Ronan Donovan Photo and Film

Wolves: Photography by Ronan Donovan

This museum exhibit opens tomorrow - Saturday October 21st - in Bend Oregon at the High Desert Museum!

Oregon has been working to establish a viable population of wolves since they began migration into the state around 15 years ago.
The complex human social tolerance in regions where wolves have been absent for decades and then reestablished adds an extra layer of creative challenges to work through.
Thankfully, there are many forward thinking groups and individuals who are working towards a future to soften these challenges faced by people and wolves.

I’m really excited to share this photo exhibit with the Bend community and to bring some educational programming to the museum next weekend, October 26-28th.
Check the link in my profile to see the events schedule or the High Desert Museum’s website/social.
Have a great weekend everyone.
See you in Bend next weekend 😀🐺

Face to Face with Oregon’s Wolves: Expert Perspectives

I’ll be moderating a great lineup of panelists in Oregon next week at the High Desert Museum in Bend.
I’m so looking forward to a conversation with these experts!
October 27th 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm at the OSU-Cascades Edward J. Ray Hall

The event has sold out already, but you can be added to the waitlist - link in my bio.

I'm also giving a talk the night before (also sold out w/ waitlist) and a fun family program midday on Saturday at the museum. Come say hello if you're in the area🙂

I was asked to write an article about wolves for Modern Huntsman] Volume 10. I chose to share my personal perspective on the human-wolf relationship surrounding my experience with Arctic wolves.

I open the article with this quote:

“Nature is not more complicated than you think,
it is more complicated than you can think.”
- Frank Edwin Egler, Plant Ecologist

From Modern Huntsman]:
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As always, we have a wide variety of story styles and topics in this issue, but our cover story is an in-depth look into the controversy surrounding the managements of wolves in the US, told from the perspectives of Nat Geo Explorers and Ronan Donovan]. You don't want to miss this issue, and can reserve a copy at the link in our bio, or on our website.⁠
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Cover photo by Ronan Donovan]

I'll be in San Luis Obispo this Monday, 10/24, to give an NG Live talk. It's open to the public. What does it mean to be a human? We are, at our core, social mammals. We build relationships, communicate, reproduce, establish territories, and adapt to shrinking resources. In these ways, we’re no different than other social mammals. Chimpanzees, wolves, and gorillas are among the most charismatic of the mammals we know. We identify with them as species, groups, and even as named individuals. They’re also under threat. Join biologist-turned-photographer Ronan Donovan as he talks about his work in documenting these animals and what we, as fellow social mammals, can learn from them.

SAVE THE DATE - Museum Exhibit Opens
November 4th, 2022
National Museum of Wildlife Art
Jackson, Wyoming

The National Museum of Wildlife Art will debut the traveling photography exhibition Wolves: Photography by Ronan Donovan, featuring Donovan’s stunning images and videos of wild wolves in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and Ellesmere Island in the high Canadian Arctic.

Ronan Donovan Photo and Film updated their business hours.

In celebration of the wild ones without a voice and to this perfect planet that we call Earth. ⁣
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“Because mankind can circumvent evolutionary law, it is incumbent upon him, say evolutionary biologists, to develop another law to abide by if he wishes to survive, to not outstrip his food base. He must learn restraint.” ⁣
— Barry Lopez, Arctic Dreams, 1986⁣
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Here's to restraint on this Earth Day.

