About Donna
A little about Donna Bourdon-
Donna Bourdon is a former healthcare executive who left corporate life to pursue her lifelong ambition to share the beauty of wildlife through her lens.
She combines her love of travel, wildlife and photography to create an artistic expression of the simple beauty all around us.
Her approach with all projects is to capture the spirit and drama of the wild through the photographic medium, expressing not only the beauty, but also the hardships and challenges that are being faced by wildlife each day in their ever-changing world.
Donna has received critical acclaim for many of her works. She received a Highly Honored award from Nature’s Best Windland Rice International Photography in 2017 for her image of an osprey in flight. The image was taken just 30 miles from her home in Tennessee, demonstrating that dramatic images can be created right in your backyard.
In 2018 her image of a roseate spoonbill flying into the rookery and displaying the “orchestra wing position” was selected by BigPicture Natural World Photography to go on exhibit in San Francisco at the California Academy of Sciences. The exhibit then traveled to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, TN for a 2019 exhibition.
She received a second Highly Honored award from Nature’s Best in 2019 for an image of a silvery grebe mother feeding its chick, taken in the Falkland Islands.
Other awards include Awards of Merit from the Photographic Society of America, Kowa Photography Awards 2019, Top 40 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2019, the Photographic Society of Chattanooga and Honorable Mention 2020 from the Wildlife Federation of America. Award of merit Bird Photographer of the year 2022.
Publications include the cover of Sierra Magazine/Winter 2023. Nature’s Best Magazine 2017 and 2019, Birds and Blooms August/Sept 2020, Tennessee Wildlife Federation calendars for 2017, 2019, 2020 (cover), Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency 2018-2019 calendar, Tennessee Aquarium Riverwatch Fall 2018. Her images of an eagle in flight from Homer, Alaska and three Magellanic penguins from the Falkland Islands will be included in the Wildlife Federation of America’s Christmas card collection for 2021.
In addition, Donna’s images have been featured numerous times on NatGeo Your Shot, National Geographic and BBC Photographer of the Day Instagram posts.
To see more of Donna’s work visit her website HERE.
“Honestly, it was one of the best wildlife photographic experiences of my life and I feel like I was able to capture some of the best images ever as well. On a scale of “1-10” I would rate it a NINE - only because there should always be room for improvement and I feel like you and Donna as instructors and myself as an aspiring photographer should always push ourselves to improve and grow as we move through life.
With that said, it was about as perfect of an experience as you could ask for AND a very challenging experience, especially for those not comfortable with capturing birds in flight. I happen to have a LOT of experience in this area so it was just pure FUN for me - I was comfortable with my camera settings, had a plan for every shoot as to what I wanted to focus on capturing, etc, etc. There were certain individuals in our group for which it was a bit intimidating and for those individuals, Donna was FANTASTIC in working with them and helping them achieve that comfort level with their equipment and associated techniques required to capture quality images. Not only would she work with them one on one in the field, but she would also always be calling out to the group regarding the light and setting adjustments as well as making sure that we were in the right positions to capture the best images. She spent time with those that needed it the most and let others of us pretty much just do our thing, but at the same time was always nearby if we had questions. ”
“Donna Bourdon’s presentation to the Olympia Camera Club, Washington State
Message: I viewed your presentation a few days ago and have had time to digest it. A wonderful job - well-organized, thorough, and hardly an extraneous word or even an empty moment. For me, it was a review of some things, a reminder of some, and an introduction to some that were new; all in all, an inspiration to consider every aspect of making a picture. Thank you!”
An article written by Donna Bourdon for the Camera Club Council of Tennessee which publishes an award winning newsletter:
Alaska’s Winter Eagles
Sitting on my porch, sweating out the steamy hot “dog days of summer,” I dream of the crisp winter air of Homer, Alaska. There is nothing quite like Alaska in the winter, especially Homer. Most people think of this quaint town as a summer destination, and for good reason. It is known as the halibut fishing capital of the world as well as a jumping-off point (by float plane) for bear viewing. But winter is magical especially if you are a bird photographer.
In years past, the eagles of Homer were made famous by Jean Keene, also known as the “Eagle Lady.” Every day beginning in the late 1970s she would feed up to 500 pounds of scraps from the local fish processing facility to the wild eagles. Within a few years, her backyard bird feeder was attracting 200 of our country’s national symbols each winter. She was both praised and criticized for her actions. In 2004 she received the Lifetime Meritorious Service Award from the Bald Eagle Foundation. But other environmental groups were more critical. The practice ceased with her death in 2009. During the winter months, the eagles continue to migrate to Kachemak Bay due to the abundance of natural food resources in the area. And so, I must go.
Every February I spend a week on the Homer Spit taking clients out by boat to photograph the eagles in their winter home. We go out at first sunlight, which is not until 9:00 a.m. so the mornings are rather leisurely compared to most wildlife photographic expeditions. No 4:00 a.m. wake-up calls on this trip.
On other days we go out later in the afternoon and take advantage of sunset light. The Kachemak Bay crossing takes about 20 minutes. Usually, this is a calm event, but the waves can kick up and give some early morning excitement.
Once we are on the leeward side of the bay, the water is cool, calm, and collected and the photography is red hot! If we get really lucky, the snow begins to fall. The eagles come in very close, and we often photograph with a short 70- 200mm f 2.8 lens. The speed of the lens is more important than the long focal length because the days are often overcast and gray.
We need a high shutter speed because the acrobatics of these big raptors in flight are unsurpassed. It is breathtaking to be able to photograph them banking and inverting “on a dime.” There is no better place to be able to photograph every possible flight position and wing position. At times there are 30-50 birds in the air showing off their prowess.
We also have ample time to be on the ground with them. They are very tolerant and allow us within a few feet to make intimate portraits. And if that isn’t enough, there are times when we can also photograph short-eared owls, gray owls, rosy finches, redpolls, and moose. Alaska teems with life in the winter. And so, on this hot July afternoon, I am dreaming of cooler days on the Homer Spit. If you would like to join me on one of these amazing adventures, just get in touch.
Donna’s Gear
Canon R5 Mirrorless Camera
Canon 1DX II Camera
Canon 5d Mark IV Camera
Canon RF 70-200 F/2.8 lens
Canon RF 100-300mm f/2.8 lens
Canon RF 100-500 lens
Canon RF 400mm f/2.8 lens
Canon EF 600 F4 II lens
Canon EF 11-24 lens
Canon EF 24-105 F/4 lens
Canon adaptor (EF-RF)
Canon EF 1.4 III teleconventer
Canon EF 2.0 III teleconverter
Canon RF 1.4 teleconverter
Sony a9 II
Sony 200-600MM Lens
Sony 1.4 teleconverter
Gitzo GT5543L carbon fiber tripod
Mongoose Fourth Generation M 3.6 Gimbal Head
Flex Shooter Pro Arca Ball Head
Speedlight 600 EX
Better Beamer
Think Tank Glass Limo Backpack (2)
Think Tank Urban Disguise 60 Classic
Think Tank Airport International V3 Photo Bag
Think Tank Airport Airstream Photo Bag
Think Tank Urban Approach 15 Mirrorless Photo Bag