"Ten Wild Photos-Ten Wild Stories"
by Mark Wilson-MA
Monday, March 30, 7:30 PM


Join me on a fast-moving journey that delves into my best wildlife images created over four decades. We’ll look at each finished photo and then push deeper to explore the preparation and planning that went into capturing a world class image. And we’ll be ready for serendipity when that strikes, as some great photos happen accidentally.

Two of my favorite photos,-one of which ended up on the cover of National Geographic magazine, were made just a mile from my Massachusetts childhood home. And those two images were captured on Kodachrome 64. But not all ten of my top photo picks happened close to home or were shot on film.

See how I had a 4’x 4’photo blind built 100 feet up an ironwood tree in the Amazon to photograph at an active Harpy Eagle nest. Watch a large snake visit me in the blind as he or she crunches on a bat, three feet from my head. Watch a wild Great Gray Owl lock eyes with me and then fly towards me, all the while maintaining eye contact. Shiver with me in a photo blind on Alaska’s North Slope as I wait for a hunting Snowy Owl to deliver a freshly caught lemming to his hungry family waiting in their tundra nest. Hope with me that the polar bear I photographed a few days earlier doesn’t decide to wander inland to investigate my occupied photo blind.

Fasten your seat belt and hold on for a rush of adrenaline as we take a sip from the firehose stream of photos that flow from my cameras.

Our speaker is a wildlife photojournalist, author and avid birder. He was a staff photographer at The Boston Globe for 23 years. His column ‘The Backyard Birder’ appeared biweekly for nearly four years in The Boston Sunday Globe. Mark also wrote the Globe’s weekly photography column ‘Camera’ for nine years. His photos have appeared in countless newspapers, books and magazines, including a National Geographic magazine cover.

A birder and outdoorsman since childhood, Mark combines a B.S. in Biology and a love of natural history with his photography, writing and lecturing while sharing his enthusiasm with others. His ability to interpret animal behavior and light brings a special dimension to his photographs and educational programs. He and his wife Marcia have traveled widely across North America from Alaska to Florida, and the Arctic to Australia. The Wilsons often camp, canoe and hike to study birds and wildlife.

Mark is a contributing author and photographer for the book ‘Arctic Wings- Birds of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’. His chapter and photos recount a 19-day canoe trip down the Canning River from the Brooks Range to the coastal plain, where potential oil drilling remains a hotly contested topic. His first book, ‘Owling- Enter the World of the Mysterious Birds of the Night’, explores the 19 species of owls that nest in North America, north of Mexico. Owling was chosen by the American Association for the Advancement of Science as 2020's Best Science Book for Middle Grade Students. However, Owling is a favorite of owl lovers ages 3 to 103. Mark's second book, The Snowy Owl Scientist, was published in 2022.

Since 1994, Mark and Marcia have run Eyes on Owls, live owl programs which more than a half a million attendees have enjoyed. www.eyesonowls.com