Since I photograph bees a ton, I loved this article on photographing pollinators in flight! https://alphauniverse.com/stories/how-to-photograph-elusive-insects-and-precious-pollinators/ Do any of you do a lot of macro photography? I'd love to see some below! Here are a few of mine:

Hey Brooke! I did get out to photograph the eclipse in Texas. I co-guided a photo workshop with Jennifer Leigh-Warner and David Cook for NANPA. But other than that I've been busy finishing up a Masters Certificate in Conservation Communications. I will be done in a couple weeks and then I can spend more time with the camera. How about you? What kind of cool things are you working on?

Congratulations on the publication Heather! I love that story, you did such a great job! What have you been photographing lately?

I answered the poll, but it was hard to pick between the three. I think any of the three topics would be valuable.

Hello Brooke! I'm excited to participate in this community space that Sony & ILCP have created for conservation storytelling! My name is Heather Valey and I'm a conservation storyteller located in Arvada, Colorado. I just had a story published on urban purple martins in Austin, Texas in NWF magazine. https://www.nwf.org/Home/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2024/Spring/Animals/Purple-Martins-Public-Property?_ga=2.121181128.1313160224.1714171543-391377566.1714171543 I'm excited to meet and collaborate with new and old contacts and discuss conservation storytelling and how we can be more effective as a group. https://www.instagram.com/heather_valey/ http://www.heathervaley.net - Heather Valey

Hi everyone! I'm Brooke, I'm on staff at iLCP. We are thrilled to have publicly launched this club today and hope to see many new members. I'd love to hear from you all below - please reply introducing yourself, letting us know where you are at in your conservation storytelling journey, and anything else you'd like to share. Welcome to this community space!

A key principle of iLCP's mission is to empower ethical conservation photography -- this means we regularly evaluate the ethics of community involvement, photo licensing, and even wildlife/photographer interactions. In our newest StoryMap, A Light Touch, iLCP Senior Fellow Doug Gimesy explores the ethics of photography with artificial light when photographing wildlife. Following a chaotic encounter with over-lit photography and the little penguins of Melbourne, Gimesy began to consider the impacts additional light could have on certain species. "What I saw that night started me thinking about the impact a photographer’s lighting could have on wildlife – whether using flash in the field or even on captive animals. Having been trained as a bioethicist, I really wanted to make sure I was doing the ‘right thing’." Check out the Story Map here: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/a2132c9f3a3945cc9fdbd8490338c291

This is so cool. Thank you for sharing. I would love to apply to grow a project I was part of in Guatemala last month. Would you have any suggestions for applications that combine conservation and education? From the past eight months of working on the project, I have built relationships with the communities we worked with, which seems like it could help. Are there any suggestions you would have for someone applying in my position?

We are so excited to announce this year's new member application cycle! Please refer to the dates below to see the timeline for this year's application: Application Scholarships open: February 28 - March 20. The scholarship waives the application fee for this year's application period New Applicant Submission Period: March 25 - April 24 As a professional conservation photographer or filmmaker, there are two levels at which you may join the organization - Emerging League or Associate Fellow. Members are selected through a rigorous application process; applications are reviewed by a committee of photo editors, directors of photography, and visual storytelling experts around the world. Learn more here. Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions!

We conserve native prairie and my goals include spreading awareness of the amazing bio-diversity of the prairie. It looks like 'just grass', but it has literally thousands of species of plants and insects that are in jeopardy.

Hi everyone! I just wanted to introduce myself briefly: I'm Dori Rathmell, iLCP's Social Media Coordinator and Water Resources Manager! I wear a lot of hats with iLCP, including: 1. Managing social media content across all platforms (generally, prioritizing IG and FB) 2. Researching water conservation issues worldwide 3. Creating and Writing ArcGIS StoryMaps, usually about water-related issues 4. Whatever iLCP is working on! Last year, I got to interview stakeholders in rural Virginia about environmental justice communities and water rights! * Outside of iLCP, I'm also a full-time graduate student studying Water Resources Management at Duke University in Durham, NC, hence why so much of my focus is on water accessibility! Feel free to reach out with any questions regarding social media, communications, water accessibility, or really anything you think I can help with! Excited to see what you all get up to in the forum! Dori

Getting started with the technical aspects of underwater photography!

