About this episode

Carolien Hoek shares her journey as a wildlife photographer and travel writer focused on documenting birds around the world.

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 hides in Belgium and the Netherlands to the rainforests of Ecuador and the mountains of northern India. Carolien talks about how a bored afternoon in a photography hide with her husband's spare camera started an obsession she never saw coming, why she thinks of herself as a collector first and a photographer second, and the challenges of sitting in a hide for 14 hours waiting for the right bird to show up. She gets into the difference between a birder's checklist and a photographer's standard, why she will never photograph a bird sitting on a feeder, and how writing detailed travel journals for every trip she takes has become just as important to her as the images she brings home. Check out the episode article here: https://greatbigphotographyworld.com/ carolien-hoek Want to support the show? Click here: https://greatbigphotographyworld.com/supporter/ Join our online photography community to interact with photographers just like this, get access to fun photo contests, find inspiration…

People in this episode

Host: Perrin

Guest: Carolien Hoek

Topics covered

• wildlife photography
• birdwatching
• travel writing
• photography techniques
• personal journey

Keywords

• wildlife photography
• birds
• travel journals
• photography hides
• birdwatching

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Belgium, Netherlands, Ecuador, northern India

More episodes of Great Big Photography World

• Antoine Didienne – The Luxury of Simplicity: The Documentary Approach to Wedding Photography That Changes How Couples Remember Their Day | Episode #286 · July 8, 2026 · 59 min
• Anusha Stewart – From the Family Table to the Camera: How Sri Lankan Heritage Shaped a Food Photographer's Creative Vision | Episode #285 · July 1, 2026 · 1h 10m
• Frederic Paulussen – One Photographer, Two Worlds: Corporate Headshots, Street Photography, and the Career Nobody Plans For | Episode #284 · June 24, 2026 · 1h 2m
• Daniel Wakefield - It Goes So Much Deeper Than a Photo: What a Great Headshot Actually Does to People | Episode #283 · June 17, 2026 · 1h 25m

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Great Big Photography World podcast page.