Wild Things All Around
Members Of Park Hill-Based Urban Wildlife Photo Club Share A Love Of The Outdoors And An Eye For Detail
Submitted by the Urban Wildlife Photo Club
For the GPHN
Their interests range from scenic landscapes to up-close macro images, from local, national and international travel photos to day-to-day observations. Their skills range from hobbyists with camera phones to professionals.
Now in its 35th year, the Urban Wildlife Photo Club meets the second Monday evening of each month at Park Hill United Methodist Church at the corner of Montview Boulevard and Glencoe Street. With a current roster of 56 members, the club’s purpose is to improve photography while having fun. Members share a love of the outdoors and a commitment to conservation and come from all over the Front Range.
Members have been recognized locally and beyond. Several have published books, been published in various other media, and won numerous awards. In 2023 eight members had 12 images in the top 250 of the Share the View International Nature Photography Contest.
The club itself is noncompetitive, which means meetings include opportunities for members to show their work in a supportive and educational setting. Members receive constructive critiques from talented (and often entertaining) professional wildlife/nature photographers. Guest speakers present instructional programs and highlight topics such as bats, bald eagles, raptor rehabilitation, bears, butterflies and beavers, as well as climate and the environment.
Besides monthly meetings, members also take photography field trips to Colorado locations. The trips range from a few hours from Denver to multi-day excursions, including to Monument Valley, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge and the Pawnee Grasslands.
The Urban Wildlife Photo Club was founded in 1988 for the sole purpose of providing photos of urban wildlife to illustrate a book. As initially detailed in a 1993 Rocky Mountain News story about the club, award-winning local photographers Wendy Shattil and Bob Rozinski were inspired by an environmental movement in London that Shattil learned of while there to accept a BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award. The movement’s goal was to enlighten city dwellers about the seldom-appreciated wildlife around them. Shattil and Rozinski wanted to implement this idea here in Colorado.
Working with several entities — including a Boulder publisher, the Colorado Wildlife Federation, the Denver Audubon Society, the Colorado Division of Wildlife, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and the Denver Zoo — they formed the Urban Wildlife Partnership. Gearing their activity toward Earth Day in 1990, the group formed a club to teach photographers the skills to find overlooked opportunities in the city.
Members’ images were published in a 1990 book, Close to Home: Colorado’s Urban Wildlife, featuring the wildlife that is all around us.
Although the initial charter had run its course, members decided to continue with the club and broaden beyond urban wildlife to include all wildlife, nature and travel subjects. Projects have included the development of a Code of Ethics and Etiquette for Wildlife Watching and Photography (in conjunction with the Colorado Urban Wildlife Partnership), a statewide children’s art contest, and Earth Day slide shows.
The club welcomes all interested photographers. To view a current selection of photos and learn more about the club check out its website at couwpc.com.