Jesse Krautwurst | Nature, Photography, Audio, Technology

Audio

A collection of my favorite wilderness audio recordings, captured from my travels to some of the most remote wilderness areas on earth.

Grab a pair of headphones, turn the volume up until it sounds like you're there, and immerse yourself in these beautiful natural soundscapes.

Read more on the process of how I capture these here.

About

I'm Jesse. I love spending time in remote, rarely-visited wilderness areas (while they still exist). This site is my photojournal and collection of stuff I've captured while exploring.

I hope that you enjoy my work and that it inspires a greater appreciation of our natural world, and to take action to protect it.

I am also a hobbyist astronomer and enjoy taking pictures of the night sky, which you can see at Distant Light Photography.

I'd love to hear from you - email me any time at jesse@distantlight.photo, or reach me through my socials.

Projects

Distant Light Photography

My astrophotography project — the night sky in all its detail, from the Milky Way to distant nebulae, captured under the darkest skies I can find.

Jesse's Birdetector

Immersive field recordings from remote wilderness, run through AI species-recognition models — listen in and see every bird you're hearing, in realtime.

The County and The Kaiser

My Dad's history project chronicling Genesee County, New York in World War I — a year-by-year account drawn from local newspapers, with an honor roll of the county's service members.

Gear and Process

Photography

Gear Sony a7RV, Sony a7RIII
Sony 70-200mm F4 II, Sony 24mm 1.4 GM

Software Lightroom, Photoshop

Audio Recording

Gear Sony PCMA10, 172 Clippy Lavalier Mics

Software Audacity, Izotope RX 10

AI Disclosure Statement

No generative AI was used in the creation of any content on this site. Every photograph and audio recording is an authentic capture from the field, processed using standard photo editing tools, and rendered here in high-quality HDR.

Composite photography is used only when absolutely necessary to portray the subject. Photos using composite techniques are labeled.

Process

Field Work

Every image begins with a journey to remote and breathtaking locations around the world. From the high alpine meadows of the Rocky Mountains to the coral reefs of the Pacific, I travel with a fully equipped photography rig designed to capture the best possible images in any condition.

Success in the field requires careful planning — studying weather patterns, light conditions, and animal behavior. Many shots require waiting hours, sometimes days, for the perfect moment when light, composition, and subject align.

Post Processing

All post-processing is done with careful attention to color accuracy, tone, and detail. The workflow includes exposure blending, noise reduction, color correction, and careful local adjustments to bring out the best in each image.

The goal is always to enhance the scene while maintaining a natural and authentic representation of what was captured. Every adjustment serves the story of the photograph, revealing detail and color that may have been hidden in the raw data.

Final Output

The final images are carefully color-managed and exported to preserve the wide color gamut and high dynamic range captured during the shoot. Each photograph represents the culmination of careful planning, patient execution in the field, and meticulous post-processing — a true labor of love dedicated to revealing the beauty of our natural world.