‘Wild Eye’ Magazine’s Debut Issue Demonstrates Commitment to Conservation and Nature Photography

Although landscape, nature, and wildlife photographers lamented the loss of Outdoor Photographer earlier this year, Wild Eye has stepped in to not only fill the void but chart a new, modern direction for a nature photography publication. The first issue — digital only, for now — recently landed alongside a new website and a promise for a bright future.

‘Wild Eye’ Team Took a Beat Before Launching Its New Nature Photography Publication

While Wild Eye‘s editor-in-chief, Dan Havlik, and publisher, Jason Bradley, have ties to Outdoor Photographer, both are adamant that Wild Eye is its own thing. Although the Outdoor Photographer influence is evident for longtime OP readers, Havlik, Bradley, and the rest of the team are entirely untethered to the past.

Although there is a clear inspiration and connections to Outdoor Photographer‘s illustrious past, the Wild Eye team had a brilliant opportunity to go back to the drawing board about what a nature photography publication could be and should be in the modern age. Publishing is a challenging, expensive space, so Wild Eye is digital only for now.

This image by longtime ‘Outdoor Photographer’ contributor Amy Gulick is part of her story, ‘The Journey: Lessons Learned From a Fish,’ featured in the first issue of ‘Wild Eye’

“When we took this pause to reevaluate what we’re going to do and start a new publication, it allowed me and other folks to reassess what the landscape for magazines is like,” Havlik tells PetaPixel.

“And as much as I loved Outdoor Photographer and I loved working for them, Jason and I were able to think from a higher point of view, think, ‘Let’s do this a little differently.’ Why not? We’re not acquiring any debt, we can try a few things, we can experiment, and we kind of took it from there and everyone brought their different ideas in to result in this new brand.”

This time to establish a brand and vision without being under the gun to meet the frantic publishing schedule of days past provided everyone a chance to sit down and consider what they wanted to do with Wild Eye.

Havlik and Bradley opted for a focus on the why of nature photography — investigating the stories that matter, sharing the visuals that tell those stories, and explaining to readers why they should care.

‘Let’s do this a little differently.’

“We want to have [Wild Eye] more focused on well-curated portfolios — beautiful work — with an emphasis on conservation photography,” Bradley explains. “Beyond landscapes and wildlife and adventure travel, we want to have a lot of underwater photography. We want to tell stories about anything in the world of nature.”

On Conservation and the ‘Why’ Behind Great Nature Photos

As demonstrated in the first issue, the team is committed to the conservation and science angle of nature photography.

Photo by Paul Nicklen

“My photographic background is underwater stuff. Prior to that, I was studying to do marine mammal biology,” Bradley explains. “I worked in marine mammal rehab for almost a decade and have always had a strong leaning toward conservation issues. I’ve always leaned toward that, so this is my opportunity to build a community around that.”

“I want to beat that [conservation] drum more than former publications did because these are important issues we’re dealing with today,” he adds.

The adventure travel, how-to, and gear content that Outdoor Photographer was known for will also be part of Wild Eye‘s content vision, but to a lesser extent in the magazine. Some of this type of content, plus tutorials and workshops, will live only online on the new Wild Eye website, WE Online.

For now, this online content is all free, but some of it will eventually be gated behind a subscription. The team’s focus is building a robust, passionate audience; paywalls will come later.

Some of this change in content is due to the magazine’s quarterly format. Bradley and Havlik want to ensure that the magazine primarily features timeless content, as, unlike a traditional magazine that hits newsstands every few weeks or monthly, Wild Eye aims to be something people keep and return to over time. Great photos and stories never go out of date, after all.

A big part of that vision of content permanence is the planned move to a high-quality print magazine.

“I feel that as the world goes more virtual and digital, there’s a need for something tangible,” Havlik says.

“In the world of photography, look at what film is doing,” Bradley adds. “It’s going through an enormous resurgence.”

Photo by David Duchemin

While a frequent publication targeting widespread adoption must work very hard to keep costs down, Wild Eye has no intention of compromising in terms of quality concerning the content or the planned print magazine.

“One of things about me, for better or worse, is that I’m a snobby photographer that runs my own print lab,” Bradley says, who runs a business making fine art prints for others and himself.

“So having a magazine that would be a poor quality print would mess with me. But that stuff comes at a premium. The way we designed the magazine is to be something our audience would cherish and collect.”

“I totally agree,” Havlik adds. “The value of a print is definitely high, and the quality is so important, particularly the paper quality, the reproduction of images.”

While Wild Eye‘s first issue is digital only, it was designed for print — to mimic the flow of a magazine. The user experience of enjoying the digital issue is still something the team is working on, and they hope that future digital issues will feel more like a magazine to read, rather than the extended scroll interface of the current issue.

The First Issue of ‘Wild Eye’ Emphasizes Beautiful Photos and Impactful Stories

Speaking of that first issue, Havlik and Bradley are rightly proud of it. It’s a brilliant 100-plus page issue with very few ads — the future of ads in the magazine is still under close inspection.

The cover story by Cynthia Hayes, “In Pursuit of Good Photographs,” investigates famous conservation photographer Paul Nicklen’s work and his endless pursuit of images that are as visually stunning as they are ethical and impactful.

Photo by Paul Nicklen as part of Cynthia Haynes’ ‘Wild Eye’ cover story, ‘In Pursuit of Good Photographs’

Another feature, “The Photographic Landscape,” written by Ted Orland, a former assistant to famed late landscape photographer Ansel Adams, demonstrates admiration and respect for landscape photography and features beautiful photos.

“Ted was Ansel Adams’ assistant for many years and is a brilliant photographer and photography instructor,” Bradley says. “Ted’s a really special guy.”

Photo of Ansel Adams by Ted Orland

Bill Sawalich’s article on contemporary photographer and activist Reuben Wu, “Unearthly Light,” is an intimate conversation and inspection of Wu’s work and artistic purpose.

While these features are more about established, renowned photographers, the Wild Eye issue also features some of the educational content that longtime Outdoor Photographer readers missed as soon as the magazine folded. Erin Babnik’s article, “Getting the Look,” helps readers develop style in their outdoor photography.

Photo by Erin Babnik as part of her feature story, ‘Getting the Look’

The primary point here is that the first issue of Wild Eye is visually stunning, thoughtfully arranged, and full of really compelling and exciting nature photography content.

“We love the way everything is laid out. We love the design, we love the sections,” Bradley explains, adding that the feedback and reception to the first issue has been “superb.”

“We’re really proud of it.”

Photo by Ted Orland

The First Issue Is Free for Everyone

Again, the first issue of Wild Eye is available now and entirely free to download and enjoy. As a special introductory offer, people can sign up to receive future issues for just $29 for the first year, a $20 savings compared to the eventual $49 annual subscription cost.

The first issue of ‘Wild Eye’ magazine is digital only and available to download for free. | Cover photo by Paul Nicklen

“Check us out. If you like what you see, download the first issue for free. If you like that, subscribe. And if you want to subscribe, tell your friends who we are. Even if they aren’t outdoor photographers, they might appreciate the photography and stories on display,” Havlik says.

As an exclusive little teaser for PetaPixel, Bradley and Havlik add that the next issue, slated to arrive in January, will feature a cover story about Art Wolfe, one of the most famous nature photographers of all time.

“We’re going to talk about all kinds of interesting things with him and feature some incredible photography,” Havlik exclaims.

“We have a lot of fantastic photographers lined up for the next several issues,” Bradley adds. “We’re proud of who we have lined up.”

Image credits: All images courtesy of Wild Eye. Photographers for featured images are credited in the individual image captions.