Making the Most of the Wildlife Photographic Experience – When Preparedness and Skill Meet Luck

As owner/operator of Big Bend Birding & Photo Tours, I focus my time on helping others enjoy the beauty of the Big Bend National Park Region and serving as a freelance photographer when time permits. Publishing is fun, but my main interest is in helping others capture spectacular images while they are visiting Big Bend National Park or surrounding areas. I am an award winning photographer and my images have been in Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine, Texas Highways, Bird Watcher’s Digest, & NANPA’s Expressions.

I also serve as a photography workshop instructor for Wildside Nature Tours with destinations such as the Galapagos Islands National Park, Ecuador, Amazon Riverboat Cruise, Costa Rica, Panama, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park in winter, and more.

My photography experience began at the age of 16 when my mom gave me a Canon AE1 with a broken meter and I bought John Shaw’s The Nature Photographer’s Complete Guide to Professional Field Techniques. With this book, I learned the sunny f/16 rule and with many rolls of slide film in hand, I headed to the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge in southwest Oklahoma near where I lived at the time. This is how my love for photography was birthed and later with a new camera and lens, my grandparents took me on my inaugural trip to Big Bend National Park and the surrounding region.

I was delighted to be named an official Olympus Educator after making the switch from a full frame system which I had used for over 25 years to the Olympus OM-D system in April 2019. I have never been happier with my gear and the features and abilities it provides in capturing amazing images of our world.