Jul 15, 2026 · 53 min · 13 segments
In this episode, Perrin sits down with Carolien Hoek, a Dutch wildlife photographer and travel writer who has spent the better part of a decade chasing birds across six continents, from photography…
Carolien HoekGuestPerrinHostHey, Carolien, welcome to the Great Big Photography World Podcast.
I am so excited to have you on today to talk about your passion for wildlife photography, so thank you for joining me.
We have a lot to talk about today.
I had the pleasure of going through your website, looking at some of your travel stories and your photography, and I love that, uh, like me, you've also built your photography around nature and wildlife, and it seems like birds are a lot of where your energy goes.
[laughs] One of the interesting things about your story, though, and what really sets you apart from others, is that you also love to document your adventures through these travel stories that you write on your website, and I think there is a very interesting contrast that's hidden there.
A, a lot of photographers that I talk to on the show, they do this kind of thing for a living, to pay the bills, to get some kind of career going, and yet here you are traveling to the other side of the world, chasing birds as a hobbyist with the same level of dedication that I see any of the professionals do.
And to me, that says something about the authentic passion that you have for this medium.
What keeps you motivated to find new wildlife species to photograph? What keeps you going?
Ah.
[laughs] Awesome
Yeah, so it's not only taking pictures, but making a bird list, uh, on eBird and adding the pictures so we only count the birds we photographed.
Mm-hmm.
So, and I'm not the only one photographing, but my husband is also a very good photographer.
Mm-hmm.
[laughs]
Aw, good for him.
Hey, Carolien, welcome to the Great Big Photography World Podcast.
I am so excited to have you on today to talk about your passion for wildlife photography, so thank you for joining me.
We have a lot to talk about today.
I had the pleasure of going through your website, looking at some of your travel stories and your photography, and I love that, uh, like me, you've also built your photography around nature and wildlife, and it seems like birds are a lot of where your energy goes.
[laughs] One of the interesting things about your story, though, and what really sets you apart from others, is that you also love to document your adventures through these travel stories that you write on your website, and I think there is a very interesting contrast that's hidden there.
A, a lot of photographers that I talk to on the show, they do this kind of thing for a living, to pay the bills, to get some kind of career going, and yet here you are traveling to the other side of the world, chasing birds as a hobbyist with the same level of dedication that I see any of the professionals do.
And to me, that says something about the authentic passion that you have for this medium.
What keeps you motivated to find new wildlife species to photograph? What keeps you going?
Ah.
[laughs] Awesome
Yeah, so it's not only taking pictures, but making a bird list, uh, on eBird and adding the pictures so we only count the birds we photographed.
Mm-hmm.
So, and I'm not the only one photographing, but my husband is also a very good photographer.
Mm-hmm.
[laughs]
Aw, good for him.
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