Wild Lens Webisodes Update

The original idea for Wild Lens was a simple one – connecting biologists with filmmakers to increase the potential for outreach and education. Our most recent endeavor has taken this simple idea and made it a reality. Some of you may have noticed our announcement at the start of the New Year that we would be releasing a new webisode each month. This is just the beginning of a program that connects wildlife field biologists working on fascinating conservation-based projects around the world, and empowers them to produce documentary shorts by connecting them with experienced filmmakers.

 

Image capture and wildlife biology work go hand in hand. Many of the most spectacular wildlife photos are taken by biologists simply because these are the people who are spending the most time in beautiful remote areas working with wildlife species on a daily basis. We are searching for the best wildlife biologists/aspiring filmmakers and helping train them in the art of documentary filmmaking.

Tatiana Gettelman is an experienced wildlife biologist who has taken some of the most spectacular photographs of sage-grouse and their central Nevada habitat that I have ever seen. Tatiana starts her third season working with Greater Sage-grouse in March and she plans on approaching this field season with a slightly different perspective. With the help of the Wild Lens crew, she will be producing a documentary short about sage-grouse conservation during her three-month stay in remote central Nevada.

 

Deborah Visco is a graduate student at Tulane University in New Orleans. She conducts her field research in Costa Rica, where she is studying the impact of forest fragmentation on the Chestnut-backed Antbird. Deborah has been using video to document nest predations and incubation patterns, but has been struggling to find a way to use video as a tool for outreach. This March, with some help from the Wild Lens crew, Deborah will be producing an educational documentary that can be used to teach kids in Costa Rica and the US about the effects of forest fragmentation.

 

These are just two examples of short documentary projects that will result from this collaborative program. Stay posted for updates from Costa Rica, central Nevada, and many other field sites across the globe where we will be helping biologists spread their message through documentary storytelling.