Hello, I'm Brad Weinert, I was born January 17, 1959 in Los Angeles, Ca. I have lived in Southern California all of my life and for the past 25 plus years in the San Diego area. I have traveled quite a bit around the world, mostly on business travel and still do a lot of that even to this day however I have been fortunate and lucky enough to be able to mix in a bit more free time off as of late which has allowed me to focus in more on my hobby which is wildlife photography...
When I am not working you will find me in the field, as I love nature and the natural history of things... My major interest is in the field of herpetology (the study of reptiles and amphibians) and bird watching. I have been around snakes, lizards, turtles and frogs most of my life. I was lucky enough growing up to always be in areas that were replete with herps (as we call them for short). In my younger days I used to capture and study them, sometimes having more than 20 snakes in a variety of aquaria and other enclosures, however today I am more than happy to study them only in the field unless there is some need to move or save an animal. I also have two very large, energetic, wonderful and amazing Leopard Geckos that were given to me as a birthday present. Birds are also a fascination for me both in terms of their behavior and appearance as well as the photographic challenges they present!
I love to photograph wildlife, that's my hobby, beside the herps and birds that I actively pursue around the world, I am also very interested in wildlife and habitat in general, their interactions and how man impacts the overall balance of things. I currently use almost 100% Canon equipment, I am not biased one way or the other but I am very happy with it and its durability. I switched over to digital imaging about four years ago and love it! My current camera equipment is described in detail HERE .
I try all sorts of different methods for fining wildlife but it mostly consists of driving or flying somewhere remote and then hiking and observing. I also very much enjoy the traditional road cruising methods of searching but I really like to get out and explore as much as possible.
The majority of my field experience has been in Southern California from the ocean to the deserts and most of Baja California, I have vast experience in the Borrego and Mojave deserts and I have traveled extensively from Tijuana to Loreto, Mexico, a little less so further south. I have also made many field trips to Northern California, Arizona, in particular the Catalina, Patagonia, Santa Rita, Chiricahua and Huachuca mountains (my favorite spots to this day are Madera Canyon, the Huachuca Mountains, Ruby Road in SE Arizona, and the Portal area of the Chiricahua's). I have also made field trips to Southeastern and Central Texas, Florida, Nevada, Indiana, Mississippi, Minnesota, all over the North East Coast of the US, Western Europe, Panama, Costa Rica and five trips to Australia. Also, on business trips, I have been able to briefly explore areas such as Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Germany, China, Japan and Korea. The next few destinations on my list are Madagascar, Central and Southern Africa, Ecuador and Brazil and SE Asia including areas such as Malaysia and Thailand.
Other interests include a love of music, almost anything other than rap/hip-hop which I just can't seem to get a grip on but I listen to everything from Dylan to Metallica, Buffet to Bach, Sabbath to the Dead... I have attempted to play the guitar for over 30 years, and there's nothing better in my opinion than road cruising on a warm spring night in the desert listening to music and hunting for herps at night and birding by day...
