When I bought my first camera, I knew nothing about photography. I was full of ambition and excitement, but my knowledge of the craft was lacking. I always joke that if you take a photo of a person, they’ll ask how they look in it—but when you take a photo of an animal, they don’t ask how they look. For me, that meant I could practice on animals as much as I wanted without worrying about “taking a bad photo.” I learned everything I needed to know about photography through the lens of wildlife photography. What started as a means to an end soon became the end in itself. Now, a good day for me is one where I get to go out and find myself in nature, surrounded by animals.