Wild Focus: Gerrit Vyn
The crew interviews Gerrit Vyn, a wildlife photographer and project leader at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Gerrit shares his recent trip to Antarctica and his experiences photographing wildlife in challenging conditions. He also discusses his background in natural history and bird audio recording. The conversation covers topics such as the equipment used for audio recording, the difficulties of capturing clean recordings in noisy environments, and the satisfaction of discovering and documenting unique vocalizations. Gerrit shares some of his most rewarding recordings, including yellow-billed loons and barred owls. In this part of the conversation, They discuss the challenges of recording audio in the Arctic, including dealing with bugs and wind. They also talk about the techniques Gerrit has developed for documenting birds and wildlife, including the use of blinds. They discuss the importance of ethical filming and the need to balance conservation with capturing valuable footage. They also touch on Gerrit's work in the National Petroleum Reserve and Isenberg Lagoon, and the efforts to protect these areas. Finally, they discuss Gerrit's company, Tragopan, which produces photography blinds and other equipment for wildlife photographers. In this final part of the conversation, Gerrit and the hosts discuss the different types of blinds used for bird photography, including laydown blinds, one-person blinds, and chair blinds. They also share their experiences with encountering bears while in the blinds. Gerrit mentions his plans to explore the Colville River special area and film raptors and landscapes there. The conversation ends with a discussion about camera gear, including Gerrit's use of Nikon and Canon cameras and Michael's experience with RED cameras.
