Cover image photos from left to right: Melissa Groo, Ben Hall, Ryan Mense
Bird Photographers are an incredibly resilient bunch. Taking a good photo of a bird requires a lot of skill and lots of patience and of course, for winter bird photographers, good gear to keep warm. It's surely not a task for the fair weathered photographers.
We love seeing bird photography pop up on our Instagram feed because it's a subtle reminder that all life is precious and worthy of documentation no matter how small the creature. From tiny warblers to bald eagles, birds and their faithful photographer audience hold a special place in our heart. Here are our favourite bird photographers of 2020!
1. @benhallphotography
Looking at Ben Hall's images often feels like looking at modern art instead of your run of the mill wildlife photography. His thoughtfully composed photos showcase the mysterious and whimsical side of our natural world.
2. @terjekolaasphotos
Terje is a fellow Norwegian photographer who spends most of his time in Northern Norway capturing photos of the animals who survive in some of the harshest conditions on earth. His feed will give you an up close and crisp look in the the life of Arctic birds.
3. @espenhelland
Espen Helland is Norwegian-born, Scotland-based bird photographer (and also a Youtuber!) who spends much of his time photographing birds and mammals in the Scottish Highlands. Espen's photography is about combining a passion for wildlife with an obsession for photography and one look at his feed will have you mesmerized.
4. @micheldoultremont
Michel is a Belgian photographer and all around nature-lover. He strives to create emotion through his images by showing an aesthetic aspect of the biodiversity. He relies on lighting effects and the natural environment to capture the image of an animal as it would appear in a fairy tale setting.
5. @wild_things_by_leeanne
6. @matthias.kahrs
Matthias is a bird and landscape photographer who is skilled at bringing a lot of life and detail to small creatures. His photographic style is very honest, featuring natural tones and post processing.
7. @melissagroo
We admit, we can't get enough of Melissa Groo's feed! Melissa is an award winning wildlife photographer and conservationist who started photographing birds but no focuses on all wildlife photography. Her work features intimate portraits of all creatures, big and small with thoughtful captions, giving you an inside look into her photography world.
8. @wind.and.wing
Theodore Emery is a wildlife photographer whose deep love for the natural world has been culminating for over 15 years through his work as an environmental educator, field biologist and field guide across Wild America. His work features all kinds of birds found all over the world.
9. @ryanmense
Ryan Mense is a bird photographer from Wisoconsin whose work comprises of using professional photographic equipment to best capture the scenes that he spend a lot of time searching and waiting for. He's also a contributing writer for @fstoppers so if you've ever learned from a bird photography article on Fstoppers, there was a good chance it was written by Ryan!
10. @mattbarfield8
Matthew Barfield is a UK based photographer who enjoys capturing the marshland creatures found near his home in Lymington. He tends to stick to birds in his own area but because of the large variety of species in the marshlands, you'll rarely see a repeat image on his feed.