Yesterday, Montana’s House and the Senate voted through the below bills related to wolves and bears.⁣
There’s a link in my bio to a series of resources from press releases and how to contact Montana’s Governor and state politicians. These bills affect bison, bears (black and grizzly), wolves and the health of landscapes as a whole.⁣
These bills come from small private special interest groups in Montana and are not based upon science-based wildlife management. Hunters, anglers, wildlife watchers and citizens of Montana should be deeply concerned. ⁣
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SB 314⁣
Bill passed 64-36 on a mostly party line vote. Three Republicans broke ranks (Greef, Nave, and Putnam) to vote against the bill. ⁣
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Synopsis: Establishes the intent of wolf hunting and trapping seasons that could reduce Montana’s wolf population to a minimum of 15 breeding pairs. Would also allow FWP to authorize a single individual to kill an unlimited number of wolves. Finally, it allows night hunting on private lands with the use of artificial light or night vision scopes.⁣
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HB 468⁣
Bill passed 28-22. Three Republicans broke ranks (Molnar, Weborn, and Saloman) and voted against the bill. Brad Molnar (Billings) spoke out against the bill arguing that it could lead to the delisting of the Grizzly Bear b/c the hunt will be held in the Spring and cubs could easily die without their mothers.    ⁣
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Synopsis: Authorizes the use of dogs while hunting black bears and establishes a training season from end of spring until June 15 of that year. ⁣
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SB 337⁣
Bill passed 67-33 on a straight party line vote. ⁣
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Synopsis: Establishes that the FWP can respond to any bear that is 'causing conflict outside of a federal recovery zone.' Additionally, 'If the bear is to be relocated the department may not relocate the bear.' Which, in our reading, means the bear must be killed.⁣
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SJ 18⁣
Bill passed 68-32  Rep. Fielder offered an amendment that would extend the resolution to the entire state instead of concentrating on areas that 'meet the criteria.' The amendment also states that the management of Montana's grizzly bears would exempt the delisting of grizzly bear populations from judicial review. ⁣
Link in my bio for info

Spring is on the wing across the northern hemisphere. I took this photo a month post surgery on both of my knees after the Arctic wolf project. It was one of my first forays into the natural world after being in pain and worried about my physical abilities into the future. Seeing and hearing this annual event of resilience in the form of tens of thousands of snow geese making their way north did wonders to rejuvenate my mind and body. Take time to heal and to stand in awe of the natural world.

Unpublished work // I’ll continue on the storytelling thread here with another photo series focused on field biology work directed towards a better understanding of a local bird species here in Montana - the harlequin duck. Like the images in my previous post, these images weren’t taken on assignment, but rather the access and reason for being there was to contribute as a biologist with the survey. There’s a specific balance needed while being asked to be part of a team conducting actual field work and also taking photographs throughout. Clear communication upfront is needed so no one gets annoyed or taken by surprise when you start taking photos. All of the images that I take, while on assignment or otherwise, are always available to the scientists I work with for their presentations, reports and scientific papers. Yes, this is not a sustainable model since most of the work is either unpaid or you’re being paid as a biologist, but the value in the practice and honing your skills as an aspiring photographer is priceless. ⁣
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Photo 1 - A female harlequin duck with two males in pursuit during the breeding season.⁣
Photo 2 - Sense of place in the mountains of Montana where harlequin ducks breed.⁣
Photo 3 - MT State Avian Biologist Kristina Smucker searching for ducks. ⁣
Photo 4 - A male harlequin duck at home in the fast moving mountain river. ⁣
Photo 5 - With ducks spotted up stream, the team prepares to setup a capture net.⁣
Photo 6 - Stringing the net across the river.⁣
Photo 7 - Measuring the beak of a female harlequin duck.⁣
Photo 8 - Kristina Smucker weighing a male harlequin. ⁣
Photo 9 - A male harlequin before release.⁣
Photo 10 - A male harlequin duck resting on the edge of a mountain river.⁣
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Always think about the variety of images you need to create a story: scene setting, characters, action, detail, portrait, and closing to name a few. Even if you think a simply as a tight, medium and wide image of a scene you are doing well.

