Pittsburgh Wildlife & Nature Photographer

Nature and headshot photographer Don Orkoskey

I'm Pittsburgh wildlife and nature photographer Don Orkoskey. My professional work largely centers around my event and portrait photography. However capturing the beauty of nature is a true and deep passion of mine.

Additionally, at WDO Photography we offer photography classes in Pittsburgh that often focus on wildlife, nature and documenting the wonders of our natural world. Enjoy my work below and contact me to license or ask questions about my nature and wildlife photography through the contact form on the bottom of the page.

Finally, be sure to sign up for my monthly newsletter which provides loads of information on nature and wildlife photography.

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The Power of Nature

landscape photography by Don Orkoskey of WDO Photography
Nothing can make you understand your place in the universe like the raw power of nature. From lightening strikes to massive water falls to unending forests - our world is incredible. Sadly not everyone can experience all of the natural wonders which is why nature photography is so important. Additionally, far too much of our wild world is under threat of destruction. We are living through a mass extinction event of our own making. It's important that we stop doing the damage we're doing.

Why I Photograph Nature

Sharing the art of photography and photographic storytelling is a big part of who I am. Learning to photograph nature helps to develop a more attentive and empathetic attitude to our world and the issues we're causing. Additionally the detail you learn to how to see from photography encourages conscious exploration of yourself.
Landscape photography by WDO Photography nature and wildlife photographers
Sharing the art of photography and photographic storytelling is a big part of who I am. Learning to photograph nature helps to develop a more attentive and empathetic attitude to our world and the issues we're causing. Additionally the detail you learn to how to see from photography encourages conscious exploration of yourself.

Pittsburgh Wildlife and Nature Photographer

I grew up an hour outside of Pittsburgh in Wheeling, WV. Exploring and photographing the wildlife and nature around Pittsburgh and the region shaped me in a myriad of ways. As a nature and wildlife photographer I want to tell the story of what lives all around us, beyond we humans.
Landscape photograph of Beechwood Farms Pond by Don Orkoskey of WDO Photography, nature and wildlife photographers
Pittsburgh is surrounded with beautiful nature filled places to experience and photograph nature and wildlife. It's also reminded me that, no matter where you live, nature is all around us. I regularly visit areas within a short drive of Pittsburgh where I'm reminded that nature surrounds us!

Pittsburgh Nature Photography

I spend a lot of time in the parks and wild areas around Pittsburgh. They're teaming with wildlife and beautiful nature scenes. Here are some of my favorite nature and wildlife photography locations near Pittsburgh.

North Park

Great Blue Heron in Pittsburgh's North Park by WDO Photography's Don Orkoskey, nature and wildlife photographer
North Park is full of wonderful wildlife, trails, and North Park Lake. Year round I find loads to photograph here from eagles, ospreys, and herons to incredible landscape scenes. In fact, there are cherry trees in the Spring and beautiful foliage in the fall. If you're not familiar then, I highly recommend visiting North Park and exploring the area around the lake.

Frick Park

Cardinal in Piedmont Park, Nature Photography by WDO Photography Atlanta
Frick Park has long been a favorite. In fact, I never go more than a few days without visiting. At Frick I photograph everything from wildlife to flowers and insects. Too, because Frick Park is right in the heart of the east end it's where I host my free monthly nature photography meetups.

Pittsburgh Wildlife Photography

When it comes to wildlife photography in Pittsburgh there are lots of opportunities. From the parks mentioned above to the mountains and rivers all around us, we have an abundance of wildlife photography options.
Eastern Bluebird eating beauty berries by Atlanta Wildlife Photographer Don Orkoskey
If you're a bird photographer and are not familiar, I highly recommend the tools that Cornell University's Ornithology Lab provides. With these you'll see where people were finding birds. Of course, where there are birds, there's often other wildlife as well.

Public Game Lands

Deer on Public Game Lands in PA by WDO Photography Pittsburgh nature photographers
If you're looking for great locations for wildlife, don't overlook public game lands. These are great places for finding loads of wildlife. However, unless you're a hunter, you might not even know they exist.

