Laurel Smith is a professional photographer, educator, and storyteller who works as a visitor services ranger at Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge in Hawaii. She recently contributed many of her images to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s National Digital Library. She believes photography is one of the most powerful tools we have to educate and inspire change. 

The National Digital Library, managed by the USFWS Library, is the premier source for public domain wildlife images, and home to the pictures, documents, audio, and video that tell the story of the Service. Public domain imagery is free to use, reuse, and share in any capacity. The FWS Behind the Lens blog series highlights Service employees in the field who have contributed spectacular photography with an eye toward reflecting the full mission of the Service. 

Laurel has a bachelor’s degree in creative nonfiction writing from the University of Denver and an associate of science degree in professional photography from Colorado Mountain College. She is a licensed elementary school teacher and taught for multiple years. Laurel was a full-time freelance photojournalist and filmmaker focusing on people living in marginalized communities. But when the world came to a grinding halt, all her film work stopped too, so in the height on the pandemic, Laurel moved from Colorado to Hawaii for a fresh start.  

Original source can be found here.