.

Women in nature photography: A brief history

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March is Women’s History Month, so what better time than to explore the history of women in nature photography? So, let’s dive in.

The rise of women in photography

Our story begins with Constance Fox Talbott (1811–1880), the wife of inventor Henry Fox Talbott. Working alongside her husband, Constance briefly experimented with the photographic process, creating a handful of hazy images. Her earliest surviving image was taken in 1839, making her what we believe to be the first woman to ever take a photograph. 

The title of the first female photographer, however, would go to Anna Atkins (1799–1871), as she pursued photography more seriously. Anna was also a friend of Henry Fox Talbott, and worked especially in botany. Throughout her career, she produced a collection of haunting beautiful images of plants, which she published as a book in 1843 titled: ‘Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions’.

Constance Talbott, wife of Henry Fox Talbott, is believed to be the first woman to ever take a photo. Photo by Henry Fox Talbot, circa 1840, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Anna Atkins was the first ever female photographer, specializing in plant photography. Photo by Anna Atkins, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

Note that for both of these women, their pursuits in photography was because they were close to Henry. This was the case for most women at the time, where many would-be professional photographers work in studios alongside their husbands, brothers, or friends. 

But photography, unlike other arts, required little formal training, and the basic equipment only needed a moderate investment. As a result, by the mid-1800’s, many middle-class women were able to set up their own “daguerreotype studios”. Some took over their husband’s business after their deaths, like Geneviève Élisabeth Disdéri (1817–1878), whereas others like Thora Hallager (1821-1884) started their own successful businesses from scratch.

As time went on, women were also able to rise to the top of their field, as they had a knack for certain things that men did not. Notably, female photographers were especially successful with portraits of women and families. One of those photographers was Alice Hughes (1857–1939), who was a leader in her work with royalty, fashionable women and children.

By the end of the 19th century, women were well-established in studio photography. In 1897, Ladies Home Journal published an article called ‘What a Woman Can Do with a Camera’, And in 1900, British and American censuses estimated that there were more than 7000 professional female photographers, making up 20% of all photographers. This was astounding, especially for a time where the only choices for most women were either staying at home or working in the service industry.

Women in photojournalism

Dorothea Lange’s photo, “Migrant Mother”, is one of the most reproduced images in the world. Photo by Dorothea Lange/Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

In 1914, National Geographic featured its first ever images from a woman. They were taken by Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore for a story of Japan, which made magazine editor Gilbert Grosvenor comment, “Women often see things about the life and ways of people which a man would not notice …”

Due to this ability to see the world differently, women have accomplished many things in photojournalism since then. 

The most well-known example is Dorothea Lange (1895–1965), who created her iconic image ‘Migrant Mother’ in 1936, later becoming one of the most reproduced photographs in the world. Gerda Taro (1910–1937), one of the first female war photographers, was especially celebrated for her intimate and emotional images of the Spanish Civil War. In 1954, Virgina Schau (1915–1989) became the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for Photography for her gripping photo “Rescue on Pit River Bridge”.

Women in wildlife photography

Wildlife photography, on the other hand, wasn’t really a popular hobby with anyone prior to the 1960’s. Gear was simply too cumbersome, restricting photographers to static subjects like nesting birds. Even a safari shoot needed someone to hire an entire expedition crew for it to be possible. It wasn’t until 1963, when the 35mm film camera became more automated, that wildlife photography became much more accessible and widespread.

But women didn’t start becoming prominent in the field until many years afterwards.

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition saw its first female winner, Cherry Alexander, in 1995, followed by Angela Scott in 2002. Pioneers in conservation storytelling also started to make their mark in the 1980’s and 90’s, such as Beverly Joubert, Tui de Roy, GWC partner photographer Mary Ann McDonald, and Melissa Farlow, a GWC partner photographer whose images have transformed our understanding of the people, landscape, and environmental issues of the American West. These trailblazing women continue to create powerful images of wildlife and conservation to this day.

By the beginning of the 21st century, a small number of women were relatively well-established in wildlife and nature photography. Many female photographers, including a number of GWC partner photographers such as Ami Vitale and Jaymi Heimbuch, got their start in their careers around this time. Through their lenses, they brought poignant images full of emotion and soul to the world, changing how we saw our relationship with wildlife and important conservation issues.

  • Photo by Melissa Farlow. The image shows Phantom, a charismatic mustang in Shingletown, CA, and was taken for a story on wild horses and vanishing of the wild American West.
  • Photo by Jaymi Heimbuch. Photo taken for the Urban Coyote Initiative, a team of photojournalists assisting scientists and cities across North America working on changing the narrative around coyotes.
  • Photo by Cathy Hart. After waiting ten days, Cathy managed to capture this stunning shot of a bear catching a fish in northern British Columbia.

