Podcast appearances and mentions of melissa groo

Melissa Groo is an American conservation photographer and writer. She is a Sony Artisan of Imagery, an Associate Fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers, an advisor to the National Audubon Society on photography content and ethics, and a contributing editor to Audubon magazine.Her work has also appeared on the covers of Smithsonian, Natural History, Living Bird, and Outdoor Photographer magazines and in publications such as National Geographicand National Wildlife.Melissa has been awarded the “Jay N. Ding Darling Memorial Award for Wildlife Stewardship Through Art,” from The Wildlife Society, the Audubon Connecticut's Katie O'Brien Lifetime Achievement Award and NANPA's Vision Award among others.She's a passionate advocate for wildlife and has been fighting to raise awareness about the unethical nature of photo game farms. She lives in Ithaca, New York, USA.Notable Links:Melissa Groo WebsiteMelissa Groo InstagramThe Ugly Truth About the Wild Animals of Instagram | Rolling Stone April 24, 2024International League of Conservation Photographers*****This episode was brought to you by Luminar Neo.Powered by AI technologies, Luminar Neo streamlines the editing process and provides everything you could possibly need to get photos that will look amazing on the screen and in print. Luminar Neo was designed for both hobbyists and pros and includes cutting-edge editing tools – all in one intuitive and easy-to-use app.Luminar uses generative AI to intelligently analyze your photos and erase distracting elements in your compositions, add realistic objects that seamlessly blend into the background, or expand the frame in any direction. If that's not your thing, Luminar is still one of the most powerful photo editors for natural and realistic images too. Luminar Neo has all the features you need to enhance your images with precision and ease.You can use Luminar Neo as a standalone app on your PC or Mac computer or as a plugin for Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, so you can keep your existing workflow.Learn more about Luminar Neo and how it can amplify your creative vision for your photos  by visiting skylum.com.*****This episode is brought to you by Kase Filters. I travel the world with my camera, and I can use any photography filters I like, and I've tried all of them, but in recent years I've landed on Kase Filters.Kase filters are made with premium materials, HD optical glass, shockproof, with zero color cast, round and square filter designs, magnetic systems, filter holders, adapters, step-up rings, and everything I need so I never miss a moment.And now, my listeners can get 10% off the Kase Filters Amazon page when they visit.beyondthelens.fm/kase and use coupon code BERNABE10Kase Filters, Capture with Confidence.

Sony Alpha Photographers Podcast host Tony Gale chats with wildlife conservation photographer Melissa Groo. They chat about how Melissa got started with photography, her advice for people new to bird photography, her go-to camera and more. You can see her work on her website melissagroo.com and her Instagram @melissagroo  The Sony Alpha Photographers Podcast is part of the Alpha Universe Podcast Network. See more at alphauniverse.com.

In this episode, we talk with Melissa about the importance of empathy and compassion in creating ethical wildlife photography. She emphasises the need to understand the animal you are photographing, and to adjust your behaviour accordingly. Melissa highlights the unethical practice of using photo game farms to capture the perfect shot, which then presents viewers with a misleading impression of the state of wildlife today. Given the struggles of many species, she says, the impact of photography is all the more significant. What you'll find inside: “More and more I come to realise there are so many shades of grey, you know, it's such a nuanced topic. And also that none of us are perfect. I'm not perfect, and I make mistakes all the time. … We can all build in a higher awareness, a great awareness, into our field craft as carefully as we build in knowledge of our camera's buttons.” (6:15) “We have so much power, not just as humans but as wildlife photographers. And we have a responsibility with that power to first do no harm.” (10:10) “These are just about photos to us, but to a wild animal every single moment is about survival. Every single moment is about life or death. And so knowing that, I hope can help us be more thoughtful and careful in our approach.” (13:54) “Ethics for me in that field of captive wildlife photography really has to do with making careful, conscious choices about what sort of facility you are visiting and supporting. “ (22:20)On truth in captioning: “People are always going to assume that the animal is wild. So if it's not, tell us it's captive, tell us where it's housed, tell us the truth of that animal's life. Don't do a disservice to the viewer. … It's deceptive in terms of what's really going on in our world with these species, and how close they are teetering to extinction.” (29:12) “Animals are not ours, they're not here to perform for us. Especially during breeding season when they need to use all their energy … For us to compel a bird to come perform and spend all that energy, and to fool it, I feel maybe back in the day it was okay ... but birds are in such peril now and have so many challenges that I really feel like we just have to be more sensitive than that. We have to be more careful. Are our photos really worth the price that that animal is paying?” (36:11)“How comfortable would we be telling other people the truth to this shot? That's another really good indicator for us: am I going to want to tell people on social media how I got this shot or would I be sort of embarrassed? Would people really look down on it? Because if the answer's yes, you would be embarrassed, yes, people would look down on it, then maybe that's a good sign that's not a great practice.” (37:09) “Learn about your subject, and have empathy and compassion for their struggles, and realise that they value their lives as much as you value your life.” (38:14) What does photo ethics mean to Melissa? “I think ethics is a tricky word because I think sometimes in wildlife photography it's been bandied about so much, and I feel in some ways it's lost it's meaning. And I think when you say ‘be an ethical photographer' there's a knee jerk reaction, sometimes where people feel like ‘Well, don't tell me what to do. How do you know what's good, what's right, what's bad?' And, you know, I understand that it can be tiresome to hear those words and it can sort of lose all meaning, but for me it's really about being empathic. I really do feel like ethics comes from empathy and that's what I want people to come away with, and that to me is the very foundation of ethics, is empathy and that feeling for another living being, you know, whether it's a person or a wild or captive animal. You know, how can we honour, how can we best honour our subject? And for me, those are the questions that I think ethical practices really stem from.” (39:56) Links:National Audubon Society's Guide to Ethical Bird Photography International League of Conservation Photographers NANPA Truth in Documenting Guide

