How to Capture Powerful Local Conservation Stories

A photographer in blue jeans and a blue hoodie crouches on a wooden boardwalk in a marshy wetland, focusing a professional camera with a long lens on a subject out of frame.
Bearing witness: Christy Frank finds a quiet moment in a local wetland to document the intricate behaviors of native wildlife.

In this episode, host Kevin Matteson talks with conservation photographer, filmmaker, and 2024 Global Field Program graduate Christy Frank. From navigating the complex agricultural tensions surrounding Lake Erie’s algal blooms to locking eyes with a wild orangutan in the canopy of Sumatra, Christy has dedicated her career to bearing witness to the natural world. But her journey didn’t start with a high-end camera or global expeditions—it started with waitressing, an entry-level DSLR, and a deep, intrinsic drive to protect the environment.

Whether you are a budding wildlife photographer or an educator looking to inspire your students, Christy’s insights offer a hopeful, actionable roadmap for using visual storytelling to make a real difference.

A headshot of Christy Frank smiling, with a blurred background of green foliage.
2024 Global Field Program graduate Christy Frank uses her lens to bridge the human-nature divide.
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3 Key Takeaways

  • Look in Your Own Backyard: You don’t need to fly halfway around the world to find impactful conservation stories. Christy’s award-winning work often centers on local issues right in her Ohio community, such as the return of piping plovers to the Lake Erie shoreline after an 83-year absence. The most powerful narratives are often the ones unfolding right outside your front door.
  • Embrace Complex Narratives Over “Villains”: When documenting environmental issues—like the nutrient runoff affecting Lake Erie—it is vital to approach the story without an agenda. Rather than painting farmers or government officials as bad guys, true ethical photography requires profound curiosity. By listening to all sides and capturing the nuance of human-nature interactions, you create a more honest and compelling story.
  • Cultivate “Stubborn Joy” and Expect to Fail: Transitioning into conservation media is a journey paved with rejections. Christy stresses the importance of not being afraid to fail. You will face unanswered pitches and harsh critiques, but if you hold onto a sense of “stubborn joy,” you can push through the setbacks and focus on the small, daily actions that drive positive change.
An aerial, top-down photograph of a body of water split by a stone pier; the water on the right is a bright, opaque lime green, while the water on the left is a deeper olive green.
A bird’s-eye view of the complex challenges facing Lake Erie, where nutrient runoff creates starkly visible algal blooms.

Hidden Gem

Don’t miss the segment where Christy talks about overcoming her natural introversion to launch a transformative photography club for urban seventh and eighth graders. By having the students alternate weekly between the roles of “scientist” and “photographer,” they designed their own bird habitat studies and learned to weave hard data into compelling visual stories.

A young orangutan hangs from a tropical vine in a dense jungle canopy, looking directly at the camera with a curious expression.
The spark that started it all: A curious young orangutan in Sumatra swings closer to investigate Christy.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Check out the full list of podcasts on our Dragonfly Conversations page.

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