Some notable female photographers founded organizations in the industry, where Cristina Mittermeier, with the help of GWC partner photographers Cathy Hart, Amy Gulick, Michele Westmorland, and Karen Kasmauski, founded International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP) in 2005 and solidified conservation visual storytelling as a discipline. In 2017, Suzi Eszterhas founded Girls Who Click, where we guide the next generation of powerful female photographers to one day make history of their own.

Even more recently, women’s voices have been getting louder. Passionate young women have been flooding social media with images documenting our natural world, such as Ashleigh Scully and Erin Ranney. Not only that, we’ve also been seeing more diversity, as minorities like Celina Chien and Rathika Ramasamy have been able to gain international reputations in wildlife photography and visual storytelling. However, we still do not see many women of color among the mostly white female photographers. This year, GWC looks forward to interviewing trailblazing photographer Karen Kasmauski on this very important topic!

More and more young women from diverse backgrounds have been entering the field of wildlife photography in recent years, such as environmental activist Celina Chien. Photo by Sebastian Kennerknecht.
GWC spokeswoman and award-winning nature photographer, Ashleigh Scully is a teen that’s leading and inspiring other girls her age to enter the male-dominated of nature and conservation photography.

But this is just the beginning, and we still have a long way to go.

Today, only 20% of all photojournalists are female, and unlike the early 1900’s, now is a time where women can choose their professions. The number for wildlife photography is likely even lower, as many say that nature photography still remains an “old male” world. The landscape is also predominantly white, a place where few minorities have broken into.

But if this timeline reveals anything, it’s that change is possible. 

Just look at how far we’ve come since that first click of a shutter by Constance Talbott in 1839. We’ve had women who started their own businesses in a time where it wasn’t possible for many. We’ve had women that created powerful images that changed our perspectives. We’ve had women that revolutionized the entire industry.

So here’s to all the pioneers, women that are brave enough to push the boundaries, and the ones that will continue to do so in the future. Let’s take the time to celebrate them, because without them, we wouldn’t be where we are today. Happy Women’s History Month!

Workshop Participant’s Photo Published in New Jersey Monthly Magazine!

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Annabel with her winning photograph!

GWC workshop participant Annabel Weiman was surprised when she found out that her photograph was runner-up in New Jersey Monthly magazine’s cover photography contest.

We are very proud of Annabel and encourage all of our participants and followers to enter photographs into local and national contests: you never know what the results might be!

Annabel was a participant in our August workshop in New Jersey. The workshop was taught by Ashleigh Scully and Denise Ippolito. It took place at The Raptor Trust, a wild bird rehabilitation center in Morris County, New Jersey. Workshop participants were allowed to learn about these amazing creatures and photograph them outside of their enclosures. This was a rare treat for our participants: it is not often that we get to see these birds at a close distance. These birds can be dangerous and we were lucky to have Raptor Trust staff present to work with the wild birds. The Raptor Trust captured some great photos from all participants.

Annabel is a sophomore in high school. She’s loved photography since 8th grade because she’s “able to find unique things and capture them.”  Her mother encouraged her to develop her skills and Annabel eventually invested in a nicer digital camera.

The GWC New Jersey workshop! Photo courtesy of Denise Ippolito and The Raptor Trust.

Annabel uses a digital SLR and zoom lens. Her winning photograph was taken when Raptor Trust handlers took out the Kestrel falcon from its enclosure. The striking aspect of Annabel’s photo is she was able to remove the background through zooming in on the subject while also capturing the falcon’s direct gaze. Capturing an animal’s direct gaze helps the viewer relate to the animal and creates a personal connection — one that can develop into a deep appreciation of nature, even at a young age! Conservation photographers depend on building these relationships between subject and viewer in order to create awareness about conservation.

We got the chance to ask Annabel a few questions after she won big!

What was your favorite moment during the workshop?  My favorite moment in the GWC workshop was taking photos of the barred owl.  When I used my zoom lens and looked at it, I got really excited because I knew the pictures would come out good.  One of them was actually used in a Raptor Trust Facebook post!

Did Denise and Ashleigh teach you anything in particular that helped you improve your photography?  Denise and Ashleigh were great teachers; they were nice and they let us work independently yet they were there for us when we needed some advice.   Advice they gave me that made my photography more appealing was using the “rule of thirds” guideline in making our compositions. 

What did you learn about raptors and conservation at the Raptor Trust?  The Raptor Trust is a great place for injured birds of prey.  They try to cure them so they can be released back into the wild. 

Check out Denise Ippolito’s blog post about Annabel!

GWC Featured in Sierra Magazine!

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GWC was featured in Sierra Magazine. In an interview with GWC founder Suzi Eszterhas, Sierra Magazine dove deep into why GWC was founded, what we do, and why the work is important for the next generation of female photographers.

