Jo-Anne Oucharek is an award-winning wildlife photographer with a passion for capturing the raw beauty and hidden stories of nature. Photography has always been part of her life, but when she moved to Cochrane in 2014, she brought her camera out of retirement—and discovered a whole new adventure behind the lens.

It was the birds that first inspired Nature in My Backyard, sparking a deep appreciation for the wildlife that thrives in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. While most of her adventures are close to home, Jo-Anne’s “backyard” has grown in recent years to include other provinces, the U.S., and even Africa.

For Jo-Anne, photography is about more than images—it’s about connection. She shares her work through both photos and the stories that bring them to life, hoping to inspire others to see the beauty, resilience, and importance of the creatures we are privileged to witness in their natural world. Over the past decade, she has also built strong bonds with like-minded photographers who share the belief that nature must always come first.

To Jo-Anne, every encounter with wildlife is a gift—and through her lens she invites you to explore the art and heart of her wildlife adventures.