Collaborative Spirit

Dani Connor recently published a video answering questions, and she mentioned a few points that caught my attention.

The first is the lack of a collaborative spirit within the wildlife photography community. This is something that has affected me personally—both when I started wildlife photography in South Florida and now after moving to a new place in Central Florida. It’s difficult to find people willing to share information about where to see and photograph certain animals and birds. While I understand the need to protect wildlife, I wish there were more trust within the community. After all, not everyone is out there with a heavy camera and a zoom lens.

The second point is how difficult it is to make money—or even a living—solely from wildlife photography. Many people assume that if you have a camera, you must be making money from your photography, but that’s far from reality. Of all the photography genres, wildlife photography is probably one of the hardest and least profitable.