Wildlife Photography How To

Wildlife Conservation Photographer Gerrit Vyn Gets up Close and Personal with Beautiful Birds

Ron Leach  |  Mar 2, 2017

Gerrit Vyn is a Portland-based wildlife photographer with a deep commitment to conservation, and he pursues his passion by making intimate photographs of the animals that share our fragile planet. While Vyn has photographed a myriad of species, his images of birds are particularly compelling.

 

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Vyn says that like most kids he spent his early years “looking down” for creatures like turtles and salamanders. Things changed at the age of 12, when he says he really got hooked on birds. "I couldn’t hold a bird in my hand and take it home like I could a snake or a frog,” he explains, “so I started carrying around a camera and documenting what I saw.”

 

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While much of Vyn’s professional work has focused on birds, he says he thinks of himself as a natural history generalist. “I am still fascinated by it all and I am equally thrilled to shoot a hognose snake or a beautiful landscape as I am a bird,” he notes.

 

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Vyn’s images have been widely shared in print by National Geographic, Audubon, Natural History and The New York Times. He has also appeared on television and was the principal cinematographer for a 2015 PBS Nature episode.

 

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In 2009 and 2011 Vyn was the primary image provider for a “State of the Birds” report that was presented to the Obama administration and Congress by a coalition of environmental organizations.

 

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After enjoying the images you see here, you can find much more on Vyn’s Instagram page. Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram at @ShutterbugPix where we’re sharing our favorite photos from our followers, and be sure to look at our earlier story featuring the unique zoo portraiture of Eric Pillot.

Via Mother Nature Network

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