We wanted to highlight why we think you should donate to this month’s featured non profit, Ocean Blue Project. Explore all the work that they do to help protect our beaches, rivers, and oceans. JULY GALLERY OCEAN BLUE PROJECT JULY GALLERY DONATE
Featured photo by this month’s guest photographer, Nick Ivers. Solitary bees will make their homes with a plethora of different materials. As you can see in this photo, the bee used pebbles to fashion a nest along a tree branch. JUNE GALLERY NICK IVERS JUNE GALLERY
What drove you to work with Xerces? It was by chance that I ended up here. I was new in Oregon and was looking for work. I had an interview with the Nature Conservancy, and I didn’t get that job, but I was referred to Xerces Society. My passion for insects had led me to […]
JUNE GALLERY JUNE GALLERY
This month Wild Boyz Photography is pleased to introduce you to the photography of Ben Acker. Ben is a fellow nature fan and photographer, based in New Hampshire. He loves to travel domestically and internationally–when not quarantined. Ben shoots topside as well as underwater. I had the opportunity to sit down with Ben and ask him a few questions.
Egypt. Above and below the water it was wild. From the pyramids to the diving, the old coral reefs, the old archaeology; it’s a different world, a different time, and it took you to a different place.
Most of my photos are landscapes. I don’t spend too much time on macro.
My next big trip is back to Egypt. I’d be there now, if I wasn’t quarantined. I’m also trying to go somewhere in South America for some good red wine and steak.
I spent a month and a half there, saw north, south, east, and west. There is so much more to explore, and so much to revisit.
Get an intuitive camera. Something not expensive to learn on.
Make free training videos so I can watch them.
Ozark. I’m also watching The Curse of Oak Island, South Park, Family Guy, and Always Sunny in Philadelphia. As you can see, there has been a lot of good TV watching to appreciate while staying at home.
Wild Boyz Photography is proud to have Nick Ivers join us this month as a featured photographer. Nick currently finds himself living in Austin, Texas, where he is pursuing his graduate degree at the University of Texas. His focus is on disease within bee populations. As Ben’s brother, we are really excited to have him join the fold this month as a wild boy. His passion for nature and spreading nature education is unmatched, and we hope that we can convey his enthusiasm for the natural world around us. Let’s find out more about Nick Ivers.
The Galapagos. It was the most unique habitat that I have seen to this day. I was particularly taken back by the magnificent frigate birds. They would catch the wind coming off the shore, and fly alongside the boat. They can stay off land for a year. They also steal fish from other birds.
My lifelong fascination with tiny things that made me want to take pictures of things that are smaller than I could see.
Absolutely. Macro is my favorite style of photography.
I would go to Costa Rica. I have been thinking about going there recently. Do some surfing. Explore in the jungle. I would want to see everything that I could possibly find. It would be sweet to see a tapir. I have always been fascinated by that weird animal. I would do some scuba while I was there too. I would want to be both above and below the water.
Take more pictures. You’ll get better as you do. You don’t have to know what you are doing. I am shooting with a Canon 6D right now. I like taking my photos within a meter. The closer I can get the better. Photographing bees, they are always jumping around, so you have to keep your head on a swivel and take a bunch. I probably look like a crazy person in my front yard when I’m photographing bees in the native wildflower garden there.
Right now, it’s any desert. I really have enjoyed exploring the West Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico areas over the last few years. Again, it’s an environment that I have very little experience in, so everything is new and exciting. Cactus are crazy!
Here’s the fun fact that I learned today. The baobab tree is pollinated by bats.
I’m going through them. I have been partial to Paco’s Tacos. As far as the ones that I’ve been to, that’s the winner. My favorite is actually their “Paco’s Pick”. It’s got steak and peppers and a bunch of other stuff. The steak and peppers are the important part that make it so good.
When a sick bee visits a flower they may leave behind some infective parasitic spores This photo was taken during the early days of the COVID-19 quarantine when only essential trips like grocery shopping, or foraging for pollen and nectar at flowers, were permitted. Did you know that when bees forage at flowers they might […]
A week later I was on a flight to Alaska On my 30th birthday i slept in and groggily reached for my phone to reflex check the social world inside my facebook app. The first post I saw was from a former shipmate I worked with in Louisiana mentioning crew openings for some fishing boats […]
How long have you been involved with CNPC? I’ve been involved since January of 2017. It was then that I joined as a regular board member. By March the existing treasurer stepped down, and I stepped in to be the treasurer. I was the treasurer until August of 2019. At that point I became the […]
Why did you start Ocean Defenders Alliance? At the core is the desire to help animals. I first got my start with nonprofits by combining my love of photography with this desire to help animals. I started diving in Ohio around Cleveland. I would swim in the lake to get in shape, but there were […]