In this episode, Jared and Annalise discuss everything photographers need to know about the natural history of brown bears and how to stay safe when working in bear country. Do you know about Overt Reaction Distances? Bear bubbles? The signs and behaviors of bears we should all know to keep ourselves safe? This episode covers all of that. From the research on the efficacy of bear spray versus firearms to how food sources drive behavior, this episode is a must listen for anyone who spends time in bear country.

Moving beyond the biology of bears and what it takes to stay safe when working around these animals, Jared and Annalise discuss some of the incredible silhouette opportunities that unfolded this year along the banks of Cook Inlet in Alaska with bears.

Mastering silhouettes will have an immediate, dramatic, and tangible impact on all of your wildlife photography because silhouettes can be distilled down to the seven elements of design. Learn these, understand how they impact composition, and your photographs will never be the same again. In the upcoming Fall issue of PhotoWILD Magazine, Jared will be publishing a tour de force on this very topic.

Want to join Jared and Annalise in the field to photograph coastal brown bears in Alaska next year?

https://www.jaredlloyd.com/brown-bears-of-coastal-alaska

In this episode, Jared and Analise begin their series on photographing brown bears along the coast of Alaska. Wildlife photographers the world over know about the legendary opportunities the combination of salmon and bears provide. From July through September, wildlife photographers willing to go the extra mile, willing to hop on bush planes and float planes and travel to the remote wilderness of this landscape are presented with what can be non-stop action photographing bears as they fish for salmon - the lifeblood of this ecosystem. 

This year in Lake Clark National Park, Jared and Annalise found themselves spending day after day with two sows with spring cubs. While they travel to this remote roadless national park each year for the salmon run, this year the tiny spring cubs stole the show. 

Key Takeaways 

• Summer and fall provide different photographic opportunities in Alaska for bears. Anyone who is trying to plan a trip to Alaska for brown bears needs to understand the differences so they can capture the types of photographs they are looking for. 

For those who are interested in learning more about composition, Jared is in the middle of publishing an on-going series on the Art of Composition which can be found on the PhotoWILD Magazine membership dashboard. In addition access to all of the back issues of the magazine, and our library of ebooks, subscribers also have exclusive access to articles series such as the Art of Composition and Zen and the Art of Finding Wildlife. 

In this episode, Jared and Annalise discuss some of the unique equipment that they always bring with them when photographing coastal brown bears. Far from being something that is only applicable to bear photography, however, this piece of gear is a vital part of how they photograph wildlife in many different situations. Since the release of the podcast, many of the questions that come through to PhotoWILD have to do with camera equipment and one question keeps coming up over and over again: how and why do we chose the equipment that we use? Jared and Annalise take a deep dive into answer this question, discussing exactly what they are looking for in cameras, lenses, and why they own the ones they do and why they consider them to be the workhorses of wildlife photography. Listen to learn why Jared does not like or use the new Nikon Z8 for wildlife photography.

Key Takeaways

There are a few pieces of relatively inexpensive gear that can make or break your ability to capture the photographs you want - and they have nothing to do with camera equipment.

Working professionals prioritize very specific features in cameras

The equipment we use for wildlife photography is always adapted from other genera of photography. Even 600mm lenses were created for sports photographers, not wildlife work.

Autofocus systems and megapixel counts are NOT the top priority when choosing equipment

Want to join us on a workshop photographing brown bears? https://jaredlloyd.com/workshops

In this episode, Jared Lloyd and Annalise Kaylor talk shop after spending 10 days on boats photographing in Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska. Kenai Fjords is one of the most dynamic landscapes on Earth and plays home to an extraordinary diversity of wildlife from marine mammals to pelagic seabirds. The PhotoWILD crew timed their expedition to the edge of the world for the peak of the orca migration. Following huge schools of chinook salmon, each day was filled with countless orca sightings in addition to humpback whales, Stellar sea lions, harbor seals on icebergs, sea otters, three species of puffin, and so much more. 

Key Takeaways

• Photographing from little boats in a big ocean can be challenging and how to overcome those challenges

Mastering Light book discussed in show: https://www.photowildmagazine.com/mastering-light

Want to join us in Kenai Fjords next year? https://www.jaredlloyd.com/wildlife-of-kenai-fjords-photography-workshop

In this episode, Jared and Annalise discuss their time photographing in one of the most endangered habitats in North America: the prairie potholes. Spending several days working from floating blinds photographing waterfowl such as ruddy ducks, redheads, and blue winged teal in peak breeding plumage along with various species of grebes, Jared and Annalise talk shop about the extraordinary biographies of their favorite species from this trip as well as the challenges they faced and how wildlife photographers can overcome them in their own photography. The prairie potholes are one of the chief priorities for conservation organizations ranging from Ducks Unlimited to the Audubon Society and this episode is the second installment on working from floating blinds. 