There are so many skills and techniques to be successful in conservation photography. What is one you're looking to improve on? We'd love to learn more about how to support you!

This is awesome, thanks for sharing Susan! For those of you who might not know, Susan Norton is the Executive director of iLCP!

We are grateful to Sony for this wonderful partnership and hope that you all find it a helpful resource. Here are some upcoming deadlines that might be of interest: The Fund for Investigative Journalism - January 29 Submissions for the 2024 McElhen Award - January 31 Downstream Environmental Film Festival - March 1 Wildscreen Panda Awards - January 23-April 12 iLCP applications - announcement soon on dates and scholarships

I'm so excited to teach this workshop again! Sam and I had a blast last time. We really put in all the info we wish we knew starting out. I hope to see some of you there!

Hi all, Brooke McDonough (@bmcdonough) and I are offering our online workshop, Starting a Career in Conservation and Science Photography, with Summit Workshops in March/April! The workshop is best suited to those who are early in their career as a conservation/science photographer. Instead of covering the technical aspects of photography, we focus on other aspects of this career: building relationships with subjects and editors, grant and application writing, setting goals, setting rates, early career opportunities, etc. More info at the link above. Feel free to ask any questions here, and/or share with anyone who may be interested!

Hello! I’m an Emerging League member of the iLCP based in Ottawa, Canada. My storytelling work focuses mainly on wildlife science, informed by my background as a biologist. For the past few years I’ve been based at the Algonquin Wildlife Research Station where I’ve been working on various stories about the value of long-term wildlife studies. My storytelling work moving forward will continue to focus on the conservation of Ontario’s freshwater turtles. As such, I’ve been working on expanding my skills to include underwater photography. Happy to connect with folks on various topics...especially those who can help with my expansion into the aquatic realm! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthastephens_/

The next round of National Geographic grants are due on April 11th. The storytelling grant is a fantastic way to support a passion project and conservation story. Many iLCP Fellows and other conservation storytellers have received this grant. There are three main factors I think is important to detail in your grant application: Why is this story important to tell? for this, dive into the timeliness of the issue, the impact a story could have on the issue, etc. Why are you the right person to tell this story? Make it clear that you are the one who should complete this project - this could be because of your past work and special skills, or the connections and relationships you've built. You may also point to the locality of the project - is its happening right in your community. Just making it clear that you are the best storyteller for this project. How are you set up for success? Have you made contacts / relationships with key characters? Have you done adequate research? They want to fund people who they don't see as a huge risk, so making it clear that you have put in some groundwork to be successful is very important. Another tip is to be very clear in your writing and your narrative. Don't leave anything up for assumption or interpretation - remember, they aren't experts in the topic like you are, so they will need more context! Are any of you thinking about applying? If so, what projects would you work on?

This looks like such an awesome project @Peter Mather! I'll give some thought to possible funding. Thanks for sharing the doc, it's so helpful to see how to put together a strong proposal.

Hi everyone, I am a conservation wildlife photographer out of San Antonio, TX. My creative focus is on human/wildlife coexistence in urban environments. I have been working on a long-term project out of Southern California called the Marine Mammal Coexistence Initiative, which aims to create stronger protections for harbor seal and California Sea Lion mainland rookeries. I have also been a long time partner photographer for the Cheetah Conservation Fund out of Namibia. I have been the Ethics Committee Chair for the North American Nature Photography Association since 2018 and was recently elected to their Board of Directors. I am happy to connect with other photographers from around the globe. https://www.experiencewildlife.com/ https://www.facebook.com/ExpWildlife/ https://www.instagram.com/experiencewildlife/

To change your profile picture, you'll need to update your profile on Alpha Universe. Click on My Alpha Universe at the top right of the page, then select log in and you can change your profile picture for your public profile on that page. That profile picture will then come through here to the forums.

Working on a new movie about the Arctic Refuge. Will try and share the document we just finished proofing. Our funding doc. Would love some feedback on the story, the document or any funder suggestions.... VADZAIH - An Arctic Quest.pdf

Good Morning, Does anyone know how to change your profile picture? I can't find an option for that. Thanks! Dan

I would love to hear (and hopefully see images) of any projects you are currently working on! Feel free to share below! 👇