Prior to finding photography, I was pursuing a career in show business (as a comedian and ventriloquist, believe it or not). Shortly after purchasing a DSLR to create short videos, I began turning my lens on wildlife. Used to being in front of the camera, my passion rapidly became behind the lens.
In my past career, I lent my voice to inanimate objects. Since dedicating my life to wildlife conservation photography, I’ve given my voice to elevating wild subjects (and the humans who are helping them).
Photographing with passion and a sense of humor, my self-produced photographic pieces have been published in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, and more. My work with camera trapping has been featured via video on The Verge and Science Friday.
Ultimately, I aspire for my photographs to evoke emotion, educate viewers and inspire positive change.
PUBLICATIONS
The Washington Post
August 2023. “Opinion | Look at a moth — and find a wonder that’s been waiting all along”
The Guardian
February 2023. “The pristine US forest threatened by a pipeline – in pictures”
Sierra Magazine (online)
January 2023. “Wild Kentucky Under Proposed Pipeline Threat: A photographer explores a private forest fighting big oil and gas”
Feature Shoot
January 2023. “This Overlooked But Magical Kentucky Forest Deserves Our Protection“
The Wall Street Journal
December 2022. “Beneath The Bird Feeder: With hidden cameras, wildlife conservation photographer Carla Rhodes captures birds gone wild”
Cornell Lab of Ornithology – Living Bird Magazine
December 2022. “Camera Traps Are Like Candid Camera For Your Backyard Birds”
National Wildlife Magazine
December 2022. “Animal Attraction: With help from a remote camera, a photographer captures a stream of delightful visitors beneath her bird feeder”
Science Friday
August 2022. “Wildlife Selfies Beneath The Bird Feeder”
The Guardian
July 2022. “The magnificent moths of the Catskill mountains – in pictures”
Professional Photographer.
July 2022. “Hiding in Plain Sight: Carla Rhodes is on a wildlife conservation mission.” Online and Print.
BIRD. Hoxton Mini Press (UK)
June 2022. ‘New photography of the Bird.’ Written by Gemma Padley. 192pp, hardback, 130 x 180mm. Features two photos from “Beneath The Bird Feeder.” “From wild parrots in the streets of Tokyo to prize pigeons outside New York, this book brings together the world’s best contemporary photography of birds and asks us to look anew at these mysterious winged creatures in all their complexity and majesty.” View Page Preview
GEO (France)
May 2022. “Bien Vu: La visite surprise du cardinal / Well Seen: The Cardinal’s Surprise Visit.” A two-page spread in Geo (France)n° 519 featuring a Northern Cardinal from “Beneath The Bird Feeder.” View Print Version
Greenpeace Magazin (Germany)
March 2022. “Unter ihren Fittichen / Under Her Wing.” Four-page spread in Issue 3.22 of Germany’s largest environmental magazine, featuring endangered Greater Adjutants and the women who are saving them. View Online Preview
The Verge. February 2022. “How To Photograph Wildlife You Can’t See.”
The Guardian
December 2021. “Delightful and surprising: dawn to dusk beneath the bird feeder – in pictures.” Online | Print
Audubon Magazine
December 2021. “These Scrappy Photos Capture the Action-Packed World Beneath a Bird Feeder.“
National Wildlife Magazine
December 2021. “Seeing The Gem.“
Colossal
November 2021. “‘Beneath the Bird Feeder’ Documents the Spectacular Wildlife Visiting a Wintertime Food Source“
SmithsonianMagazine.com
July 2021. “These Moths Are So Gorgeous They ‘Put Butterflies To Shame’.”
The New York Times
May 2021. “A Biologist, an Outlandish Stork and the Army of Women Trying to Save It.” A version of this article appeared in print on May 30, 2021, Section A, Page 13 of the New York edition with the headline: “In India, the Effort To Protect a Stork Is Led by Women.”
NowThis News
April 2021. “Wildlife Biologist Leads Army of Women to Save Endangered Bird.”
