In this on‑location monologue, the creator, a wildlife photographer who recently moved to Atlanta, films from a hill overlooking the Chattahoochee River. He shares a brief encounter with a squirrel eating acorns, noting the surprisingly mild winter temperature (around 60 °F/15 °C) and the lush, green landscape that contrasts with his expectations from Pittsburgh. He praises Atlanta’s abundant neighborhood nature preserves, many of which are accessible via transit, and reflects on the daily presence of birds and squirrels at his home. The speaker outlines his channel’s 2026 roadmap: more long‑form wildlife videos and short‑form tutorials that teach photography fundamentals for beginners. He connects wildlife photography to attention restoration, citing a recent Factually with Adam Conover episode on the health benefits of regaining control of one’s attention, and encourages viewers to spend time outdoors. Finally, he promotes his book, How to Become a Photographer Without Going to School, asks viewers to like, subscribe, and follow his upcoming content.
Chapters
So I'm on a hill overlooking the Chattahoochee River down to my right, and I came here looking to get some video of birds, but didn't get much of that. Instead though, I did manage to get this fun little squirrel. Eating its dinner here on the hillside above the Chattahoochee. So I wanted to share that with you all. By the way, I hiked up, not all the way from the river, but uphill, hence being short of breath. So I've been in Atlanta since August, and the nature and wildlife photography opportunities here are just amazing. Well, I am really loving the ability to go out into nature in the middle of January and to not be cold. It's almost 60 degrees Fahrenheit or around 15 Celsius right now while I'm watching this cute little squirrel eat his dinner. It's been pretty overcast today, but the sun has made some surprise appearances. But really what's shocking to me as somebody who's used to winters in Pittsburgh is how green everything really still is. I really enjoy so much about Atlanta. Every morning we're greeted by birds at our window bird feeder, and we get to watch squirrels running up and down the big pine trees that surround our place. Honestly, it feels a little like I've been transported into a Danny Cotter Wild video. No shade, I really love her work, and I'm starting to understand just how fascinating squirrels can be to watch, especially when there's no birds around to photograph. I'm not certain, but I think that this squirrel has found some tiny acorns and that's what he's eating. But the rich color of them is really throwing me off, so if you have other ideas, pop them in the comments and let me know. You know, something else I really appreciate about Atlanta is just the sheer number of these little nature preserves that seem to be in every neighborhood. The city is surrounded by forest, but these small oases make finding places to go and see birds and squirrels and other wildlife so much easier. A lot of them are even on the transit lines. Now, if you're new to my channel, you'll notice that there's not an overwhelming amount of videos on here, but one of my goals for 2026 is to change that. So you're going to be seeing a lot more from me. I'm mostly going to focus on nature and wildlife for my longer videos, but I also understand that to do wildlife photography well, you need to understand the foundational elements of photography. So for my short-form content, I'm really going to focus a lot on that. In fact, I've already put up a number of videos that can help you go from an absolute beginner who's never taken a picture with anything other than your phone before to hopefully somebody who's able to go out there with the right equipment and capture amazing photos of wildlife without feeling frustrated with your results. I think that being out in the wild is such a great way to restore our attention and to reconnect with ourselves. And to me, that's not just good and pleasant and fun, but it's essential. In fact, I was recently listening to an episode of Factually with Adam Conover, where he interviewed 2 of the co-authors of a book on attention, where they talked about how important it is for our health to take back control of our attention. If you agree, I highly recommend listening to that episode, and I'll put a link in the description. 2, if you love nature and wildlife the way that I do, And are looking for a means to retake control of your attention, then I hope after watching this video you'll go out into the woods, even into your backyard, even if it's snowing, and just enjoy the nature and wildlife that you find around you. And maybe take some friends or meet up with some people at a local park. Well, I hope you liked the video. If you did, Be sure to subscribe to the channel. I'm dropping regular content on how to work as a photographer, some of the fundamental things that you need to know about photography. And I have a new book out, How to Become a Photographer Without Going to School. And despite my rig here, I am, generally speaking, a still photographer, not really a videographer, but For you all, I make some exceptions. Thanks again for watching. Please like and subscribe to the channel. Also be sure to pick up my book. There's a link in the description. See you next time. See you next time.
