Wild Boyz Photography is proud to have Jess Keller join us this month as a featured photographer. Jess is a graduate from Indiana University in underwater archeology. She is passionate about protecting the world’s ocean and was able to do that while working for the National Park Service. Currently, Jess works for NOAA and is […]
I’m honored to be considered for this month’s feature – especially under the black and white theme. I remember working late with my instructor in the darkroom, remarking that I believe black and white photography to be a particularly valid artistic medium. It’s a limited palette with the necessary bones for complete expression. When chasing […]
We’re excited to feature Jay DeGregorio this month as a featured photographer. Jay has a Masters of Science in Environmental Studies with a focus on Environmental Education, from Antioch University New England. He currently works at The Nature Museum in Grafton, Vermont. The Nature Museum provides experiences that engage and enlighten audiences of all ages, while […]
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.
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.
I love working for SMC, because it’s fulfilling. Although days can be long and unpredictable during manatee season, at the end of the day I feel like I’m making a difference.
Of course every job has ups and downs and involves parts that are more fun than others 🙂
I have worked for SMC since the beginning of 2014, so about 5 1/2 years.
I used to work in television in NYC before that, but I did not find that job fulfilling. After I made my own independent documentary about manatees and met many people around Florida that work with manatees, I stayed in touch with SMC. A year later, they offered me a few months of contract work to help them with their live webcams at Blue Spring, educational videos and public service announcements. After a year of contracting, I joined the staff full-time in 2015. I love that I can use my background in film/media and communication to help this cause, while at the same time getting the opportunity to participate in the research.
(I have to admit, 8 years ago I didn’t even know manatees existed)
My favorite place to see them is probably Blue Spring State Park in the winter time. Not just because I work there, but because it’s a protected warm water winter refuge, where manatees can just be manatees without the interference of people.
The research at Blue Spring is very special to me. We can trace some genealogies back to the early 1970s making this one of the best research spots for manatees in the world. We run a life-history program and have some manatee family trees that go back 7 generations by now.
I also really love our international programs. We partner with manatee facilities and researchers in West Africa, South America and Belize. I had the opportunity twice now to go to Belize and help out at Wildtracks where I got to bottle-feed an orphaned manatee calf.
In addition I love our live webcams at Blue Spring State Park which gives people from around the world the opportunity to see manatees live during the winter time, even if they can’t come to Florida to see them in person.
Last but not least, we have a Save the Manatee 5K race in Michigan every year – yes, Michigan. A local biology teacher started this 16 years ago to raise money for SMC. They also started a virtual run 4 years ago and now we have over 1,200 participants from around the world running, walking, hiking, swimming, kayaking, biking for manatees – all to support the cause.
My favorite part is doing the manatee research at Blue Spring during the winter months when I can accompany Manatee Specialist Wayne Hartley on the morning “roll calls” where we count the manatees and identify them (by the scars that they have). Blue Spring is one of the largest winter aggregation sites for manatees and a protected sanctuary during the winter months. Counting and ID’ing the manatees every year is like family coming home. You get to know them all.
Another part I love about my job is the outreach work and opportunity to make educational videos and talk to people. I strongly believe that if people learn and understand about manatees and the issues they face, they will love them and care about them.
I use my background in Communication to deliver the science to the general public to make them understand and care.
Our volunteers mainly help us with outreach and education work, for example by giving presentations, and helping at festivals and outreach events. We also have opportunities for volunteers to help in our office in Maitland. For those who live close to Blue Spring State Park, we have a Manatee Observer Program there in the summer months where volunteers prevent manatee harassment by swimmers, snorkelers, divers and paddlers.
We are currently also establishing a similar volunteer program on the Gulf coast of Florida near Tampa.
*Volunteer opportunities can be found here: https://www.savethemanatee.org/how-to-help/volunteer/
It’s a little different for me vs. the hundreds of other volunteers. I sent the Executive Director a letter in 2008 suggesting the hours at the Wildflower Center (WFC) were the worst for fine art nature photography (9-5). I suggested they grant me 24/7 access to the center and I would give them rights to use all the photographs I take there. They liked the idea and I’ve been going there on average 2x per week since 2008. I usually arrive before sunrise and shoot for 1-2 hours until the wind picks up or it becomes too sunny. I prefer calm, cloudy days for what I do. I shoot images at the WFC for a few hours then come home and post process them for an hour or two. The WFC uses my images for wall art, web, email, publications and banners around the center. They first used my images to hang in the courtyard restrooms so I usually tell people I got my start with restroom art.
Since 2008. It’s a beautiful place and very quiet and peaceful when I’m there. There are hundreds of volunteers that do hard labor to create a wonderful nature experience. I get to take advantage of that so it is a very symbiotic relationship. I’ve taken over 12,000 pictures at the WFC.
Hummm. There are many but if I had to choose one I would say sitting on my stool in the middle of the arboretum looking up at my favorite oak tree with the sun rising behind it. Quiet, peaceful, colorful, inspiring.
I look for anything that is interesting and I try to capture an image that I would want to look at over and over. It might be a tree or an insect or a wildflower, grass, reptile, mammal or interesting shapes or colors while walking around. I might have a general area of the WFC I plan to visit on a particular morning or I just get out of the car and start walking around. I’ve never gone home without taking some interesting images….even in December and January. In the end, I like to take pictures where you look at it and just go, “wow”.
Nikon D800 and D850. My favorite lens is the 200mm macro. I also carry a wide angle, 24-70mm and a 70-210mm. I use a Uni-loc tripod, cable release and I carry a knee pad. I also have small gentle clamps to hold wildflower stems so the wind won’t move them. I do post processing with Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop and I do focus stacking using Zerene Stacker. So, for the type of photography I prefer to do I’m on a tripod 95% of the time and shooting with a cable release, kneeling on a knee pad. Pretty simple.
I enjoy looking closely at nature so I’m drawn to macro photography. I usually shoot in the range 1:1 to 1:4. So macro and close up. I like out of focus backgrounds and tack sharp subjects. That is why I like calm mornings so I can get sharp images and overcast so I get good color saturation and less super high contrast. I don’t shoot people, birds or nudes. Lately, I’m taking more wildflower focus stacks. Shooting at wider apertures and changing the focus plane taking multiple shots of the subject and then combining them in post processing. This technique produces nice soft backgrounds (bokeh) and tack sharp subjects. You control what you want in focus and what you don’t. It helps to eliminate distracting backgrounds so you can highlight the subject better.
When you take a portrait image of a person you like to put them in the best light and try to make them look a little better than they normally do ;). I do the same thing with wildflowers. I try to make them look the best they can. No insect damage, in great light with no distractions in the background. I often try to line them up so there is a similar bloom in the background WAY out of focus behind the bloom I’m focusing on. This puts a similar blurred color behind the bloom making for a more interesting but non-distracting background. You can see that style in many of the images I have taken. Sometimes I bring interesting botanical subjects home and shoot them in a white box at 5x or 10x. Then you really get to see botanical structures you can’t see with your naked eyes. It’s a whole other world when you get really close.
I would say I really don’t have one favorite but my favorite ones are those where I remember the time and place when I took the picture and the picture itself takes me back to that time. I also like the pictures I’ve taken where the view is so close you see things that you normally wouldn’t see with the naked eye or images that tell a story.
I don’t really know. I guess you would call them on the phone and ask how you could get involved. I interact in person with the staff very infrequently as I’m usually leaving when they are arriving. We wave a lot.
*Volunteer opportunities can be found here: https://www.wildflower.org/volunteer/
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