Elk County

Nature and wildlife photograph of bull elk in Elk County PA by WDO Photography
While it's well outside of Pittsburgh, it's still within a few hours drive. Therefore, I can't stress enough how beautiful Elk County. Plus, if you want to see large animals, such as elk then it's a no-brainer. Of course, the elk aren't the only thing you'll get to photograph there. The landscape photography options are incredible too!

Nature Photographs For Sale

My nature photos are for sale. You can order a print from Zenfolio or by contacting me. I sell fine art archival prints. These look amazing and are designed to last a lifetime. Additionally you can order them framed and matted at the same time.

A large framed print makes a statement. It also makes a great gift. If you're looking for a particular subject please let me know and I'll create a custom gallery for you to view my work on that subject so you can choose your favorite.

License My Photos

You can license my photos for most any use and/or buy them for personal display. The above photos and more are available for licensing by contacting me through my contact page.

Why License Nature Photos

Nature photos help tell the story of your brand, provide compelling accompaniment. They are great background images in print or digital. Every photo here is available large enough for billboard or large wall displays. These photos will help calms and refresh people. They'll help remind them of our connection to the natural world. People relax when looking at a landscape or nature scene. Nature photography makes people happy.

Win Over Clients With Local Nature Photography

Did you know that you can win clients with nature photography? It's true. Nature has a calming effect. Relaxing people makes them more willing to trust and listen to you.

Your office will not only look amazing with prints of my photos but will help you connect with clients. An entire wall of one of my landscapes, flowers, or large animal photos will impress your clients and help relax them so they hear what you're telling them. Not sold? I can create a composite to show you how any of my work will look in your office.

Visit my complete nature collection to browse and select photos for purchase.

Photographing Nature

I can't stress enough how important I think it is to photograph all the nature surrounding us. From small urban parks to the expansive wilderness our world is fascinating and constantly changing. We can never see or capture the same scene the same way. Each day it's different.

Learn Nature Photography

Learn nature photography with me! I love teaching. Sharing my knowledge of photography gives me so much joy. I love being out in the woods on cool crisp mornings. Looking for that perfect golden hour photo in solitude is incredible. Sharing what I know so others can find their own love of nature makes me feel even better.

Nature Photography Benefits

Nature is a great for learning photography. The world doesn't criticize your work. You can take your time in nature. It doesn't care what type of equipment you have. That perfect photo of a far away song-bird in flight may be out-of-reach of your cell phone. However anyone with any camera can always find more to photograph in nature. Nature allows us to learn at our own pace. If you want to learn any type of photography visit my classes page for information and to sign up.

Read 10 Nature Photography Tips from Don Orkoskey, Pittsburgh Nature Photographer.

To understand even more about my love of nature and photography visit my about page. If you're as passionate about nature as I am you'll understand why documenting the wonders of our world drives me.

License Nature & Wildlife Photos

At WDO Photography we license our nature and wildlife photos for commercial use in textbooks, for institutional printing needs, and more. If you're interested in licensing our work please contact us using the form below.

We're happy to create a custom gallery of specific photos for you to choose from and to help you narrow down your search. In addition, if we can't provide you with the subject or scene you're seeking we're happy to source photos from our network of nature and wildlife photographers.

How Photo Licensing Works

Here is how our nature and wildlife photo licensing works. First, we've worked with a variety of institutional art buyers in the past. Depending on your needs we can provide prints or high resolution digital files with a release for limited printing.

If you're not an experienced art buyer but have been tasked with buying art for your organization we're happy to help guide you through the process. We offer competitive pricing. Plus, as stated above, we're happy to source photos from other nature and wildlife photographers.

For more information, or when you're ready to begin to discuss your needs, please fill out the form below.

Contact WDO Photography

Call or text me at 412.206.9364 or use the form below to contact me. Ask how to licensing photos of particular animals, plants, or landscapes or about classes. I have numerous cityscapes of Pittsburgh and can produce new landscape or location based photos of your physical locations. These are great for companies that want to include those in annual reports, to display prints in offices or to use them online in mapping, consumer way-finding, and customer review applications such as Google Maps and Yelp.

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