(Not so) fun fact- only 7% of cinematographers of the top 250 films made last year were women.
And as for wildlife films? It’s so much worse!
Recent research done by @wildlife.camerawomen found that over multiple series such as Planet Earth, Frozen Planet and America the Beautiful, there were 196 main cinematographers.
Out of that 196, only 10 of them were female.
In the series “Big Beasts”, there were 242 camera assistants/additional cinematography.
Out of those 242, only 13 were female!
While I personally started off as a producer and editor, I’m very proud to call myself a camerawoman and presenter as well! π₯ π
So here’s to paving the way for future female and nonbinary cinematographers!
I love to share behind the scenes of what I do to inspire other women and girls that YES! You can do this!! We ALL belong here in this industry, doing this job!!π
#wildlife #cinematography @reddigitalcinema @sonyalphafemale @sonyprofilmmaking
Did you know there’s a whole fish city IN Miami?!π πͺΈ
While it’s not a reef in terms of coral, it is still technically a reef!
This structure is made up of the ancient root system of a mangrove forest, which got fossilized over time! πͺΈ π¦΄
It’s home to tons of different species of fish, hermit crabs and molluscs! π¦β¨
You ever heard of a petrified forest? This is the same thing, but β¨mangroveβ¨π€©
I always wonder if fish have a whole underground system of tunnels through it π€
#KeyBiscayne #biscaynenaturecenter #florida #geology #fossil
GATORS DONT CHEW!
Well, they actually can’t chew!π
They lack the proper teeth to chew their food the way you and I do! We have molars, and they only have these cone-shaped teeth for grabbin!ππππ
So, because of that, they swallow their food whole! And if it’s too big of a bite, they go into a roll!
This roll has a certain name that may make Instagram block this reel. But it’s called a a π β οΈ -roll. You get the vibe!π
And the little baby shown here went for one of these rolls on a fish- except that lil’ thang decided to roll faster than a wheel on a nascarπ π π¨ he really got that lil bite!π
Baby gator roll video by Dana McCuller
Rest of the shots by yours truly! π€
#alligator #everglades #bigcypress #florida #floridawildlife
π©΅ πCelebrate Earth day every day! π π©΅
Take some time and get outside today y’all! Could be your backyard, your balcony, or your local park! Doesn’t matter how you get outside, just get that sun and appreciate our planet and the critters and plants that live on it with usβ€οΈπ©΅π
Remember, you don’t have to be a professional hiker, backpacker, photographer, filmmaker, etc. to be an OΜΆuΜΆtΜΆdΜΆoΜΆoΜΆrΜΆsΜΆmΜΆaΜΆnΜΆ outdoorsperson! π²β¨π
Treat every day like earth day! If you see a trash in the ocean, woods or park, pick it up! That little piece makes the biggest difference- even if it’s just to one critter!π©΅
With our wild spaces slowly shrinking, it’s absolutely vital that we reconnect with the wild spaces right in our backyards! We have got to defend our existing habitats, and create more dedicated wild areas. In fact, you can make your own backyard more critter friendly by planting native plants that attract colorful butterflies and feed birds!! π±
What’s your favorite native animal and plant in your area?π©΅π± ππΌππΌ
#earthday #outdoorsman
Green sea turtles (or “honu”) just love resting on the beach, and are the only turtle species in Hawaii that do so! ποΈππ’π€
As a fellow beach rest enjoyer, it was such a treat to film these beautiful critters on a 2x anamorphic lens!
Green sea turts can weigh over to 350 pounds and live up to 70 years or more!! So you can see why they deserve such well-earned breaks. π€β‘οΈ
Anamorphic lenses allow you to achieve the depth of a longer lens with the field of view of a wider lens. When you initially look at the footage, it’s super super wide! Almost as if you’re taking a panoramic photo! π₯
What’s your favorite turtle species? (freshwater and tortoises included!)π’
Living my blue crush dreams on this shoot! π’ πΈ ππ₯₯π β¨
Not pictured: 1am shoots, 60 mph winds and being misted like a vegetable in the produce aisle every 15 minutes π π§οΈ
These birds have the FASTEST REFLEXES of ALL vertebrates (critters with a backbone π¦΄)!
They use their speedy reflexes to hunt for teeny fish by sweeping their bill in the water side to side while walking verryyy slowly and very carefully forward. Then, when they bump prey with their bill, they snap their jaws shut!
Not only are they speedy as heck, they’re also pretty darn big- they’re 3 feet tall with a wingspan of 5 feet!
