I am a Wildlife Photographer and Cinematographer for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, a Senior Fellow at the International League of Conservation Photographers and have been photographing birds and wildlife professionally for the last 25 years. I am best known for my work documenting endangered birds and conservation issues around the world including the enigmatic Spoon-billed Sandpiper. My book, The Living Bird, was a New York Times Bestseller and National Outdoor Book Award winner and my work is published regularly in magazines including National Geographic, BBC Wildlife and Audubon. My work has also been featured in media outlets including NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, Morning Edition, and The New York Times. My film work has been featured in the PBS Nature series and in film festivals including Jackson Wild, Mountain Film, and the Banff World Tour.
Find me on Instagram @gerritvyn and check out my instructional book on bird photography, Photography:Birds.
WAIT!! Don’t bait! Such amazing creatures … love this adventure!! 🙌🏼 fabulous images & vid footage i would love to see these beauties in a setting like this
These images are 🔥❤️🔥🙌🏼 stunning! ✨🏆✨ 😍 i saw that little wave rolling in and im saying wave coming wave coming at the tv 😄😄 but you didn’t hear me 😅😉 truly enjoyed watching this, i got a link to this vid via email from Tragopan Blind that i subscribed to awhile back. Happy i clicked on it!! Sub’d ya here at YT too looking forward to viewing more of your work 🙏🏼🫵🏼
Incredibly informative video. Enjoyed it. Never heard of a Ground Pod, definitely food for thought. Wondering if you used the Z9 to video the flying Sanderlings. Will look at your other videos as well. Take Care and Stay Safe, Dale
Terrific video, Gerrit! Your ability to teach, photograph, and inform is so much appreciated! Please continue the great work that you do for the endangered avians, and continued good luck for the future.
Great info! Lots of fond memories tucking into blinds before dawn, jittery from excitement and sleep deprivation. Proud to share Tragopan products with my workshop participants - just collected two Monal V2's from the field that look like new after weeks of wind lashing.
Thanks, Jess. It’s pretty amazing how well the Monal does in heavy wind. I’ve continued to be impressed. Hope your workshop participants are enjoying the view!
Great video Gerrit, What a woodpecker, although males generally always steal the show the female with the hair doo really does take the prize! Lovely and relaxing and great to see a naturalist & photographer at work. Hope you are feeling better now, and best of luck with your next trip. R👍
This was a treat to see this beautiful woodpecker species I will probably never get to see in person. Sorry you got sick but at least a silver lining was that you held out long enough to get this experience in.
Beautiful bird. Great video. Thanks for persevering even though I'm guessing you weren't feeling that well. A question. When you go off trail how do you avoid getting lost in the woods? I have a poor sense of direction and worry about going too far off trail.
Hope you are feeling better, Gerrit. You'll laugh -- I too caught what turned out to be Covid the day after seeing the Magellanic Woodpecker in Patagonia National Park. Rotten flight home before I tested positive. But, priceless memories of the bird, Patagonia and all the places I visited in Argentina with Chip Darmstadt and a hearty crew of fellow Vermonters. Always appreciate your work and dedication. Go Big Red!
Fantastic to see! Sorry you weren't feeling better, but you sure didn't let it slow you down! Thanks for taking us along and persisting to get some fantastic shots!
What spectacular woodpeckers. I was multi-tasking and had your video running on a 2nd PC, and heard that double-knock and my head whipped around! The still at 10:53 is stunning.
Great video and very cool birds you captured! I have been watching your other videos about for example shorebirds, which are birds I also love, but probably not as much as you. I was wondering if you have a list of the top 10 places you recommend for shorebird watching and photographing, based on your experience and opinions.
That’s a tough one! Are we just talking about migration/wintering grounds? Some of my favorite spots outside of the breeding season have been…Gray’s Harbor, WA, Kuskokwim Shoals on the Yukon Delta, Yalu jiang on the Yellow Sea coast in China, the Geum Estuary in South Korea, various beaches in Florida, Nan thar Island in Myanmar….
Wonderful video Gerrit. Where I'm living in Thailand we get Sanderlings and exotic stuff such as the occasional Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Often see some in full or partial breeding plumage birds in March when they start feeding up before heading back to Siberia. Its also the hottest time of the year with cloudless skies and 35C plus and hotter on the sand. Lots of heat haze and sunburn to contend with.
Yes, heat shimmer is tough to deal with at times. I’ve got some heat shimmery stuff of Spoon-billed Sand from hot mudflats in Myanmar similar to where you are. Thanks for the note!
Excellent stuff. When I used to shoot landscapes at the coast I usually did it on off-shore flow. Not just because the wave spray makes the photos so nice, but I simply don't like the salt air on my gear and when you have an off-shore flow you don't get that. I have to wonder how that might impact shore bird photography, if it does and how much.
Love your videos! I made a diy skimmer pod in winter but did not get the chance to use it that much so far. Super keen on doing this kind of photography hopefully in the autumn migration though!! 🤞🤞🤞
Muy buenas Gerrit, un saludo desde Asturias norte de España. Las aves playeras son mis predilectas y para serte sincero disfruto con el simple hecho de verlas en acción. Una de las cosas más importantes cuando trabajo en este medio es la protección del equipo con fundas adecuadas y lo más importante saber como está el mar y la hora de la subida o bajada de la marea. La vestimenta que normalmente me pongo cuando trabajo en este medio es un traje de neopreno de tres milímetros, me protege del frio y de las rozaduras de la arena y las piedras. Estoy de acuerdo contigo en lo machacado que te queda el cuerpo con estas sesiones, sobre todo las cervicales. Por lo demás creo que es un tipo de fotografía que representa todo un reto para cualquier fotógrafo que quiera reptar un poco. Por supuesto que el mejor punto de vista es tumbado en el suelo y reptando, sin prisa y tomando todo el tiempo necesario. En estos momentos estoy en pleno proceso de un trabajo sobre este tipo de aves aquí en la costa cantábrica. Un vídeo magnífico y unas fotos increíbles. Un saludo.
