Eli Sooker is a NZ-based conservationist, writer, and photographer, and you can now find his page in the Story collection on the Wild Focus Project! Eli is currently in Japan, and recently had the opportunity to visit the Shiretoko Peninsula, a wildlife haven. This week, he shares his photos and thoughts on the experience. Enjoy!
John Muir and the National Parks
Earlier this week, the US celebrated its 242nd Independence Day, and I kind of… forgot about it. I live outside of the US, and I’ve never really been a super patriotic person anyways, at least not in terms of the flags and the songs and stuff like that. But there is one thing that makes me very proud to be American, and that’s our National Park system…
A New Year's Journey South
As I mentioned in my last post, I went to Stewart Island for New Years! Stewart Island, or Rakiura, is New Zealand's "third island", off of the bottom of the South Island. Some 80% of the island is Rakiura National Park and there are only about 400 human residents, so the place is teeming with wildlife...
An Afternoon at Orokonui
On a bright summer day at Orokonui,
I saw bellbirds and robins and kaka and tui.
Tuatara and takahe step to and fro,
Like small dinosaurs from eons ago.
If you come here at night, you can hear ruru hoot,
And you may see a kiwi (the bird, not the fruit).
These creatures and more deserve your attention,
Since they could vanish without good protection...
Lion Tales from Kruger National Park
If you’ve read the “About” page on this site, or the very first introductory blog post, you’ll know that this whole wildlife photography thing started for me on a trip to South Africa in March and April of 2013 – specifically in Kruger National Park, which is along the eastern border with Mozambique. Last year, I wrote a short book about Kruger...
The Chesapeake Bay
I grew up in the suburbs of Maryland, between Washington D.C. and Annapolis. That meant that I lived within a half hour’s drive of the Chesapeake Bay, as well as four of the 150+ rivers that flow into it. My parents and I would occasionally go sailing, renting a boat for a few days out of Solomons Island at the mouth of the Patuxent River, or from Rock Hall on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. I hunted for fossils...
The Wildlife of Wyoming
I recently traveled to Wyoming to see the total solar eclipse across the US on August 21. Since I currently live in New Zealand, this was a bit of an ordeal... But it was 100% worth it. If I had only seen the eclipse and nothing else, it still would’ve been worth it. But luckily, I did get to see more than the eclipse – a lot more...