SYRACUSE — If you happened to visit Antelope Island on a Saturday this month, you may have seen a group of teenagers photographing wildlife.
More than a dozen youth participated in a new Utah Wildlife Federation program in Syracuse to learn from four wildlife photographers who took them out to Antelope Island and helped them capture the magic of nature.
“It’s been so well received. We’re just over the moon with it! I just wish we could do it for thousands of kids,” said Shauna Hart, an award-winning wildlife photographer who came up with the idea for the program.
Hart never thought she would live in Utah. She moved all around as a military child, but after marrying a man from Preston, Idaho, and moving to Cache Valley, she fell in love with nature here.
“I gave up my 4-inch heels and my silk suits, having worked in business all my life, and I bought some hikers and new backpacks, and we hit the dirt. I’m telling you, 10 to 15 years ago, I never would’ve thought I’d be here in this position, but I’m more happier and more fulfilled than I ever have been,” she said.
After having a magnificent experience photographing a moose, Hart was hooked. She has spent the last several years traveling all over the Intermountain West to capture the beauty of wildlife and promote conservation.
But she started to notice a concerning trend of unethical wildlife photography: both inexperienced and professional photographers pushing the line with animals, getting too close and endangering themselves and the wildlife.
As the board chairwoman of the Utah Wildlife Federation, Hart said something needed to be done.
“Our mission is to assist wildlife to thrive in Utah — this kind of behavior is not helpful for wildlife to thrive,” she said. “The repercussions from that, going into fall and the winter and what it does to these wildlife, people just don’t think about, and they don’t know.”
Hart started connecting with fellow wildlife photographers about how they could solve this problem and came to the conclusion that if they could train the younger generation to value ethical photography, then the overall treatment of wild animals could improve.
“If we don’t start addressing younger generations and teaching and advocating and educating, all of the work that we will have done or will be doing, will be for nought, because there won’t be buy-in from the next generation,” Hart said. “I think that foresight is really important in conservation photography and conservation of wildlife, particularly where we live here in Utah.”
And so Lessons Through the Lens: Kids for Conservation was born. Hart, along with photographers Jason Loftus, Lydia Ripplinger and Jimmy Breitenstein, worked with Utah Wildlife Federation and Pictureline to create an outreach program and photography camp on ethical wildlife photography and conservation education.
Since it was a brand new program, Hart was nervous how it would be received. Each week, the photographers took turns teaching a 90-minute lesson about photography mechanics before emphasizing a principle of ethical wildlife photography or conservation. Then the whole group headed out into nature to put their learning into action.
From pronghorn antelope to deer, bison, migratory birds and more, the students have thrived immersing themselves in nature and photography. Many of the students’ parents joined along with their kids on the photography escapades and have been “blown away,” Hart said.
“A parent approached me last week and said, ‘Why isn’t this being offered everywhere? I think everybody should know this. Every family should understand the importance of ethical wildlife viewing,'” Hart said.
Hart hopes that as the program becomes more refined, it could be implemented nationwide through other wildlife outreach groups. The program could even be expanded for adults, too.
Listen to the animals
Interacting with wild animals can be a transformative experience, Hart said, but it’s important to watch and learn from the animals.
“Wildlife will tell you by the very actions in their body, in their movements and whether their ears are flat or if they are skittish. Be respectful and give them space,” she said.
Other photography tips include using whatever camera you have. Anyone can tell a story with a photo whether it’s taken on a smartphone or a fancy camera, she said.
Lastly, teach others the things you learn about wildlife, Hart said. Whether you learn from programs or just your own experience, if each person shares conservation and ethical wildlife viewing information with just one other person, it can have a ripple effect throughout the state.
“This is how we will build an ethical wildlife viewing community in the state of Utah to assist Utah wildlife to thrive,” Hart said.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