The New York Times
March 2021. “A Biologist, an Outlandish Stork and the Army of Women Trying to Save It.”
bioGraphic.com
February 2021. “From Reviled to Adored.”
SmithsonianMagazine.com
November 2020. “View Amazing Photos and Video of a Turkey Dust Bathing.”
SmithsonianMagazine.com
February 2020. On assignment for SmithsonianMagazine.com (in partnership with The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel) covering the flora and fauna of Lee County, Florida, USA.
BBC NEWS
February, 2020. Photo of Big Dipper fireflies in the Catskill Mountains, New York was featured in the BBC News story, “Fireflies face extinction risk – and tourists are partly to blame.“
THE URBAN AUDUBON
Summer 2018 and Summer 2019. Cover images for New York City’s chapter of Audubon Society’s printed magazine.
➤ View covers 1 | 2
PHOTOGRAPHIC HIGHLIGHTS
BERNHEIM’S 2022 ENVIRONMENTAL ARTIST IN RESIDENCE
February 2022. Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest’s 2022 Environmental Artist in Residence Recipient.
BIRD PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
September 2021. Winner of the “Conservation Award” for ‘Beautiful Scavengers: Saving Endangered Greater Adjutants.‘ Chosen out of 22,000 entries. Six photos from this project are featured in the Bird Photographer of the Year: Collection 6 book.
August 2019. Judge Commended photo in Garden and Urban Birds category and shortlisted entries in Wildlife Worldwide’s Inspirational Encounters category. Chosen from 13,500 entries submitted from 63 countries. Photo featured in the Bird Photographer of the Year: Collection 4 book.
NATURE’S BEST PHOTOGRAPHY INTERNATIONAL AWARDS
April 2021. Highly Honored: Conservation Story in the 2020 Nature’s Best Photography International Awards competition. Chosen from more than 30,000 submissions from photographers in 75 countries.
WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
January 2021. Final round, Photojournalism Category in the prestigious Wildlife Photographer Of The Year competition. Chosen out of over 50,000 international entries, of which only 4,845 were selected by the jury for the Final Round.
March 2019. Final round, Portrait Category in the prestigious Wildlife Photographer Of The Year competition. Chosen out of 41,130 international entries, of which only 4,154 were selected by the jury for the Final Round.
NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION
November 2020. Honorable mention in the 49th National Wildlife Federation’s Photo Contest. More than 3,200 people submitted nearly 29,800 images.
NORTH AMERICAN NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY ASSOCIATION
November 2020. Top 100 photo (Conservation) in NANPA’s 2021 Showcase. Over 3,760 images were entered.
November 2019. First Runner-Up (Conservation Category) and Top 100 photo in the NANPA’s 2020 Showcase. Over 3,800 images were entered into the competition.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ONLINE
July 2020. Photo featured on National Geographic’s social media outlets, including Facebook and Twitter.
May 2019. Photo featured on National Geographic’s Your Shot’s Daily Dozen photographic feature.
January 2018. Photo featured on Your Shot’s Top Shot feature including the Your Shot website and National Geographic’s social media outlets, including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Additional recognition includes numerous Editor’s Favorites on the Your Shot website.
FESTIVAL DE L’OISEAU ET DE LA NATURE -INTERNATIONAL PHOTO COMPETITION
January 2020. Special Distinction Award in the 30th Edition of the Festival de l’Oiseau et de la Nature, France. Chosen out of 4,683 international entries.
14TH JULIA MARGARET CAMERON AWARDS FOR WOMEN PHOTOGRAPHERS
November 2019. Winner: Wildlife Category (Series – Non-Pro section) and Winner: Wildlife Category (Single Image – Non-Pro section). Chosen out of over 6,240 international entries.
INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS
September, 2019. Honorable Mention in the Editorial/Press: Environmental Category for “Beautiful Scavengers” photo essay. Chosen out of over 12,000 international entries.
