Karabo LeBronpeter is a Botswana-based wildlife photographer, teacher, mentor, and storytelling officer for the Nkashi Trust, the local implementing arm of the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project (NGOWP).

Launched in 2021, Okavango Eternal is a partnership between the National Geographic Society and the De Beers Group to help achieve long-term, sustainable protection of the Okavango Basin and support livelihood opportunities for its communities. The partnership aims to expand and accelerate the work of Nkashi Trust and the Wild Bird Trust family of organisations underway through the NGOWP. Storytelling is a major focus of Okavango Eternal - because in order to protect the greater Okavango Basin, people need to know about it and care about it. Karabo leads Nkashi Storytelling Clubs that offer young people the opportunity to share the stories of this landscape and its people, cultures, and traditions and develop skills that can lead to sustainable livelihoods. These storytellers have shared their work with the community at the Nkashi Knowledge Centres and through the Stories of Our Land exhibition, both supported by the partnership.

Notable Links:

• Karabo LeBronpeter Instagram
• National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project (NGOWP)
• Okavango Eternal
• Stories Of Our Land Exhibition

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This episode is brought to you by:

• National Geographic Museum of Exploration - Discovery begins here.
• Muench Workshops - Photography workshops and expeditions to the coolest places on the planet.

Follow Richard Bernabe:

Substack: https://richardbernabe.substack.com

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Landscape photographer Isabella Tabacchi: Chasing Caravaggio Through the Shadows, The Tenebroso Landscape, and Creating Emotional Intensity.

Isabella Tabacchi is an Italian landscape photographer who captures the essence of nature in all its majesty. Specializing in landscape photography from around the world, Isabella is renowned for her ability to transform ordinary scenes into highly emotional and dreamlike photos.

Isabella's awards include the prestigious International Landscape Photographer of the Year (ILPOTY) and the Moscow International Foto Awards (MIFA), Siena Awards, Xposure Awards, DJI SkyPixel Annual Contest and she's been published on National Geographic. She is also a Hasselblad Heroine.

Notable Links:

Isabella Tabacchi Website

Isabella Tabacchi Instagram

The Tree of Life Image

This episode is brought to you by:

• Muench Workshops - Photography workshops and expeditions to the coolest places on the planet.
• Kase Filters - My listeners can get 10% off the Kase Filters Amazon page when they visit. beyondthelens.fm/kase and use coupon code BERNABE10

Follow Richard Bernabe:

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Dr. Diane Boyd is a world-renowned wildlife biologist who has spent four decades studying and advocating for wolves in the wilds of Montana near Glacier National Park. When she started in the 1970s, she was the only female biologist in the United States researching and radio-collaring wild wolves.

A Woman Among Wolves: My Journey Through Forty Years of Wolf Recovery, winner of a 2025 National Outdoor Book Award, is the captivating story of Diane Boyd's work as a wildlife biologist studying wolves. Often alone in remote northern Montana, she encounters cougars, grizzly bears, and, of course, wolves.

Notable Links:

Diane Boyd Website

Diane Boyd Instagram

A Woman Among Wolves: My Journey Through Forty Years of Wolf Recovery

This episode is brought to you by:

• Muench Workshops - Photography workshops and expeditions to the coolest places on the planet.
• Kase Filters - My listeners can get 10% off the Kase Filters Amazon page when they visit. beyondthelens.fm/kase and use coupon code BERNABE10

Follow Richard Bernabe:

Substack: https://richardbernabe.substack.com

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Photographer David duChemin: Thinking Inside the Box for Transformative Creative Breakthroughs, the Virtue of Imperfection, and Finding Your Magic.

David duChemin is a Vancouver Island-based photographer, author, educator, and avid traveler who has published eight books and spent much of his three-decade career teaching others to make creative photographs all across the world.

Richard asks David about the content in his newest book, Light, Space & Time: Essays on Camera Craft and Creativity. Some of the topics discussed include self-knowledge, vision, intention, purpose, expression, and the virtue of imperfection. David explains how he made the transition to photographing wildlife and why he doesn't chase likes on social media.

Notable Links:

David duChemin website

David duChemin Instagram

Light, Space & Time: Essays on Camera Craft and Creativity on Amazon

This episode is brought to you by:

• Muench Workshops - Photography workshops and expeditions to the coolest places on the planet.
• Luminar Neo - Try Luminar Neo today at skylum.com, and use promo code "RICHARD" for a 15% discount, just for my listeners.
• Kase Filters - My listeners can get 10% off the Kase Filters Amazon page when they visit. beyondthelens.fm/kase and use coupon code BERNABE10

Follow Richard Bernabe:

Substack: https://richardbernabe.substack.com

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bernabephoto

Books That Matter for Photographers: John Szarcowski and ‘The Photographer’s Eye’ — The Thing Itself, The Detail, The Frame, Time, and Vantage Point

In this episode of Beyond the Lens, Richard revisits John Szarkowski's 1966 classic The Photographer's Eye for the latest episode in the Books That Matter series. Szarkowski spent nearly thirty years as Director of Photography at MoMA, studying thousands of images across every era and genre. What he discovered was a quiet internal logic that the best photographs share, regardless of style or subject.