They’re also uniquely bald, and that’s because they often forage in the mud, and a bald head is easier to clean than a feathery head!π€
I spotted this one in the Everglades, where it recently got a pretty big rain, which made fishing spots a little easier to access for tons of birds! π
#wildlifefilm #wildlifecamerawoman #sony #sonyfx6
Swipe for fishing adventures, Me at @cookeoptics with @wildmotiondocs and @reddigitalcinema , poking venomous animals and me and a old pal of mine hanging out in a parking lot π€πΌ πΊ π¦ π ππΌπ πβ¨π©΅
Also using ππΌππΌππΌ a lot lately bc it makes me feel like a dad β¨
Did you know that the Great Smoky Mountains is home to more than 30 species of salamanders! π¦ They’re such a unique animal, I-
ποΈ π ποΈ
… hello!
If you ever happen to come across the freaky critter that is me, out and about filming or making a video, come on up and say hi! π€
I’m always pumped to talk to anyone about wildlife and well, just about everything! Growing up my mom used to always say that I could talk to a wall. π
Be warned though, I’ll talk your ear off if you let me!π¦
#pedropascal #youshouldknowthistoo #wildlifefilm #wildlifecamerawoman
βΌοΈThese toxic trees are EVERYWHERE around here so listen UP πβ οΈ
I’ve gotten my fair share of poison ivy and I even have some scars from a nasty poison oak encounter a few years back! (No, I didn’t lay in poison oak to look at a mushroom back in Atlanta…what are you talking about π π)
What’s important to note about this Poisonwood -besides don’t stand under it during a storm- is that it’s native, and so many species depend on it!π³
It provides food for so many birds! Such as the endangered white crowned pigeon- which eat its fruits! Said fruits are orange and oblong and DONT EAT THOSE DEAR LORD. π Forbidden orange berry vibes β‘οΈ
Have y’all ever had Poisonwood? Or poisonivy, poison oak?
#floridanature #getoutside #miami #keybiscayne #floridakeys #island #caribbean #biscaynenaturecenter ##nationalpark
Homie’s got a little extra airflow π¨π¦π
Did you know hermit crabs are more closely related to certain types of lobsters than actual crabs?
ALSO SOMETHING ELSE SUPER DOPE ABOUT THESE LIL CRABS: Sometimes they’ll all get in a line from biggest to smallest to exchange shells!!πβ¨
Seeing these guys change shells is super wild. I can go film it if y’all wanna see that! π
They also work as a part of natures cleanup crew!
They’ll eat just about anything. If they come across any dead stuff, they absolutely go to town on it and shred it π π π΄ it’s so funny to watch them eat as they’ll pick a tiny piece of food off with their claws and bring it to their mouth delicately!π
#floridawildlife #hermitcrab #islandwildlife #island #floridakeys #keybiscayne
ππAin’t nothing like sunny days exploring one of Florida’s most easily accessible wild areas!πβ¨
Lizards!π¦ Hermies! π¦ π Jellies! πͺΌ Shiel! π coconuts! π₯₯ Turtles! π’ Puffers! π‘ Pipers! π¦
The list goes on! Key Biscayne’s got it all. Even…a super weird hidden geological formation?!π€
And! It’s only 15 minutes outside of Miami! Be sure to visit the @biscaynenaturecenter to see our reef critters up close, and check out their fire shell collection π₯
I’ll delve deeper into some critters and this hidden geological formation soon! What do y’all wanna check out first?! π
#Islandwildlife #floridawildlife #outdoorswoman #miami #getoutside
UPDATE: THIS AINT FLORIDA. βοΈβοΈ
I WAS FREEZING FILMING THISπ₯Άπ₯Ά
On a trip to the Rockies I was up at the top of Vail mountain freezing my Georgia π off while the wind was smacking me, with a windchill of -20! But as I was at the top, I saw a few snow pups in the snow and I knew I had to bust out my camera cause they were just too dang cute! πΆ
So I ran back, grabbed my camera and came back to the mountain and filmed at the top (almost froze AGAIN), and when I got back to the base, I saw the pups that I had seen earlier playing around after a long day of work! π βοΈ
These pups were with ski patrol, and the older sweet Golden’s name is Lucy. I saw her at the base every day greeting everyone who came off the mountain! She even had her own ski pass π₯²βοΈβ€οΈ
How cold is it where y’all are this week?! π₯Ά
| Vail | Ski Patrol | Documentary Film | Women in Film | Cinematography | Vail | Colorado | Rocky Mountains | Winter |
Why is winter the BEST time to spot birds in the ‘glades?! πΎπ¦
Winter is dry season down here!
Let me explain- the glades has two seasons: dry π and wet π§οΈ! Dry season is in the winter, and wet season is in the summer!
Dry season makes it so there’s not many bodies of water around- lots of the swamps and ponds in the area dry up, which makes our feathered friends congregate around permanent bodies of water- making them a lot more concentrated and easier to spot for a pic! πΈ
So if you wanna see the best of our avian friends down here, come on down during December to March!β¨πΈ
Here you see some goofy juvenile ibises (always a crowd favorite!), round pipers and some yellow crowned herons (that look like they could use a napkin- they were eatin’ good π).