As Suzi mentions, the workshops are not just about teaching photography, there are about learning to see and learning to be. She says in the interview “Confidence is huge, particularly with teen girls. We don’t just teach photography. We try to be good role models and strong women. Strong is the new sexy. We’re trying to impart that strength on our girls.”

You can read the full Sierra Magazine interview at SierraClub.org!

Sierra Magazine is the storytelling branch of the Sierra Club. It is a “national print and digital magazine publishing award-winning journalism and cutting-edge photography, art, and video dedicated to protecting the natural world.” We are proud to be a part of the magazine!

Win two spots in a Sea Otter Photography Workshop on December 11 2019 in California!

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*Above image of Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris) mother carrying pup on belly, Elkhorn Slough, Monterey Bay, California

Sebastian Kennerknecht’s Sea Otter Photography Workshop in Monterey, CA

Date: December 11th, 2019
Time: 6:45am – 5:00pm
Location: Moss Landing, California

THE DEADLINE HAS PASSED. Enter by November 5th! We will announce winners on November 9th! This contest is open to girls 13-18. You will need an email address. **Travel to Monterey, CA, accommodations, and meals are not included.

Details: You can win two spaces in photographer Sebastian Kennerknecht’s Sea Otter Photography Workshop in Monterey, California on December 11th, 2019. One spot will be for you and one is for your adult chaperone to accompany you on this special day. This day-long workshop will include photographing sea otters from land in the morning, a break for lunch, and going out on the Elkhorn Slough in a pontoon boat in the afternoon to take more pictures. You will have a great time improving your skills with Sebastian while learning more about California’s sea otters. 

Sebastian Kennerknecht (@pumapix) is one of Girls Who Click’s biggest supporters. He has generously donated these two spaces in his workshop to support Girls Who Click and the next generation of female photographers. 

Sebastian Kennerknecht is a wildlife and conservation photographer. He has over fourteen years of experience covering wildlife and environmental issues internationally. He has a particular interest in photographing wildcats. His work has been featured in BBC Wildlife, Smithsonian, The Economist, Science, and Conservation International, among others. He has a degree in  Ecology and Evolution from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

You can see Sebastian’s work on:

Instagram

Sebastian’s Website

Facebook

“Learning to See” with Karine Aigner at Corkscrew Swamp

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Photo credit: Alli Smith, biologist

Last month in Florida, the amazing Karine Aigner joined forces with local biologist and University of Florida graduate student Alli Smith,  for our July photography workshop. They took a group of ten girls out in the breath-taking Corkscrew Swamp, a National Audubon Society sanctuary located in southwest Florida; just North of Naples. Girls Who Click awarded two scholarships for the workshop. These girls were able to use professional cameras provided by Borrowed Lenses.

Karine Aigner starts her workshops discussing composition, light, and focus — but the real work, she says, is “learning to see.”  She wants her students to look past their initial gut observation.  It’s not just looking at a flower: it’s noticing what is on it, around it, in it; seeing it as a part of the landscape, or, individually, or in terms of the pattern and designs of its shape.   The farther the group progressed into Corkscrew Swamp, the more they saw.

Photo credit: Alli Smith, biologist

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary occupies approximately 13,000 acres in the heart of the Corkscrew Watershed in Southwest Florida, part of the Western Everglades. It is primarily composed of wetlands. These include the largest remaining virgin bald cypress forest in the world (approximately 700 acres), which is the site of the largest nesting colony of Federally Endangered Wood Storks in the nation. In addition to the Wood Stork, Corkscrew provides important habitat for numerous other Federal and State listed species, including the Florida Panther, American Alligator, Gopher Tortoise, Florida Sandhill Crane, Limpkin, Roseate Spoonbill, Snowy Egret, Tricolored Heron, White Ibis, Big Cypress Fox Squirrel and the Florida Black Bear. Several rare plants are also found here, most notably the Ghost Orchid.

Photo credit: Alli Smith, biologist

The girls not only got to experience the watershed up-close-and-personal by walking the wooden boardwalks through it, but they also got to see the Ghost Orchid, as well as some of the wildlife it’s known for!  They spotted alligators and otters, and even survived a short Floridian squall that lent itself to some amazing shots with water droplets.  At one point, an over-habituated and over-friendly juvenile ibis approached the group looking for food (see above). Karine and Alli took the opportunity to explain that while it is a fun experience to have a wild animal approach you (and in this case gnaw on your fanny pack)  a tame ibis is not a good thing.   While it seems fun, the ibis has learned that it’s easy to get food out of humans, but most human food is not nutritionally valuable to the bird.  Some parts of Florida have problems with people feeding ibises so much bread that they essentially don’t eat anything else—and they’re in very poor body condition because of it;  bread is not nutritious.