Meet Annalise Kaylor | Wildlife Photographer and Conservation Photojournalist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Annalise Kaylor and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Annalise, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
In a society where our worth as individuals is often defined by “perceived productivity,” I often get comments about how nice it must be to have the kind of job where I can “just go out and take pictures of animals.” We tend to look at people and define their work by the visible output, not the input. For a long time, I defined my worth that way, too.

I’ve shifted my idea of what balance looks like by the value different things bring to my life. I did the agency rat race for nearly a decade and I’m grateful I’ll never again work somewhere that sells “jeans on Friday” or a “beer cart” as company culture. Jeans on a weekday or a $3 bottle of beer on the company dime are not things that add value to my life, and I’d wager they don’t add value to anyone else’s either.

I always wanted a life of adventure that is fueled by my curiosity, so that’s what I designed for myself. I’ve never worked more or worked harder, but the balance comes from being able to write emails on the bows of boats or while watching keel-billed toucans and bat falcons perform aerial feats a few feet from my balcony.

This summer, we’ll be in Alaska for 4-5 months with humpbacks, orcas, coastal brown bears, Steller sea lions, sea otters, moose, hundreds of birds, and more. Being able to up and do that is worth working 80 hours a week to avoid working 40 for someone else.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’ve always been a naturalist, and that identity is at the core of all of my wildlife and conservation work. Being a naturalist is one thing that sets apart my photography and experience from others in the same arena. Sure, I can go into a national park and line up with the hundreds of other photographers there and get the same shots as everyone else. But because I’m a naturalist first, I don’t have to.

I know that if I want to photograph black bears, I can scout out white oak trees because the white oak acorns are a favorite food of the black bear. I know that if I want that iconic shot of a moose with water dripping from his antlers, I need to go to Minnesota or Maine – not Wyoming. Why? Because the moose in Minnesota and Maine get a large part of their mineral intake from the vegetation that grows in the waters there. In Wyoming, the vegetation gets most of those same minerals from the rocky soil.

It’s in this spirit that my partner Jared, also a wildlife photographer and naturalist, and I created our new podcast. We’re releasing it in just a few weeks and I could not be more excited. People have been asking us to do one that combines our nature nerd backgrounds with our expertise on photography and now we’ve finally done it!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m always surprised at how little people know about the wildlife opportunities right within or near the city of Atlanta. The first place we’re going is Clyde Shepherd Nature Reserve in Decatur. A beautiful reserve, this is a hot spot for incredible birding and bird photography. – owls, pileated woodpeckers, and hawks abound, but there are a lot of amazing songbirds that you won’t see in many other places that can be found here.

Second Self Beer is a must-stop for me, too, and anyone coming to town has to go with me. Because I travel so much, I can’t often drink their Thai Wheat, a summertime fave. In the fall and winter, it’s the Mole Porter that I crave. It’s my favorite brewery in the city – no pretentious beer snobs here, just good beer and good company.

I’d also register us on a field trip with Georgia Audubon. A lot of people don’t realize that Georgia Audubon has free, guided outings all around the state. I’m a little biased, being one of their Master Birders, but it’s a great way to see parts of the city or state you haven’t visited before and it’s a wonderful way to learn about birds and our environment. I’ve met some of the coolest people on these trips!

So many of the places I travel to are rural and small, so being back home always. means gorging myself on the plethora of cuisine the city has to offer. Miss Gogi for Korean BBQ that brings me back to my time in Seoul, LanZhou Ramen for my noodles and ramen fix, and while I’m there, I’m definitely swinging over to Sweet Hut for some bubble tea and dessert.

There’s no better place to relax than Kindred Studio, over at The Beacon on Grant Street. Everything about the place is relaxing, and it’s my favorite way to forget the busy world and reset. Even if it’s a quick visit, I always leave more calm and relaxed than before I arrived.

Atlanta’s grassroots artist communities don’t always get the press they should. Atlanta Fringe Festival, Carapace at Manuel’s Tavern, Write Club when it’s happening – all of these smaller events are filled with BIG talent. You can’t leave any one of them uninspired or moved.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I was fortunate enough to grow up around incredibly strong women, and am lucky to have the support of so many creative and artistic people in my social circle. But there are two women I think of whenever I’m out exploring a new place or doing something life-alterinly cool — my grandmother Sylvia and my high school Spanish teacher, Sharon Samuelson. My grandmother nurtured my curiosity about the natural world and got me birdwatching as a young girl. My teacher showed me that there is entire world of fascinating places to explore. I’ve been to 39 countries (and counting) and I think of her every time I add a new stamp to my passport.

Website: http://annalisekaylor.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annalisekaylor/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annalisekaylorphoto

Image Credits
Annalise Kaylor Michael Hodgson