Their photos have inspired us or made us smile, alerted us to rare wildlife, and given us glimpses of amazing natural beauty.
Through the years, Little River Wetlands Project has benefited greatly as photographers like Chuck Milledge, James Taylor, Jared Christiansen, John Gevers, Brian Wood, Josef Geisler, John Dube, and many others walk through Eagle Marsh regularly and share what they see through the lenses of their cameras.
They’ve found Eagle Marsh has returned their generosity.
“It’s given me my life back,” said Milledge, who walks trails at Eagle Marsh an average of three times a week.
A longtime diabetic, the Fort Wayne native saw his weight increase to 400 pounds during the COVID pandemic. About a year ago, his doctor put him on weight-loss medication and urged him to increase his activity level for heart health and his arthritis and to improve his range of motion.
He started walking at Eagle Marsh, which is near home. He’s now lost about 100 pounds, and his diabetes numbers are
great, he said. A self-professed “tech guy” who works in the commercial flooring business, he bought his first camera a year ago to capture the beauty and wildlife he saw at Eagle Marsh. YouTube instructional videos, tutorials, and a few lessons awakened artistic talent for the first time in his 53 years, he said.
He and his wife also volunteered this year with LRWP’s Monarch Monitoring program.
“You just never know what you’re going to see,” he said of walking through the marsh. “New bird species, new plants, new bugs. If I don’t know what it is in the photo, I get online and try to learn about it.”
He shares his photos on Facebook, Instagram, Flicker, and other websites. He also posts them at Bird Brain LLC at https://birdbrainphoto.com, the nature photography business he started after people kept requesting copies of his photos.
He takes photos at city, county, and state parks, but Eagle Marsh remains a favorite spot.
“This is the first place I started,” he explained. “When I come here, I feel at home. It resets me. … It really gives me a great sense of fulfillment, enjoyment, and peace.”
Courtesy of Chuck Milledge
Other photographers share those sentiments.
James Taylor, who launched his Wandering James Photography business last year, said he’s always had a passion for wildlife and the outdoors. He got into photography as a hobby, and “it still is a hobby at heart,” he added.
He lives near Eagle Marsh, so he visits with his camera gear at least three or four times a week. He enjoys the wide variety of habitats and seeing the many species of birds and bugs.
Taylor posts his best photos on Facebook, Instagram, and his website, https://www.wanderingjamesphotography.com. He tags LRWP on them so staff can use the images for free. Taylor believes public awareness is a key to successful conservation work. He hopes his photos help LRWP show people what’s out in the marsh.
Courtesy of James Taylor
Originally working in the real estate profession, Jared Christiansen got hooked on photography several years ago during a trip he and his wife, Amanda, took to Florida. In late 2019, he decided to make photography his career. The COVID pandemic disrupted those plans, so he spent 2020 learning and practicing photography, frequently near home at Eagle Marsh.
Christiansen didn’t grow up loving nature, but visiting Eagle Marsh “just kind of morphed into this love of nature,” he said. “My wife has always loved nature, so she was kind of happy about it.”
He tries to get to Eagle Marsh with a camera at least once a week, sometimes just to walk and relieve stress. “It’s definitely a healing kind of place for me,” he said.
He photographs a variety of subjects for his business, Jared Christiansen Images. Some of his nature photos provide calming or inspirational art for clients such as hospitals.
He shares Eagle Marsh photos on Facebook and Instagram, as well as on galleries on his business website, https://www.jaredchristiansen.com.
Courtesy of Jared Christiansen
Brian Wood had a long career as a motorsports photographer, reporter, and editor before returning to nature photography after moving to Fort Wayne in 2012.
Wood especially liked taking photos in the golden, early morning light at Eagle Marsh. He was often accompanied by his partner, Julie Schrader, who is also a photographer.
“There’s always something different (to see),” Wood said during a previous conversation. He also enjoyed the technical challenges of shooting nature photography and the peace and solitude out in the marsh.
He supported LRWP’s staff and conservation work by sharing his photos on Facebook so other people could see the wildlife and natural beauty he encountered.
During the past year, Wood and Schrader moved to South Carolina to be closer to her family. His huge collection of Eagle Marsh photos lets him revisit mornings at the marsh whenever he wants.
Courtesy of Brian Wood
John Gevers discovered his passion for landscape and wildlife photography at age 13. It grew into a commercial photography career as he founded John Gevers Photography in 2002.
“After discovering Eagle Marsh many years ago, I have used it as a primary source of inspiration and immediate way of being in touch with the natural world,” said Gevers, who lives five minutes away and is also an LRWP volunteer. “I am fascinated by so much wildlife and diverse plant life nestled into a cityscape essentially.”
Gevers used to post photos to social media, but he grew disenchanted with those platforms and stopped using them. He now shares nature photos on his website, https://johngevers.com, and makes them available to LRWP to post if they want. He also donated two prints of Eagle Marsh photos to LRWP’s charity auction at the Frogapalooza fundraiser and continues to sell photos via his website.
Gevers retired from commercial photography at the end of 2024 to pursue an interest in the natural world. Photography remains a hobby, but he now works as groundskeeper and prairie steward at Stillwater Hospice on Homestead Road. He and volunteers maintain a 2-acre native Indiana prairie and 6 acres of other landscaping, all of which are open to the public. An Indiana Master Naturalist, he promotes planting native plants to improve our ecology.
“I will always photograph Eagle Marsh and other LRWP preserves as time permits,” he said.
Courtesy of John Gevers
Photographers are some of the best advertisements for these wonderful natural spaces you all are working so hard to protect! Great article.
Thanks for sharing all their stories. What wonderful photos you all have taken! My husband and I love to walk/hike in the marsh and snap a pic now and then, but just on our phones. We're in awe of God's amazing and diverse creation that's within walking distance of our home.