About Paul

Paul Bannick is an award-winning author and wildlife photographer specializing in the natural history of North America with a focus on birds and habitat. Coupling his love of the outdoors with his skill as a photographer, he creates images that foster the intimacy between viewer and subject, inspiring education and conservation.

Paul is both the author and photographer of five well-received books, including two bestsellers, Owl: A Year in the Lives of North American Owls (Braided River, 2016) and The Owl and the Woodpecker: Encounters with North America’s Most Iconic Birds (Mountaineers Books, 2008). The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, located at the University of Washington, created two traveling exhibits based on The Owl and the Woodpecker. Owl received the gold medal in the 2017 Independent Publisher Book Awards’ “Animals/Pets” category. Paul’s latest book, Woodpecker: A Year in the Life of North American Woodpeckers, was launched to rave reviews and has been nominated for several awards.

Paul’s photography has won awards from several prestigious photography contests, including those hosted by Audubon Magazine and the International Conservation Photography Awards, and was featured in a wildlife art exhibit at the Chimei Museum in Taiwan.

His photography has been prominently used in bird guides from Audubon, Peterson, the Smithsonian, Stokes, the National Wildlife Federation, and in several volumes of the Handbook of the Birds of the World as well as in Owls of the World and the Peterson Reference Guide to Woodpeckers of North America. His work has also been featured in a variety of publications such as the New York Times, Audubon Magazine, Sunset Magazine, Nature’s Best Photography, Birds and Blooms, Pacific NW (three cover stories), the Seattle Times, Alaska Beyond magazine, and in many other books, magazines, parks, refuges, as well as other outlets in North America and Europe. He has appeared on NBC Nightly News, Evening Magazine, KING-TV, and has been a guest on dozens of NPR stations and programs, including Travels with Rick Steves, The Wild and BirdNote.

Paul is an accomplished public speaker and has served as the keynote for dozens of festivals, conventions, and fundraisers across the country, from Florida to Alaska and from Southern California to Indiana.

After graduating from the University of Washington, Paul worked successfully for 15 years in the computer software industry, beginning as one of the original 75 employees of the Aldus Corporation. He later served as a director for Adobe Systems before working as a senior manager at Microsoft. Wishing to combine his passion for wilderness conservation with his career, Paul turned his attention to nonprofit work and served as a director for conservation nonprofits for more than 20 years. Paul now works full time on his conservation photography, including writing, speaking, teaching workshops, and leading trips in service of wildlife and wildlands.