Jeanine Lovett

***’Commended’ in the prestigious International BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2012 competition***

The photograph was chosen from more than 48,000 entries from 98 countries, and judged by a panel of industry recognized professionals.

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Growing up in San Diego I would often hike with my father and visit the tide-pools at low tide. We spent many summers at the beach in San Diego and Baja California, and would go on long, road and camping trips. I love being out in nature. Both my parents were scientists, my father gave me my first camera at age 7 and a SLR camera at age 15.

Photography started becoming a big part of my life in 1986 with taking a black and white wet darkroom class. I later moved from Black and white film to color slide film. The first time I used a digital camera was for work in 1999. For my personal work in 2004 I transitioned to a digital SLR before taking, a first trip to Africa and never looked back. Then I moved away from only using fully manual cameras and photographing landscapes to a digital and in the process also starting photographing wildlife. Digital reminds me of the darkroom days when I would process and print my own photos. Developing or processing your own, feels more creative than handing over my color slide film to a lab.

I moved to San Francisco for college, after living in San Francisco for many years, and lots of traveling, I moved to Santa Cruz in early 2011. On a photography trip, Dave Hartley and I, got married in Antarctica and on that same trip I took the photo that received the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year, commendation.

I try to anticipate what I might photograph and be prepared as possible. But, be open to something completely different. All outdoor photography is dynamic, light changes, weather changes. You can try to envision your photographs but with photographing nature you sometimes just need to let that go and be in the moment. Be taken by the moments in front of you and let that become your photographs.

My goal is to create photography that inspires love of nature, landscapes, and wildlife. Provide knowledge of the environment and animals through photographs.  Promote a sense of adventure in the outdoors, through photography. Create work in touch with core human emotion that creates a response through visual communication and storytelling. Through photography communicate mood, experience, emotion, gesture, and story.

Currently, I am focusing more on photographing my local landscapes and wildlife, and doing less travel photography. I hope I can use my photography to help and protect the local environment, Santa Cruz and it’s protected coastline and it’s world class wonders.

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Charities and Conservation-

• Sierra Club

• Audubon

• Save the Albatross

• Save the Redwoods League

• The Yosemite Fund