Lots of laughs, great stories, contest talk and more with the amazing Rob Read and Georgina Steytler who joined me while they were hanging out together and it was such a fun episode!

Instagram: @georgina_steytler and @robreadphotos

Richard Flack joins me to discuss how he has put less pressure on his own photography lately and how many of his favorite images are all from near his home. We also have a conversation about the personal challenges I've been going through and struggles I've felt over the last year with my wildlife photography business. It's an in-depth conversation about this side of being a full-time wildlife photographer and we think you will connect with many aspects of it even though it's likely not your profession. Thanks as always for all of your support and for following along.

Instagram: @theflacksphotography

Mukul Soman joins me to discuss his background in art and how that connects to his wildlife photography, how he stays authentic when sharing his photos and videos, and how he has transitioned into shooting more wildlife video than stills.

Follow Mukul:

Instagram: @mukul.soman

Website: www.mukulsoman.com

Brad and I catch up on his efforts with a local Belted Kingfisher, then we answer a listener question from Mark Deschner who asks for tips on how to make the most of spring migration for someone who can only get out about once a week.

This week we chat about Brad's plans and scouting for a Belted Kingfisher and Ray is going to check on his Kingfisher setup. Then we disucss a recent wildlife contest, it's winning images and how sometimes they may not feel unique. Lastlly we wrap up with a discussion about how to work towards capturing unique photos that truly stand out from the masses.

https://www.worldnaturephotographyawards.com/winners-2024

https://www.redbullillume.com/int-en/galleries?filter.year=2023

Brad and I discuss photographing wildlife in urban locations and including man-made objects and lighting in the photos.

My guest Aaron Todd joins me to discuss his love and passion for photographing waterfowl, how he is working to capture unique images, and how he photographs ducks with urban lights.

Instagram: @aaronktodd

This week as usual we catch up on our past week of shooting, Ray is a bit sick, and we finish our stories of our most challenging photos from listener Simon Staiger's question.

Brad and I start with what I've been shooting lately in Florida. Next we answer a listener submitted question from Simon Staiger who asks to hear about our most difficult shots, the challenges, and the story behind it. We weren't able to finish the stories of the shots we picked out so join us next week to hear the rest of the stories.

Brad's photos from the show:

Osprey

Rock Ptarmigan

Brad gets a tease of spring with a Song Sparrow, I am hoping to try new ideas on the beach, and we both talk about the business of wildlife photography from a listener question.

Kristin Olson asks: It might not be as fun as some, but it would be really helpful to hear about the business side of creating/having a small photography business and everything that goes into that. How to set up selling prints with shops through ones website. Stock photography sales. Creating a presence.

My guest Rain Saulnier joins to chat about what he enjoys about shooting prairie locations, having an experience with a very cooperative tern, shooting high frame rate, and we wrap up talking about composition.

Instagram: @wingsbyrain

Red-winged Blackbird riding Canada Goose

Wide angle Puffin

Bushtit

White-tailed Ptarmigan wide angle

Brad and I start the show talking about teaching during workshops, then answer a listener question from Himanshu Arora about editing using Lightroom vs. Photoshop.

Brad's Mergansers Flying photo

My guest Jordan Martin joins me to discuss her first trip to photograph shorebirds on a beach, making the best of a desert habitat, and women in wildlife photography.

Instagram: @jordanmartin_photography

Content warning: In this episode Brad and I cover a user submitted question and discuss animals killing/eating other animals starting at 30 minutes. We try not to get too graphic but if you don't want to hear us talk about that please feel free to skip the rest of the episode.

Brad and I catch up on recent outings then we answer a question from listener Jill who asked - "Last night I saw a brutal exchange between eagles and I posted the tame shot. I don't like seeing action shots on my feed that include death. Especially mammals (fox with bunny shots/mammals in Africa kill me) but birds as well. Like the peregrine eating bird shots, woof. No thanks. BUT today I posted one. Because it happened right in front of me, cuz how do you not fire away when that happens? Partly to see what your camera can do haha! So I guess my long winded topic request is should we post photos of death? And if so which ones? And why? Just because we saw it?"

Mallard Slow Shutter from Brad we talked about in the show.

Ray shares about his experince viewing and editing photos in the Apple Vision Pro, then Brad and Ray answer a listener submitted question from Oskar von Essen️️️️️️️️️️, What makes a good bird picture great (award winning)?

