The photographer
Stephanie Hiller
Wildlife photographer, conservationist, and storyteller — chasing the decisive moment in the world's wildest places.
Origin
How it began
I grew up in rural Montana, where the Rockies were my backyard and wildlife was a constant presence. My father handed me my first camera at age twelve — a battered Pentax K1000 — and sent me out to photograph the elk that grazed the meadow behind our house. I never really stopped.
After studying biology and fine art photography at the University of Montana, I spent three years as a field researcher in Yellowstone, documenting wolf pack behavior for the Northern Rockies Wolf Project. The science gave me patience. The art gave me purpose. The combination became my life's work.
Today I travel roughly eight months of the year — from the Serengeti to the Arctic tundra, from the rainforests of Borneo to the high plains of Patagonia. Every expedition is a negotiation between preparation and surrender: you plan obsessively, then let the wild surprise you.
Recognition
Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Highly Commended, Mammals category, 2024
Nature's Best Photography
Gold Award, Wildscapes, 2023
International Photography Awards
1st Place, Nature — Wildlife, 2022
BBC Wildlife Magazine
Portfolio feature, January 2025 issue
Philosophy
On photography and presence
"The best wildlife photograph is never the one you planned. It's the one the animal gave you because you were still enough to receive it."
I shoot almost exclusively in available light. Flash disrupts behavior, startles animals, and flattens the atmosphere that makes a wild place feel alive. Learning to read light — the blue hour before dawn, the last warm minutes before a storm — is the single most important skill I've developed.
I'm also deeply committed to ethical field practice. I never bait, call, or habituate animals for a shot. I work within established distance guidelines and leave every location exactly as I found it. The photograph is never worth the cost of the animal's wellbeing or the integrity of its habitat.
Field work
Recent expeditions
Jan – Feb 2026
Serengeti, Tanzania
Great Migration & big cat behavior
Mar 2026
Svalbard, Norway
Polar bears on sea ice
Nov – Dec 2025
Yellowstone, Wyoming
Wolf packs in winter
Sep 2025
Borneo, Malaysia
Orangutans & pygmy elephants
Apr 2025
Patagonia, Chile
Pumas & Andean condors
Equipment
In the bag
Gear is a means to an end. That said, the right tools matter when you're in the field for weeks at a time in extreme conditions.
Cameras
Sony α1 II
Primary body — 50MP, 30fps, exceptional AF
Sony α9 III
Backup & action — global shutter, 120fps
Lenses
Sony 600mm f/4 GM
Workhorse for large mammals at distance
Sony 200–600mm f/5.6–6.3 G
Versatile zoom for birds in flight
Sony 100–400mm f/4.5–5.6 GM
Travel lens — lighter kit days
Support & field
Gitzo GT5563GS + Wimberley WH-200
Tripod & gimbal head for long glass
Skimmer Ground Pod
Low-angle work from vehicles and hides
Think Tank Airport Security V3
Carry-on that survives everything
Let's work together
Available for licensing, editorial commissions, and fine art print inquiries.