Richard breaks down all five of Szarkowski's core themes, including the tethering of photography to reality, the power of isolation and detail, and why a camera is, at its heart, an instrument of selection rather than invention.

Notable Links:

• John Szarcowski
• The Photographer's Eye
• Beyond The Lens Episode 106: Steven Pressfield and 'The War of Art'
• The Thing Itself essay on Substack
• The Frame essay on Substack

This episode is brought to you by:

• Muench Workshops - Photography workshops and expeditions to the coolest places on the planet.
• Luminar Neo - Try Luminar Neo today at skylum.com, and use promo code "RICHARD" for a 15% discount, just for my listeners.
• Kase Filters - My listeners can get 10% off the Kase Filters Amazon page when they visit. beyondthelens.fm/kase and use coupon code BERNABE10

Follow Richard Bernabe:

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bernabephoto

Photographer Ami Vitale: National Geographic Explorer at Large on Przewalski's Horses, Jane Goodall's Legacy, and Finding Hope in the Face of Extinction.

Ami Vitale is a National Geographic photographer, documentary filmmaker, writer, and a newly-named national Geographic Explorer at Large who has traveled to more than 100 countries. She began her career as a photo editor for the Associated Press before becoming a contract photographer with National Geographic. A six-time World Press Photo award winner, she has also received the Daniel Pearl Award for Outstanding Reporting, the Lucie Humanitarian Award, and was named Magazine Photographer of the Year at the International Photographer of the Year awards. She is a Nikon Ambassador, a Royal Photographic Society Honorary Fellow, the author of the bestselling book Panda Love, and the founder and Executive Director of Vital Impacts, a nonprofit that has raised millions of dollars to support conservation projects worldwide. She is based in Montana.

Notable Links:

• Ami Vitale Website
• Ami Vitale Instagram
• Vital Impacts
• Przewalski’s Horses Story for Nat Geo
• Jane Goodall Institute
• Roots and Shoots
• BioRescue Project
• Beyond The Lens Interview with Ami Vitale, Episode 53, January 10, 2024 on Apple Podcasts

*****

This episode is brought to you by:

• National Geographic Museum of Exploration - Discovery begins here.
• Muench Workshops - Photography workshops and expeditions to the coolest places on the planet.
• Luminar Neo - Try Luminar Neo today at skylum.com, and use promo code "RICHARD" for a 15% discount, just for my listeners.
• Kase Filters - My listeners can get 10% off the Kase Filters Amazon page when they visit. beyondthelens.fm/kase and use coupon code BERNABE10

Follow Richard Bernabe:

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Babak Tafreshi, National Geographic Photographer on Solar Eclipses on All Seven Continents, Art of the Night Sky, and a World United Under One Roof.

Babak Tafreshi is a National Geographic photographer, science communicator, and founder of The World at Night, an international project dedicated to documenting and protecting the night sky.

In this episode, Babak shares what it was like growing up in post-revolution Iran and how a feeling of isolation drove him toward the stars. We talk about the four elements of a great photograph and which two most photographers consistently get wrong, the meticulous planning behind a single night sky image, and why light pollution is far more than an inconvenience for photographers. It's a public health crisis and an ecological emergency. We also get into the alarming and largely unregulated rise of commercial satellite constellations and what they mean for the future of the night sky as a shared human heritage.

Notable Links:

Babak Tafreshi Website
Babak Tafreshi Instagram
The World at Night
National Geographic

*****

This episode is brought to you by:

• National Geographic Museum of Exploration - Discovery begins here.

• Luminar Neo - Try Luminar Neo today at skylum.com, and use promo code "RICHARD" for a 15% discount, just for my listeners.

• Kase Filters - My listeners can get 10% off the Kase Filters Amazon page when they visit. beyondthelens.fm/kase and use coupon code BERNABE10

Follow Richard Bernabe:

Substack: https://richardbernabe.substack.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bernabephoto/

Twitter/X: https://x.com/bernabephoto

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bernabephoto

Travel, Landscape, and Bird Photography with Deborah Sandidge.

Deborah Sandidge is an American Travel, Landscape, and Wildlife Photographer, a Nikon USA Ambassador, and KelbyOne Instructor. Deborah is the author of Digital Infrared Photography and has collaborated with the Nikon Learn and Explore site demonstrating star and star trail photography, along with long exposure photography.

In this episode, Deborah and Richard explore the creative tension between still photography and video, how to find emotional resonance in birds as a photography subject, why technical mastery is the price of admission for genuine creative freedom, and what does it take to be a professional photographer in 2026. Deborah also shares how she reads animal behavior to anticipate moments before they happen and what it really takes to become a brand ambassador.

Notable Links:
Deborah Sandidge Website
Deborah Sandidge Instagram

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This episode is brought to you by Luminar Neo, an AI powered photo editor.
Try Luminar Neo today at skylum.com, and use promo code "RICHARD" for a 15% discount, just for my listeners.

*****

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Follow Richard Bernabe:

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