From owls to otters, Jeff Ward's camera captures a variety of wildlife

Photographer Jeff Ward poses with a Eurasian Eagle Owl in Columbus, Ohio, at a raptor falconry demonstration.

Jeff Ward has no formal photography training, but his images of wildlife are every bit as stunning as you would find in National Geographic.

 The Indianapolis native calls himself a wildlife enthusiast who didn’t get into photography seriously until around 25 years ago when he was in his 40s.

“I’ve always had an interest in photography and had cameras going back 40 years when I would take photos of auto races, air shows and family members. But I never pinned it down to wildlife until 20 years ago,” he says. “I always tell people I shoot everything from bison to butterflies – anything in front of my lens is fair game.”

With more than 400 species of birds in Indiana, a wide variety of them find their way into his collection. “I’m more limited with mammals with only around 60

species in Indiana, and if you take out bats and mice you’re really down to about 25 species. I shoot snakes, frogs, turtles, lizards, dragonflies, and I especially like otters.”

And owls. He has photographed so many different kinds of owls that one writer called him “the owl whisperer.” Why is he drawn to owls?

“Owls definitely have personality,” Ward explains. “Each species is unique in its

Ward shot this short-eared owl in rural Tippecanoe County, Indiana.

behavior and they’re very much individuals as to where to find them and the activities they’re involved in. There are 19 species in North America and I’ve photographed 11 of them.

“One of the best experiences I had was in a city park where snow was falling and I watched a barred owl hunt successfully four times in a row. They’re fun to watch and they vocalize in the middle of the day. The large ones, like the great horned and barred owls, roost on branches in the daytime especially in winter. They’re definitely my favorite when thousands of owls come to Indiana to winter from November to June. My friends help to spot their locations.”

Ward travels to several places around Indiana for his subjects and also got some unique photos from a family reunion trip to Colorado, where he visited Rocky Mountain National Park. There he was able to capture photos of elk, marmots, pika (a small mouselike critter) and mountain goats.

After graduating from North Central High School, Ward spent several years in the Army. When he got out in 1994, Indianapolis was just starting a park ranger program, which he joined.

“I was a ranger for about seven-and-a-half years, then switched to environmental education with Indy Parks & Recreation, which held programs for adults and kids,” says Ward. They taught about birds of prey, reptiles, birds’ and mammals’ bone structure and other subjects, all self-taught just like his photography.

“I put together a 24-foot trailer hooked up with lights, heat and air-conditioning where we installed interactive nature displays. We took it to area schools and public events like Earth Day and the state fair. It was a good way to introduce people to what Indy Parks offered in regard to nature programming,” Ward recalls.

Otters are another photographic passion for Ward, who says that the mammal disappeared from Indiana in the 1940s and was reintroduced in 1995 by the

The North American River Otter was photographed at Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge, Seymour, Indiana.

Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

“I’ve been going to a wildlife refuge in Seymour (Indiana) to photograph them,” he says.

Being retired gives Ward more time to work on his hobby. He doesn’t sell his prints but has had a few of them published, including a bald eagle photo taken at Eagle Creek Park that appeared in The Indianapolis Star.

“When I look at a photo, I don’t do a lot of editing. I might take out shadows and fix contrasts, but I want the photo to preserve my memory of the actual picture. I resisted switching from film to digital for a long time. I use a Nikon and have two serious cameras with four or five lenses that I use. I shoot on the cheap,” he laughs.

To see many of Ward’s photos, visit his facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/jeffrey.ward.919237

This Purple Gallinule photo was taken at Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge in Seymour, Indiana.