I’m sharing some older images from 2014 and notes from an IG takeover for . ⁣
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\\ In my previous posts I’ve shown some single images and a couple series on a specific species with the camera trap images. But what’s been lacking in my imagery so far is a story. For those of you asking for advice on this career path, storytelling is one of the most important elements. While a single image can be powerful and can weave a story into its elements, the real power of visual storytelling comes from a series of images, a photo essay. That’s where emotion, context, purpose and impact come into visual storytelling and it was the single biggest ‘aha moment’ for me. I still have much to learn. ⁣⁣⁣
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⁣⁣These images represent one of my first attempts at thinking like a storyteller rather than just going out to get pretty photos or a single image of an animal. In 2014, still working as a biologist, I was asked to be part of a team here in Montana that was surveying bat caves ahead of the anticipated arrival of White-Nose Syndrome - a non-native fungus that has been decimating bat populations across the US since it’s discovery in 2006. This post is less about White-Nose Syndrome and more about storytelling and the kinds of images that are common in most visual stories. ⁣⁣⁣
Photo 1 - The team descends into the first of two cave rooms on their way down to the main room - this is an establishing image to set the scene for the images to come⁣⁣⁣
Photo 2 - A member of the team counts hibernating bats as one flies by - a medium image with multiple elements ⁣⁣⁣
Photo 3 - The outstretched wing of a Myotis species of bats for measuring⁣⁣⁣
Photo 4 - A cluster of Myotis species of bats - a portrait or character image ⁣⁣⁣
Photo 5 - Team members swabbing bats for fungus testing - an interaction image of people doing something⁣⁣⁣
Photo 6 - Sunrise over the Missouri River in central Montana - closing image of the bat’s habitat⁣⁣⁣
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For the aspiring conservation photographers out there, think about the stories that you can tell close to home.

Sharing some more images and stories from my takeover of ⁣
These are meant to be useful to aspiring photojournalists looking to get into conservation photography and science communication.⁣
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// The images from my previous post depicted the wildlife that I had continued access to or species that I was working with as a wildlife field biologist. The same goes for learning new camera techniques or even with new camera gear - stick to wildlife or locations that you have easy access to (nearby parks or even bird feeders or pets). ⁣
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My approach was no different In 2014 when I built my own camera trap system to learn how to create images of shy animals at night. I started with my dog and then found species that were nearby and unafraid - porcupines and snowshoe hares. There are plenty of tutorials, forums and commercially available camera trap gear now, so just do some googling and you’ll find it. ⁣
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As I mentioned at the end of my previous post, I was creating single images that lacked a story. With camera traps, I was trying different angles with these species to try and showcase more of their behaviors. But still, these were not stories and I was far from a working photographer at this point. ⁣

Sharing some images and notes from an IG takeover for
My goal in sharing these visuals and captions is to help those of you that are curious to learn more about the process of visual storytelling related to conservation and also to younger storytellers who reach out to me on a daily basis for advice. I hope you find these posts helpful and please don’t hesitate to ask questions in the comments section below and I will do my best to reply. ⁣
The first question to address, and the most common question I’m asked, ‘how can I become a conservation photographer?’ Well, everyone’s path to iLCP is different, but many of my colleagues share a common background as wildlife field biologists. That was my path into this world and is what continues to fuel my curisoasioty about the natural world. ⁣
Photo 1 - I’m testing out the lighting of a homemade camera trap to try and capture an image of a beaver in my home state of Montana. ⁣
Photo 2 - A northern spotted owl in Yosemite National Park taken on film during my first wildlife field biology job through the Student Conservation Association. ⁣
Photo 3 - The eye belongs to a plains spadefoot toad (Spea bombifrons). This was taken back in 2010 when I was working as a field biologist for the state of Montana.⁣
Photo 4 - An American mink running back to its lair with a freshly caught crayfish in Montana. ⁣
Photo 5 - A collage of images representing my obsession with photographing waterbirds across Montana (I am a lifelong bird-nerd)⁣
All of these images I took while I was a working wildlife field biologist becoming obsessed with documenting the wildlife I was observing. You will note that all of these images are single photos of an animal, not stories and most without behavior.

Ronan Donovan Photo and Film updated their phone number.