There are pros and cons to the surge in interest around wildlife photography that has been sweeping Instagram over the past few years. On one hand, that need to get as close to the subject as possible “for the gram” can cause serious stress to the subject - affecting every aspect of their life from hunting to raising their young. On the other side of the trend is the amazing platform it creates for raising awareness around important issues like local conservation and species awareness. Those who take it up as a hobby can find grounding in being outdoors in close proximity to the wide array of species that we share Long Island with. This becomes particularly important in a day-and-age where we are constantly overstimulated by too much screen time and often miss out on the beauty in these intimate moments.

It’s important that we as a community try to steer people towards the latter and do our best to welcome and educate photographers interested in wildlife as their subject. For that reason, I wanted to talk to some of my favorite Long Island-based wildlife photographers about what makes it such a special hobby (or profession) and how we can all be responsible in our approach.