About
Naturalist with a camera
I am Yvonne Karnath, a wildlife photographer, Texas Master Naturalist and Master Birder.
My story
How it started
I grew up in Germany's Ruhr Valley and today I live in Austin, Texas.
On New Year's Eve 2015 I set out to travel, and I have since visited 52 countries on all seven continents, from the rainforests of Central and South America to the ice of Antarctica. For fifteen years I have written about those journeys on my German travel blog, Willas Cherry Bomb, and I am the author of a travel guide.
Everywhere I went, the wildlife stayed with me longest. In Central Texas I found a place where I can watch the same birds through the seasons: nesting egrets in spring, hummingbirds at the salvia in summer, waxwings stripping berries in winter.
As a Texas Master Naturalist and Master Birder, I now combine both sides: the traveler who knows how to find a place, and the naturalist who knows what lives there.
Credentials
What stands behind the pictures
Good wildlife photography starts with knowing the animal: where it feeds, when it sings, how close is too close. My training as a naturalist and birder is the foundation of every image I make.
Certified member of the Balcones Canyonlands Chapter. The Texas Master Naturalist program trains volunteers in natural history, ecology and conservation, and is sponsored by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and Texas Parks and Wildlife.
Advanced training in bird identification by sight and sound, behavior, migration and habitat.
Field ethics
How I work
The welfare of the animal always comes before the photograph. These rules apply to all of my work:
- Keep a distance that lets the animal carry on undisturbed.
- No baiting, and no call playback near nests or at sensitive sites.
- Leave nests, roosts and vegetation exactly as we found them.
- Respect private property, closures and seasonal restrictions.
- Share the locations of rare or endangered species, such as the Golden-cheeked Warbler, with care.