Featured Cover Photographer: Jack Jeffrey

Photographer and Hawai‘i Island resident Jack Jeffrey lives his life for the birds.

His passion for nature photography and training as a wildlife biologist have made him a powerful force in the effort to preserve and raise awareness of Hawai‘i’s endemic bird species, many of which are threatened or endangered.

Originally from Massachusetts, it was while attending school on the island of Guam, that Jack discovered photography as a way of capturing and studying natural scenery and wildlife.

“My boss at Guam Fish and Game was a photographer and gave me hints, let me borrow camera equipment. I sold a scenic photo to a local magazine and was hooked,” he says.

Jack says that working with other photographers has helped him improve his own craft. An opportunity to shoot with National Geographic nature photographers in the 1980s gave him a chance to pick up more of the technical skills that would allow him to put his passion into practice.

Not long after his first sale, he visited Hawai‘i Island, and has lived here permanently since 1974.

“Came to Hawai‘i for a two-week vacation to check out opportunities, and the rest is history.”

Jack fell in love with the many native bird species on this island, and recognizes the dire need for conservation efforts. The American Bird Conservancy calls Hawai‘i “the bird extinction capital of the world,” and Jack uses his talents and training to change this in any way he can. In fact, when he’s not working on his own photographs, he regularly leads photography and bird-watching tours through Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge.

“Hawai‘i has given me great opportunities, and enhanced my love of native birds and their habitat. It also has allowed me to give back, and to help Hawai‘i’s declining bird populations and their habitat,” says Jack, adding that his photos have been used in many books and magazines to aid in conservation and education attempts.

Jack has received national recognition for his efforts, including receiving the Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography in 2002, and being named the Hawai‘i Audubon Society Conservationist of the Year in 1998.

He says. “If my photography can educate the masses about the plight of Hawai‘i’s birds and their habitat, then I’ve done my job.”

Contact Jack Jeffrey