In this episode, host Hava Gurevich talks with wildlife photographer, teacher, scientist, and software engineer Rosalind Phillips, who has spent her life “exploring the connections between art, science, and education.” Rosalind shares stories from growing up in Inwood in upper Manhattan near the Cloisters, attending a progressive school based on John Dewey’s laboratory school, and spending summers at a Quaker camp in Vermont, where her deep love of nature took root.

She recalls getting her first camera as a child from her amateur-photographer father, becoming a national leader in using computers in the classroom, and the hummingbird nest photograph that re-ignited her passion for photography in 1992. Rosalind talks about her project-based teaching, her move into software engineering after serious illness, three decades on the art fair circuit in Olympia and Seattle, her philosophy of intent in photography, and the belief that “every living creature…deserves the same respect that we give other human beings.” She also speaks candidly about navigating racism, building long-term relationships with collectors, and her current passions: astrophotography, abstract nature work, and her annual Juneteenth images.

Memorable Quotes (Verbatim from the Conversation)
“We’re souls. It feeds our hearts.”
“Everything was based around social studies.”
“That’s really where my love of nature really, really blossomed.”
“There’s a difference between a photograph and a snapshot… A photograph though, you think about it and there’s planning. So it’s about intent.”
“I want you to see the soul of that living creature.”
“Every single living creature, whether it be a bird or an insect, is worthy and deserves the same respect that we give other human beings.”
“Every living creature, whether it be an animal or a tree or a flower or a mushroom, deserves to be loved. And that’s my philosophy. That has governed my entire life.”
“My photography is not just a hobby. Oh, no, no, no, no. It’s my soul.”
“Selling and how much you sold was not the measure of your success.”
“Everybody deserved to have beautiful artwork in their homes.”
“What I discovered very quickly was that the same types of relationships that I built with my students over the years, I needed to build with my clients.”
“Today, when I do Harbor Days, I have people who were little kids who are now bringing their grandchildren to see my stuff and telling stories to their grandchildren about me when they were children.”
“It is advocacy for building a relationship with nature.”
“Unfortunately racism is alive and well in America. And that really has not changed.”
“Even though there are hateful people in this world, I still believe that the majority of people have their hearts in the right places.”
“One of the things I love about being an artist and a teacher is that I am always learning new things and finding new ways to look at stuff.”