BIRD PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
August 2019. Judge Commended photo in Garden and Urban Birds category and shortlisted entries in Wildlife Worldwide’s Inspirational Encounters category. Chosen from 13,500 entries submitted from 63 countries. Photo featured in the Bird Photographer of the Year: Collection 4 book.
SMITHSONIAN 16TH ANNUAL PHOTO CONTEST 🏆 READERS’ CHOICE AWARD WINNER 🏆
April, 2019. Chosen out of more than 48,000 international entries and received the highest percentage of 25,000 total votes. Previously chosen as a finalist in Natural World Category, Editor’s Pick and Photo Of The Day. Winning photo was additionally published online by The Atlantic, Popular Science and The Daily Mail.
GALAPAGOS CONSERVANCY CALENDAR CONTEST
September 2018. Contest Winner. Photo featured for the month of August 2019 in printed calendar.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
CYBERTRACKER CERTIFIED TRACKER: TRACK & SIGN LEVEL I
October 2023. Internationally recognized certification emphasizing practical wildlife tracking, field skills, and knowledge of wildlife behavior and natural history.
HUDSONIA LTD
May 2023- present. Advisory Board for Hudsonia Ltd, Annandale, New York. Hudsonia’s work includes education and training of private citizens and professionals, basic and applied research on rare species and their habitats, wetlands, and estuaries, and the study of nonnative and overabundant plants and other threats to biodiversity.
FOUNDRY PHOTOJOURNALISM WORKSHOP 2022
December 2022. Alumni of the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop 2022.
HER WILD VISION INITIATIVE
November 2020 – present. Member of Her Wild Vision Initiative, “a directory of the best, most-accomplished, active women and women-identifying conservation photographers and filmmakers working in the world today.”
NORTH AMERICAN NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY ASSOCIATION
September 2019 – present. Member of the North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA). North America’s preeminent nature photography organization promotes the art and science of nature photography as a medium of communication, nature appreciation, and environmental protection while fostering excellence and ethical conduct in photographic endeavors and especially encourages responsible photography in the wild.
INTERVIEWS
June 2022. Wild & Exposed: The Nature Photographer by NANPA – 100% In The Moment with Carla Rhodes “There’s never been a better time to be a nature photographer and the animals really need us to tell their stories,” says Carla Rhodes. Carla, who was a professional comedic ventriloquist, is largely self-taught and didn’t pick up her first digital camera until 2015. Her journey toward becoming a wildlife conservation photographer and storyteller began with videos of her puppets, and moved on to snapshots of wildlife around her home in the Catskill Mountains of New York. 🔊 Listen here.
February 2022. Ginger Radio Hour “Catskills-based wildlife conservation photographer Carla Rhodes helped host Justin Maiman to discover the special qualities of the Dark-Eyed Juncos frolicking along the ground. Rhodes shared some stories from her adventures and about her pandemic photo project Beneath the Bird Feeder which played out in her own backyard. Plus, music! ” 🔊 Listen here.
June 2021. Impact: The Conservation Photography Podcast. “Getting Your First Conservation Photo Project Out To Multiple Publications: An Interview With Carla Rhodes” 🔊 Listen here.
June 2020. Impact: The Conservation Photography Podcast. “The Courage To Begin Your First Conservation Photography Project: An Interview With Carla Rhodes” 🔊 Listen here.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
May – October 2022. “Beneath The Bird Feeder.” Loveland Museum, Loveland, Colorado.
November 2021. 19th Semaines de la Photo: Biodiversite Nos Futurs, Espace des Arts, Paris, France.
March 2020. 14th Julia Margaret Cameron Award and 14th Pollux Award Exhibition, FotoNostrum, Barcelona, Spain.
February 2020. Member’s Show, Center for Photography at Woodstock, Woodstock, New York, USA.
December 2019. ARTHOUSE.NYC Presents Climate, Whitespace at Makeable, New York, New York, USA.