Steve Costello, a native of Burlington, VT and a longtime resident of Rutland Town, is a former journalist, now vice president of customer service at Green Mountain Power.

His journalism career included The Rutland Herald, Associated Press, and Washington Bureau of the Hartford Courant. He often produced photographs to go with stories he wrote, and began focusing on wildlife as part of efforts to restore endangered ospreys, and later bald eagles, in Vermont.

Inspired by Meeri Zetterstrom, who lived along Lake Arrowhead in Milton and was the driving force behind osprey restoration in Vermont, Costello began to make an annual pilgrimage to photograph ospreys in 1996. He produced a series of photos that helped raise awareness of the birds’ plight as part of a collaboration with Zetterstrom, the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, and others. Ospreys recovered from virtual extinction, and were removed from the endangered species list in 2005, and Steve continues to photograph ospreys annually in memory of Zetterstrom, who died in 2010.

Starting with the ospreys’ photos, Steve worked to create an “illusion of proximity,” which has carried into photos of all kinds of wildlife. Using long lenses and a lot of patience, which Steve admits is not his strong suit, the goal is to provide a view people wouldn’t often see themselves.

“I want people to feel like they are right there with the bird or animal, without disturbing the wildlife. The goal is to display the ‘personality’ of the creature, create a connection that draws in the viewer, and deepens support for wildlife conservation,” Steve says.