Mary Anne Karren

WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER
Salt Lake City, Utah

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I’m a wildlife photographer exploring how to use my tools as an artist and photographer to benefit birds and their habitat. My current project focuses on the rapidly disappearing Great Salt Lake, largest saline lake in the hemisphere and lynchpin habitat for ten million migrating birds. My work juxtaposes the vibrant bird life of Great Salt Lake with its otherworldly landscapes.

Contact me directly for prints, licensing, and collaboration inquiries.

Salt Lake City, Utah.

Filmmaker Austin Smock created this mini-documentary about Great Salt Lake and my work.

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View fullsize Franklin’s Gulls feeding at Great Salt Lake, well after sunset and moody just how I like it. This looks like a major edit and I did lean into the colors and contrast a bit but otherwise it’s basically as shot. Check out the second image f
View fullsize Big rain storms at Great Salt Lake are making big drama. American avocets still hanging around - they’ll be here into November most likely.
View fullsize A few fall dreamscapes at Great Salt Lake. Mixed shorebirds and ducks, including American Avocets, Northern Shovelers, phalaropes. I’ve been spending a lot of time using slow shutter speeds and intentional camera movements - a few of these sho
View fullsize Rabbitbrush in bloom, cloud reflections, and an American Avocet. Happy September to those who celebrate.
View fullsize A few minimal and small in frame shots that caught my eye. American avocets, eared grebes, phalaropes, gulls, mixed shorebirds, and one dude at Great Salt Lake.
View fullsize Couple of scenes from Georgia this spring, when I got to spend some time with a colony of Royal Terns during breeding season. The gifting ritual - bringing food to the females - is fascinating to watch, and chaotic. The courting couple were almost ne
View fullsize Long-billed Curlew using its long bill like a corkscrew. Swipe for a closer look. #greatsaltlake #shorebirds #longbilledcurlew
View fullsize This is a photo I first posted in 2022. I've updated the caption for 2025. This is an aerial view of the mouth of the Bear River, Great Salt Lake's largest tributary. In the center of the frame, you can see that the Bear River simply disappears int
View fullsize Black- necked Stilts. If I had to pick one bird and none other to photograph forever, it might be these. They are stunning. They are closely related to the avocets, but with a smaller body and longer legs. Hot pink legs for days. Great Salt Lake h
View fullsize A few shots of American Avocets at Great Salt Lake over the years. I’d like to suggest that Great Salt Lake is the very best place (in the world?) to photograph American Avocets. First, we have them for at least nine months of the year, incl
View fullsize Shorebirds are my favorite thing about August. Also, brine flies! #greatsaltlake #salinelake #americanavocet
View fullsize This was an incredible experience. Thousands of American avocets were resting in the salt marsh during the heat of the afternoon. I positioned myself a good distance away from the flock and waited. As the sun went down, the birds began walking out in
View fullsize Long-billed Curlew at Great Salt Lake. I think it’s a juvenile, which is great to see - some nesting success. #shorebirds #longbilledcurlew #greatsaltlake
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View fullsize Really sorry about the music- I had to do it 😂 I had so much fun watching these Royal Terns perform their mating rituals in Georgia earlier this year. The male presents his love with the gift of a fish or a shrimp. They strut around each other in t
View fullsize Birds, water, mountains, sky - my favorite combo. This is a stitched panorama from two images taken a split second apart. #phalaropes #wasatchmountains #greatsaltlake #disappearing
View fullsize The sweetest. #blackneckedstilt #greatsaltlake #shorebirds
View fullsize Sky reflections. #shorebirds #greatsaltlake #americanavocet
View fullsize Spring gets all the glory, but fall shorebird migration at Great Salt Lake is 🤯. Big flocks on the move. How many shorebirds do you think there are? See the last one for my amateur attempt at video. Also to all the film people, this week is your c
View fullsize Phalaropes, Great Salt Lake, and the Wasatch mountains. This spring I got a new lens that has been calling my name for a while - the Canon RF 100-300mm f2.8. I’ve been grabbing this lens when I’m expecting low light but still want to b

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Eared grebe at Great Salt Lake. As many as 2-5 million Eared Grebes - or 70 - 95% of the world's population - visit Great Salt Lake annually. In late summer and fall, Eared Grebes at Great Salt Lake are flightless for a period of several months whi
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