What’s y’all’s favorite shorebird? π¦ β¬οΈβ¨πΈ
#floridawildlife #floridabirding #getoutside
WELCOME TO THE SOUTH! My backyard!
It’s my job, my mission, to share with you all the incredible critters in my backyard!! From adorable gators to honkin’ huge elk! π π¦
One of my biggest passions is sharing my excitement for my local wildlife, and to take y’all on epic adventures to introduce you to all my animal friends! π π» π¦
So come with me as we get outside, from the Everglades to the Smokies, I wanna introduce y’all to my animal friends- like possums, gators, bears and tarpon!! ππΏοΈπΎ
Where are y’all from and what’s your favorite local critter!?
#wildlifeconservation #wildlife #southernwildlife #wildflorida #wildgeorgia #appalachia #greatsmokymountains #landrover #toyota4runner
Ospreys are ICONIC in the Everglades! πΎ
As I was exploring the southern area of the park, I came across a huge nest and this lovely couple! πͺΊ
These diving raptors eat fish 99% of the time, which makes the Everglades a great place to grab a meal! π
If you look close in a few of these pictures, you can see one of them actually eating a lil’ sushi snack! And when I say eating sushi, I mean wrecking a a mullet(?) while sitting on a branchπ
And with a five foot wingspan, they can fly more than 160,000 miles in their lifetime! πΊοΈ
Osprey pairs are often monogamous and often mate for life! So maybe this couple’s been together a good while!
#everglades #birdphotography #wildlifephotography #canon #5d #longlens #wildlifefilm #florida
I found one of the largest single cell organisms in the world!!
And no, it’s not my brain! π§
These are sea pearls, or pirates eyeballs! Some folks also call ‘em sailors eyeballs! π΄β οΈ β΅οΈ π₯οΈ
I found that a whole bunch of these sea boba washed ashore last night ‘cause we just got hit by a little Troppi storm βοΈ π
But fun fact- they’re not eyeballs or pearls! They’re single cell organisms!
What does that mean? That means what you’re looking at right there is just one cell! You and I are made of millions- no, billions, NO- trillions!!! Of cells! And this unique little ball is just ONE and that’s all it is! ποΈ
Okay, now you’re probably wondering- that’s dope! But still WHAT ARE THEY?!
They are technically an algae! And yup, they’re liquid inside π§π§π§
Have y’all ever found one of these sea boba before? β¬οΈ π π§
#marinelife #Biology #beachfinds #islandlife #marinebiology
Do y’all know what bird species this is? π€ππ¦ποΈ π
Stumped? I’ll give you some hints! β¬οΈ
1. I filmed this at @drytortugasps while working with the awesome staff there! These birds come to the park every year to make a pit stop to nest!πͺΊποΈ
2. This species LOVES roaming the ocean! ππ
3. Now here’s a wild one: They can stay out at sea for anywhere from THREE TO TEN YEARS!!
Think you know the answer? Comment below with your guesses!
#wildlifefilmmaking #birding #floridakeys #wildlifecamerawoman
For those new around here, I wanted to do a little introduction about me! ππ π»
I want to share SO much more but I just didn’t have space!
I’m a wildlife filmmaker and I am so passionate about conservation through entertainment!
But here’s my thing- I don’t know everything there is to know about animals. While I do know a ton of facts (I was always told that I’m “full of fun facts”π), there’s ALWAYS something new to learn, a new place to explore, and a new animal you could have never even imagined. Isn’t that exciting?!β¨
That’s the reason I hop out of bed in the morning!
I firmly believe that once you get to know animals or a place a little better, and you’re able to name and recognize things, those critters and places become a little friendlier β¨β€οΈ Kind of like people!
I guess that’s why birding is a thing! Kinda like Pokémon, you gotta catch (spot) em allππ¦
β¨
Now let’s get outside and explore together! I can’t wait to show y’all more about the animals that live here in my neck of the woods. β€οΈβ¨
What’s your favorite animal where you live? ππΌ
#Wildlifefilmmaker #Camerawoman
EVERY TIME I’m in a marsh or swamp I hear this weird monkey-like sound coming from the bushes!π£οΈπ£οΈπ
LO AND BEHOLD it’s ALWAYS one of these funny little birds. I’m not gonna lie to y’all, swamp chickens gotta be one of my favorites!π
These little dudes and dudettes are always up to something- always just pickin’ at random stuff they find on the bottom of the marsh/swamp and ponds. Their behavior is always entertaining to watch because they always seem to be on some sort of mission!π
Why do they make these calls? Beats me! But as you can see they look like they take a TON of effortπ
Now they aren’t a type of chicken at all- they’re actually called Gallinules, and they have these big wide toes that help them walk along vegetation! We just call ‘em swamp chickens.
Why do you think they make these calls? π£οΈπ£οΈ ππ