Contact: Wendy Shattil
wendy@dancingpelican.com
INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED COLORADO PHOTOGRAPHER DONATES 100,000 PHOTOS TO DENVER MUSEUM OF NATURE AND SCIENCE
© Wendy Shattil
DENVER, COLO. – Award-winning nature photographer Wendy Shattil completed the donation of 100,000 nature images to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (DMNS) on Monday, Oct. 14, from her and her late partner Bob Rozinski’s vast collection of imagery and lengthy career as well-known nature photographers. To celebrate this achievement and milestone in the process of creating one of the most extensive image collections for a museum in the U.S., Shattil gave a presentation on Monday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. at DMNS.
Titled “A Journey of Conservation and Wildlife Imagery,” Shattil told stories about and displayed photos from the collection, including her three largest conservation projects – peregrine falcon recovery in Denver, water in the San Luis Valley and transforming Rocky Mountain Arsenal into a national wildlife refuge. She also discussed the ups and downs in her 43-year career as a successful nature photographer and provide tips for others interested in conservation photography.
“The image collection project started with the museum before COVID,” said Shattil. “From the beginning, our goal was to find meaningful subjects and images that others weren’t getting, and this collection represents those unique views. The San Luis Valley was the first place that caught our eye in 1983 to do something that had not been done. It was like a new frontier.”
Working together since 1981, Shattil and Rozinski shared a love for many things – nature, conservation, photography and each other.
They built a lifelong bond that took the pair on adventures around the world to document wildlife habitats, but it was their shared love for the landscapes and wildlife of the West that led to their work in conservation projects in this region.
Red fox portrait, Grand Prize winner of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition
As they partnered with numerous organizations on conservation projects throughout the West, Shattil and Rozinski, who passed in 2016, were instrumental in permanently protecting habitat for wildlife and natural resources.
One such project focused on Rocky Mountain Arsenal. By documenting the value of the land formerly used as a chemical weapons and incendiary munitions plant during World War II and later to produce agricultural chemicals in Commerce City, Colo., the pair visually presented the unique aspects of the wide variety of wildlife on the 17,000 acres east of Denver. The effort led to the establishment of Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, one of the largest urban wildlife refuges in the U.S.
In addition to their conservation work, Shattil and Rozinski have won numerous awards for their photography and projects. Just a few of their accomplishments include winning the Philip Hyde Grant for environmental photography, winning the Texas Valley Land Fund $100,000 photo contest, both are founders and Fellows of the International League of Conservation Photography, and served as Research Associates for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
Beyond their joint accolades, Shattil has also been awarded the Grand Prize in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest – the first woman awarded this prestigious honor, which is considered the equivalent of an Academy Award in the world of wildlife photography – from the Natural History Museum in London, and the North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA) presented her the Lifetime Achievement in Nature Photography Award last year.
