It may have been windy and rainy, but our 2024 NANPA Whooping Crane Regional Event was still a huge success.
Our goal was to photograph one of the rarest birds in North America, the Whooping Crane (Grus americana).These 5ft fall cranes, which number around 800 world-wide now, but once were so close to the brink of extinction that there were thought to be only 21 left in the 1940’s.
They winter along the gulf coast in Texas each year, with about 536 individuals that migrate from Northern Canada, which is their breeding grounds.
We not only found the birds, but were able to photograph 42 of them including 4 colts.
Jennifer is featured in this episode of Texas Parks and Wildlife show that airs on PBS. In this episode: The whooping crane is one of the rarest birds in the world. The only remaining wild population of whooping cranes winters at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. Every year birders flock to here as well to take part in the Port Aransas Whooping Crane Festival.
Grizzly 399 is possibly the most famous Grizzly Bear to have ever lived. The 28 year old bear lived in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming and was photographed by thousands of visitors each year. Her popularity began when she started bringing her cubs near the road-side in the north end of the Grand Teton National Park each spring.
Another successful spring in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Park. I led three tours this year. Starting with Grand Teton Photo Tour. We had incredible time photographing wildlife, including five different sessions with Grizzly 399 and her one year old cub nicknamed Spirit.
Thanks to Girls Who Click and Be Wise we had another successful year for our annual Girls Who Click Marine Mammal Photograph Workshop.
With twelve girls in attendance this year, we kept them busy photographing the local wildlife including Harbor Seals, California Sea Lions, California Gulls, Brown Pelicans, Brandt’s Cormorants and California Ground Squirrels.
We are back from our Wildside Nature Tours San Diego Weekender Tour and although the trip was short there was no shortage of photo opportunities.
Our first stop was photographing the Harbor Seal Pups and soon to be moms at Children’s Pool in La Jolla. Five new pups were born during our tour making eleven in total by the time we left. We watched as seal moms taught there new little ones how to swim.
It was the King tides while we were there, this is the highest and lowest tides of the year, making for spectacular waves crashing over the sea wall.
It was an honor to be consulted on this article from Canadian Geographic Magazine about Practicing Ethical Wildlife Photography. Read a few excerpts from the story and click on the link to read to full article.
Jennifer was featured in the December 24th issue of the Williamson Sun Newspaper about her featured art show at the Williamson Art Guild Gallery in Georgetown, TX.
A big Firmware update came out earlier this month for the Nikon Z9 and like many Nikon users those updates did not disappoint. After making the updates to my camera, I played with some of the new features in my backyard and I want to share with you what I found.
This Saturday we will be witnessing the first of two solar eclipses coming to Texas within the next year. Although they will both be solar eclipses, they will be very different in the way they will look during the height of the eclipse. For the 2023 solar eclipse it is known as an Annular Eclipse. An Annular solar eclipse is different than Totality in that it occurs when the Moon is closer to its maximum distance from Earth in its orbit. If an eclipse happens during this situation, the Moon will appear visually smaller than the Sun and its shadow cast will not be long enough to reach Earth. This can also be known as the “Ring of Fire” and it takes about an hour and a half, as it goes from the partial phase, followed by a mesmerizing four-minute display of the sun forming a radiant ring, to being surrounded by darkness. The eclipse then gradually transitions back to a partial phase
Another great adventure has been made, this time to the beautiful country of Kenya. Partnering with Holbrook Travel to make this wildlife conservation and photography tour possible we started our journey in Nairobi.
Conservation has always been the foundation for why we do what we do here at Experience Wildlife. Creating works of art, documenting species at risk or leading guests into the wild to experience these wonders for themselves. All these have are in the pursuit of creating awareness for the species and the places we care most about.
One very important way that we give back is to build in donations to NGO’s from images sales and photo tours to help aid their on the ground efforts.
We were lucky to catch up with Jennifer Leigh Warner recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jennifer Leigh, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose? When I was about eight years old I was obsessed with the big cats of Africa, especially the cheetah. After learning that the cheetah was Africa’s most endangered big cat and that their population was in steep decline I knew that I wanted to dedicate my life to wildlife conservation. When I was introduced to a special from National Geographic about a photographer who went to Africa to photograph cheetahs I realized that I could use photography as a tool to get people to care about the animals that I loved so much.
We kicked off the Wildside Nature Tours first Women’s Only tour in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming with tour leaders Jennifer Leigh Warner and Alyce Bender. With years of experience of photographing this between the two of us, we were able to share with our guest some truly special locations.
After four long years of waiting the North American Nature Photography Association met once again for their Summit Conference. Located in the beautiful Westin La Paloma resort in Tucson, Arizona hundreds of Nature Photographers came together to celebrate past achievements and learn from the best in the industry. With keynote speakers like Dave Showalter and Gabby Salazar there was no shortage of inspiration.
We just returned back from one of the most spectacular wildlife experiences in the world, the Sandhill Crane migration along the Platte River in Nebraska and my heart is full. Leading this trip for Wildside Nature Tours and getting to share special places like this one with my clients brings me so much joy.
With nearly half a million cranes flying over head and taking off and landing on the river each morning and evening is unlike anything else you will see in the world. Sandhill Cranes stand roughly four feet tall and use this critical stop over in Nebraska to rest and refuel for their long journey to their breeding grounds. Without this habitat these birds would have a nearly impossible task of making it all the way north.
Our 2023 Wildside Winter Wildlife Photography Workshop was a great success with photo opportunities around every corner. This was my first time leading a workshop for Wildside Nature Tours and I was fortunate enough to get to start out working with the great Olympus Ambassador Lee Hoy.
Located on the rocky coast of the Pacific Ocean, San Diego is known for being one of the most beautiful cities in the United States. The city is bursting with sandy beaches, lush parks, and other unique locations loved by locals and tourists alike.
If you’re seeking exciting places to explore, look no further; Redfin reached out to photographers like me to share my favorite beautiful places in San Diego. So whether you’ve just moved into an apartment in La Jolla, a house in San Diego, or just want to know where to go, be sure to check out this list.
