Shaun Wolfe is an award-winning freelance filmmaker, cinematographer, and photographer based out of Hawai’i and California. Shaun works internationally on land and underwater across genres of natural history, commercial/branded content, narrative features, and documentary. Equally comfortable on a feature set working with a big crew or hauling specialist equipment deep into the mountains with a small wildlife crew, Shaun is versatile, enjoys the variety of work he’s able to do, and has been fortunate to work on several Emmy and BAFTA nominated programs. He is also an Associate Fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers.
His journey behind the camera began as a way to combine his love of art with his desire to have an impact on the environmental and social issues he cares about most. He spent his formative years on the west end of Catalina Island where he spent every day creating art and connecting to the land and sea— diving, paddling, and hiking until the sun went down. That connection to place and the desire to protect it drove him to begin a career in marine science.
He went on to receive the prestigious National Park Service Internship through Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society and earn his master’s degree at the Bren School at the University of California, Santa Barbara where he specialized in science storytelling and media. It was in graduate school that Shaun saw the important role that film and photography play in shifting societal perspectives. He also saw the opportunity to combine his love of art and his desire to create an impact on intersectional environmental issues.
Shaun has been creating films and photographs ever since in a continuous effort to tell more impactful stories with better images. In addition to media, science, and diving, he has an extensive background in public speaking and wilderness medicine. When he’s not working, you can find him diving, surfing, backpacking, tending to his garden, or working the lo’i.
DIRECT CONTACT:
shaun@shaunwolfephoto.com
If you’d like to hear him ramble on and give an honest account of his path, check out this interview here.
Clients, Showings, and Engagments
DISTRIBUTORS
Netflix / Disney+ / AppleTV / HBO Max / BBC / National Geographic / Amazon / PBS / Discovery / NOWNESS / New Yorker Magazine / Salesforce+ / Bloomberg Green / Freethink
CLIENTS
BBC / Significant Productions / Wildstar Films / Wild Space Productions / Offspring Films / Plimsoll Productions / Sound Off Films / Bimarian Films / Scubapro / Ford / Apple / Meta / Hewlett Packard / World Wildlife Fund / Even/Odd Films / Red Rock Films / HHMI Tangled Bank Studios / Salt and Air Studios / Strike Anywhere / Vacationland Films / Minty Motion Studio / Day’s Edge Productions / Nomadica Films / Brand New World Studio / Hana Productions / Island Film Group / Mysto Productions / Pangolin Pictures / NOAA / Boy Scouts of America / National Park Service / Red Hospitality / San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance / Hawai’i Conservation Alliance
FILM FESTIVALS
Jackson Wild / Seattle International Film Festival / Santa Barbara International Film Festival / Hawai’i International Film Festival / DeadCenter Film Festival / Earthx Film / TVE Global Sustainability Film Awards / International Ocean Film Festival / Friday Harbor Film Festival / Waimea Ocean Film Festival / Cinema Galleggiante / Thunder Bay International Film Festival / Environmental Film Festival at Yale / Portland EcoFilm Festival / Climate Action Film Festival / World Whale Film Festival / LA Independent Film Festival / Venice Intercultural Film Festival / Discover Film Festival / Pacific Island Film Festival / The Women's Film Festival / The Jane Austen International Film Festival / People of Passion International Film Festival / The Palm Springs International Comedy Festival / LA Documentary Short Film Festival
GALLERY SHOWINGS
The MOXI Museum of Innovation and Exploration (Santa Barbara, CA) / Black Box Gallery (Portland, OR) / Shockboxx Gallery (LA, CA) / Unita Gallery (LA, CA) / Davidson Library (Santa Barbara, CA)
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
The Explorer’s Club / US Department of the Interior / University of Rhode Island / University of Michigan / UC Santa Barbara / Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society / Exploring By The Seat Of Your Pants / National Ocean Science Bowl
ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATIONS
International League of Conservation Photographers (Associate Fellow), Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society (Board of Directors), Coral Reef Image Bank (Contributing Photographer)