Brad and I catch up on some recent outings, Ray shares about a waterfowl outing, his excitement about getting an Apple Vision Pro, and Brad shares his plans for shooting the next morning.

Emilie and her mom Felicia join the show to discuss how our 3 week trip to Costa Rica was planned and how it went. A huge thanks to Felicia for all her hard work planning this amazing trip!

A bit of a twist on this episode, a listener of the show joins me to interview me. Daniel Gomez was great on the show and had some wonderful questions. This will likely be an ongoing feature of the show going forward, hope you all enjoy it!

Richard Flacks joins me to discuss art in photography, being your authentic self with your photography, and how we can grow creatively. What an amazing conversation!

Instagram: @theflacksphotography

Website: www.theflacks.co.za

A different episode where I invite Jacob Begis, Jianing Zeng, Michelle Mackenzie, and Patricia Constance who all joined me on my workshop in Nome, Alaska in the spring of 2025. They each share their about their experience, some favorite moments and even challenges of the workshop. I hope you enjoy this one!

@begisjacob

@michellemackenzie_wildlife

@patti_c123

This week Brad and I discuss posting only your best (wow) images or posting daily on Instagram

My guest Mateusz Piesiak joins me to discuss moving into wider focal lengths, shooting in extreme conditions, and playing with motion in his photos.

Instagram: @mpwildlife

Photo Mateusz won with

Photo of the gull over stormy waves.

Photo from Luca Lorenz with motion blur and a Canada Goose

This week Brad and I discuss our plans and goals for the upcoming year. Thanks to listener Mike Dougherty for the topic suggestion.

Brad and I discuss what we have been up to lately, the struggle to get out and shoot sometimes, then we each share our top 3 memories of wildlife photography which is a listener submitted question from both Bryce Horn and Mike Dougherty.

Emilie joins Ray to discuss, well basically Ray rants a bunch about respecting your audience when sharing on social media.

This week we discuss more gear. We talk about the Nikon Z9 4.10 firmware update, as well as what lens is Brad thinking of upgrading to.

Nikon Z9 firmware update video 

My guest Andy Bruner joins me to discuss how he got into wildlife photography and how that connects to his Instagram name, how he is enjoying macro photography during the summer and learning along the way, and lastly we discuss using unique lenses and techniques to capture different photos and how and when are they successful.

Instagram: @andys_crappy_photos

Website: www.featheredforcefotography.com

Swallowtail over sunflower

Orbweaver with blue white balance

This week Brad and I discuss IG Reel trends, Ray's posting his unedited photos, and we each share 5 things we wish we had known when we first started photography.

For Sunrise/Sunset times Brad uses https://photoephemeris.com/

For Sunrise/Sunset times Ray uses - Sunset Times

 For Tides Ray Uses - Tide Charts

Grzegorz Długosz -  shared the following forum topic about the Z9 autofocus. 

This week Brad and I discuss how much he enjoyed the Nikon Z9, and we answer a listener submitted question from Mary Anne Karren asking us to discuss photographing waterfowl.

This week Brad and I catch up then answer a user submitted question from Mike Dougherty asking about our scariest or creepy encounters in nature.

Alex Prieditis joins the show to discuss his recent photography trip, his approach to composition in the field, and his love for gear! Don't miss his new podcast called Wildlife Photography Unhinged.

Emilie Reid joins me this week to discuss what we have been photographing during our recent travels for the past 1-2 months. Hope you all enjoy!

This week Brad and I catch up out some recent outings as well as discuss Nikon Z9 focus, then answer a listener question from Toby about where and how we approach scouting.

This week Brad and I discuss when wildlife photography takes over your life.

Brad and I discuss adding "this photo won't do well" to your social media photo captions and why.

My guest Peter Sülzle joins me to share about his recent encounter photographing an American Kestrel nest. We then chat about how he finds inspiration from painters and how he is hoping to work on a magazine to distribute locally.

Instagram: @pjadventuresincanada

American Kestrel nest

Bighorn Sheep with movement

Robert Bateman

This week we recap our recent outings, Brad spending time with some incredibly cooperative Wilson's Snipe and Ray visiting Badlands National Park in South Dakota, hope you enjoy!