Award-Winning Photographer Works to Save Wildlife Through Her Photos
- Kelsey Miklavcic
- Mar 2
- 3 min read
Conservationist and photographer Shauna Hart creates work showcasing Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone wildlife in winter. With a busy schedule, she shared her photography, inspiration, and insights with PetaPixel.
Shauna Hart is an award-winning conservation photographer with a career spanning years of dedication to wildlife and the environment. While she was always drawn to the visual arts, she credits her husband, Scott, for opening her eyes to the beauty of the mountainous west. Jokingly referred to as her “Sherpa,” Scott is a lifetime outdoorsman with great experience roaming the West. His knowledge and passion for the wilds were an excellent source of support and inspiration for Shauna Hart.
When she married Scott, he brought her back to where he grew up, southeastern Idaho and northeastern Utah, where her love of the outdoors grew. From hiking and camping to her first forays with a cell phone and Canon Rebel, she began photographing natural beauty, not just appreciating it.
Hart began as many do by sharing her photographs with friends and family. Their positive feedback and encouragement were enough for her to invest in digital photography gear and enter her work in photography competitions. It wasn’t long before she was winning. With a vision board full of county fair ribbons, she was motivated to up her game. It was this investment in higher quality equipment that Hart says began what she calls her serious phase.
Six years later, she has won international awards, such as the Sony Alpha Female Grant for her photograph shown above. Most recently, in 2024, she was awarded the North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA) Top 31 Judges Choice in Conservation for a heart-breaking photograph. Full of passion, she describes the story behind the image, shown below:
“I had been working with Save People Save Wildlife, (Park City, Utah) as a contributing photographer for several years. The director actually lives near the state road (SR224) in Park City, Utah and sees the results of auto wildlife accidents weekly, particularly during seasonal migration.
The director and I were driving around trying to spot wildlife movement and activity early one morning. We were about done, not spotting too much activity, as the light was getting too harsh late in the morning. It was September, and the start of the school year had definitely increased traffic. Suddenly, she spied what looked like a patch of blood on the road. She turned the car around and pulled over to the side as we noticed a cow elk carcass. We both got out of the car, and she immediately knelt down to touch the elk and closed her eyes to grieve. It immediately became an emotion filled moment and I turned on the camera and began shooting. She stood up suddenly as she began to cry out loud. I knelt down and took more shots, making sure to get the light right and the traffic in the background. Even in that moment, I knew the shots I had taken told the story from her perspective, not so much of the dead wildlife. It was visceral for her and became so as I witnessed the moment through my viewfinder.
When returning home to edit, I tried to emphasize her a little bit more. Later when entering the NANPA yearly photo contest I really didn’t know if anyone would feel as if I did when I made the photo, but the title came easily — “The One Who Cares”.
I think the award alone was exciting and satisfying. Knowing that wildlife connectivity issues in my part of the world were important to others made a difference to me. It reminded me that my skills had gotten to the point that I could combine them with my passion for this issue and illustrate the two in a single photo made my day, week, and year! Given that, when I received an email later the day of the announcement from an admired international conservationist, a multiple award winning conservation photographer herself, telling me that photo was “the most emotional and photojournalistic image in the lot” I literally teared up. I had worked so hard, in my opinion, with limited resources for years to combine my passion and my improving skills in photography. It was one of the most validating experiences in my photography journey so far.”