"Winter Wrens astound me. They have these tiny bodies, but stand so alert, almost vibrating, and let rip this tremendous waterfall of sound that you can hardly believe could come from them." – Melissa Groo, who captured the photo of the winter wren featured on this track. Recording by Lang Elliott: https://musicofnature.com Dovetail Workwear provides women like Melissa workwear fit for the job, and capable of anything. Discover more at dovetailworkwear.com.

"The song of the Hermit Thrush is to me, the harbinger of spring. There is nothing like that single sustained note followed by a cascade of melody." – Melissa Groo, who captured the photo of the winter wren featured on this track. Recording by Lang Elliott: https://musicofnature.com Dovetail Workwear provides women like Melissa workwear fit for the job, and capable of anything. Discover more at dovetailworkwear.com.

"The song of the Veery is the most haunting to me. Deep in the forest, they unfurl their downward cascading song. You'll hear them often at dusk, the last birds to sing." – Melissa Groo, who captured the photo of the winter wren featured on this track. Recording by Lang Elliott: https://musicofnature.com Dovetail Workwear provides women like Melissa workwear fit for the job, and capable of anything. Discover more at dovetailworkwear.com.

Our guest Melissa Groo joins us to discuss spring migration, photography ethics, and what conservation photography means to her. Follow Melissa at: Instagram: @melissagroo Website: www.melissagroo.com Show Mentions: https://conservationphotographers.org https://www.kingbirder.com/contests/ Outdoor Photographer Magazine

Melissa Groo is a wildlife photographer, writer, speaker, and educator. She's a contributing editor to Audubon magazine, a bimonthly columnist on wildlife photography for Outdoor Photographer magazine, an Associate Fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers and an Ambassador for Project Coyote. She speaks and writes extensively on issues of ethics and conservation in wildlife photography, and leads workshops in the U.S. and abroad. Melissa’s work has been published in numerous books and magazines, such as Smithsonian, Audubon, National Wildlife, and Natural History. Her work is represented by National Geographic Image Collection. In this episode we talk about Melissa’s love and empathy for wild animals from an early age. She poetically describes swimming with humpback whales, studying acoustic communications of forest elephants, and the moment she created her favorite image of all time. She explains why she’s dedicated to conservation photography and how you too can create stories that impact the causes you care about most.This is We Are Photographers with Melissa Groo and this is her story.

Melissa Groo joins Bill to talk about her life and the late start she got to her amazing career as a “wildlife biographer.” Though she is most famous for her captivating bird and wildlife photographs, Melissa strives to convey more than that, capturing the personality, soul, and essence of her subjects in hopes of inspiring empathy from humankind for the plight of the natural world.

Melissa Groo joins Bill to talk about her life and the late start she got to her amazing career as a “wildlife biographer.” Though she is most famous for her captivating bird and wildlife photographs, Melissa strives to convey more than that, capturing the personality, soul, and essence of her subjects in hopes of inspiring empathy from humankind for the plight of the natural world.

PhotoShelter's Allen Murabayashi interviews wildlife photographer Melissa Groo, winner of the 2016 Audubon Photography Award on her concern for conservation, ethics, and the challenges of making a career in wildlife photography.