Key Takeaways

• the prairie potholes region of North Dakota is one of the most prolific wildlife photography hotspots in North America

If you want to learn more about photographing from floating blinds such as which types are best for which situations, how to narrow down your efforts to certain key parts of the habitat to maximize your photographic opportunities, and how to use the topography to funnel wildlife to you instead of having to go to them, then check out the Summer 2023 issue of PhotoWILD Magazine. https://photowildmagazine.com 

Sometimes it's the ancillary equipment, all the other stuff we use in the field, that can be the most important pieces of equipment we own. As wildlife photographers working in the 21st century, we are bombarded by marketing and advertising for the latest greatest cameras and lenses. Should we buy this camera? Should we switch camera manufacturers? "If only we had ___ lens, our photography would be so much better!" But the truth of the matter is that the equipment you already have in your hands will get the job done. Working professionals like ourselves used to use manual focus lenses, with film that had only 5 stops of dynamic range, and only 36 frames per roll of film. And yet, we still managed to create compelling photographs and make a living selling those photographs to magazines and such around the world. 

In this episode, Jared and Annalise discuss one of their all time favorite pieces of gear that has absolutely nothing to do with cameras and lenses: floating blinds. 

Floating blinds have the power to completely transform the way you approach you wildlife photography. From your ability to approach and photograph birds and mammals around the water, to the type of images, the look and feel of the compositions, floating blinds are a critical piece of gear in our kit. 

Because floating blinds are a unique concept that most photographers may not have heard of or are not familiar with in North America, Jared and Annalise discuss all the ins and outs of the different floating blinds they like to use before the next episode of the podcast where they dive into the stories behind their time photographing in the endangered Prairie Potholes Region of North Dakota. 

In the Summer issue of PhotoWILD Magazine, there will be a feature article all about the the strategies we use for working from these blinds: how to use the topography of the landscape to funnel animals to you, how to eliminate 90% of the landscape around you so you concentrate your efforts where the lion's share of the wildlife is guaranteed to be, and so much more. https://photowildmagazine.com

In Episode 9 of the PhotoWILD Podcast, Jared and Annalise discuss their time along the coastal plain of North Carolina before heading to Alaska to lead their Wildlife of Kenai Fjords Workshop. Spending several weeks working in the pocosin swamps of Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge and the Albemarle - Pamlico peninsula, barred owls proved to be the star of the show. The area is better known by wildlife photographers for playing home to the densest concentration of black bears. Far from being a one trick pony, however, in the springtime this area can be one of the best wildlife photography hotspots on the east coast of the United States.

In this episode, Jared and Annalise dive into everything you could have hope to know about barred owls and how to photograph them.

If you want to know more about how to create stunning bokeh filled images of birds no matter what lens you are using? You don’t want to miss this episode!

Key Takeaways

Understanding their habitat needs and their association with water can help you find and photograph these birds day in and day out - especially once the chicks have hatched.

Barred owls are one of the most varied species of owls in North America, but species such of crayfish are a primary food source. Find the food source and you will find the barred owls.

Like photographing monkeys in Panama, working with owls in the forest create a host of unique challenges

Anytime we photograph in the forest, light cab be a challenge. However, there are specific types of light that makes photographing all forest dwelling species much easier.

Forests are cluttered places. It’s for this reason that understanding depth of field is critically important for creating clean and artfully composed images in these situations. However, there is so much more that goes into controlling depth of field than just f/stops. In fact, f/stops and apertures are often the least important component in depth of field.

In this episode, Jared and Annalise discuss everything you could ever hope to know about photographing bighorn sheep. Given the extraordinary amount of snowfall in the Yellowstone this past winter, the bighorn sheep opportunities were truly incredible. Jared and Annalise spent two months this winter in Yellowstone and much of that time was spent working with and photographing these mountain monarchs. 

Key Takeaways 

• Where to find bighorns in the winter and why you will find them in the same place every year

Want to join us in Yellowstone National Park next winter? 

https://www.jaredlloyd.com/winter-wildlife-yellowstone

Don't forget, subscribers to PhotoWILD Magazine will have a chance to join Jared and Annalise in Alaska this summer for a private workshop photographing brown bears. Want to know more? 

https://www.photowildmagazine.com/brown-bear-workshop-giveaway

In this episode of PhotoWILD Podcast, Jared and Annalise talk about all things moose. Photographing moose was a big priority for them during their two months spent working in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem this past winter. And when it comes to photographing these swamp donkeys, timing is everything and there are a host of unique challenges we all face when when creating compelling images of these animals - especially in the winter. 

Key Takeaways

• Timing is everything. Moose are the first species to drop their antlers in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. If you want bull moose in the snow, then you have a very small window of time to work with. 

Winter brings a host of different challenges for us wildlife photographers. More often than not, we tend to think of enduring the cold and slippery road conditions as the big challenges of winter. However, when it comes to photographing animals this time of year, there is so much more to overcome than just our own physical comfort. Quite frankly, the very nature of physics is working against us this time of year. 

Key Takeaways

• Snow absorbs more red light than other colors. This tends to give snow, especially in low light conditions, a blue tint that can completely destroy our photographs in ways that no amount of post-processing in Lightroom or Photoshop can ever correct. 

Winter offers us incredible backdrops to photograph wildlife against while the deep cold often provides us with amazing behavior we simply cannot see and photograph at any other time of the year. However, the obstacles we discuss in this episode are tremendous hurdles that must be understood and overcome to take advantage of the photographic opportunities this season offers the serious wildlife photographer. But to be able to solve these problems requires us to first understand why they happen and how to handle them in the field.