The Person Behind EncountersWorld
Hi, I’m Jacob Shaffer.
Explorer. Photographer. Wildlife Enthusiast. Creator.
I’m someone who has always been curious about what is outside waiting to be discovered. Whether I’m walking a trail, photographing an animal, identifying a plant, examining something I have never seen before, or learning the story behind an encounter, I’m happiest when I’m exploring and learning something new.
A Little About Me
I’ve Always Wanted to Know What’s Out There
I’ve always been the kind of person who notices things outdoors and immediately wants to know more about them. An unfamiliar animal, an insect on a leaf, a plant growing beside a trail, a bone on the ground, or even a place I have never explored before can turn into something I want to photograph, identify, research, and remember.
For me, being outside is about much more than getting from one end of a trail to the other. I like slowing down and looking at the smaller details. Some of the most interesting encounters are things that could easily be walked past without ever being noticed.
Photography became a natural part of that curiosity. A photograph gives me the chance to preserve an encounter, look more closely at what I found, and later learn things about it that I may not have understood while I was there.
Over time, exploring, photographing, researching, and documenting the natural world became more than something I enjoyed doing occasionally. It became something I genuinely wanted to make a major part of my life.
Where It Started
How My Interest in Wildlife Grew
My interest in the natural world wasn’t created by one single moment. It grew from years of simply wanting to see what I could find outside. Parks, forests, creeks, lakes, trails, and even ordinary areas close to home could become somewhere worth exploring.
The more I paid attention, the more I realized how much was around me that I had never really noticed before. Animals I couldn’t identify, insects with unusual shapes or colors, plants I had walked past countless times, tracks, bones, feathers, and small signs that another animal had been there.
Finding something unfamiliar became one of my favorite parts of being outdoors because every new encounter gave me another reason to learn.
That curiosity still drives almost everything I do today. I don’t expect to ever reach a point where I know everything about wildlife or nature. That is part of what makes it exciting — there will always be another species, another habitat, another place, and another question waiting for me.
Out in the Field
What Exploring Looks Like for Me
Exploration does not always mean traveling somewhere far away. Some of my favorite encounters have happened simply because I slowed down and looked more closely at what was already around me.
Small Details Matter
Some of the most interesting subjects are the smallest ones hiding in plain sight.
The Place Is Part of the Story
I enjoy documenting not only what I find, but the environments and places where each encounter happens.
What Drives Me
Four Parts of Who I Am
EncountersWorld combines several things I genuinely enjoy doing, and each one plays a different role in how I experience and document the natural world.
The Explorer
I enjoy finding new trails, habitats, parks, forests, overlooks, waterways, and unfamiliar places. Sometimes I have a specific destination or species in mind, and other times the entire point is simply seeing what I can discover along the way.
The Photographer
Photography helps me preserve encounters exactly as I experienced them. I enjoy photographing both obvious subjects and the smaller things that many people might walk past without noticing.
The Learner
Finding something is only the beginning for me. I want to know what it is, how it lives, where it belongs, what role it plays, and what makes it different from everything else around it.
The Creator
I enjoy turning what I learn and photograph into something other people can explore too. Building EncountersWorld gives every encounter a place to become part of something much larger.
Behind the Camera
Photography Helps Me See More
Photography is one of the biggest parts of how I document the world around me. I’m not only trying to capture a beautiful picture. I’m also trying to preserve the details of an actual encounter.
I like getting different perspectives when possible — the full animal or plant, identifying details, textures, patterns, behavior, and the environment around it.
Wildlife also teaches patience. The subject does not care that I have a camera ready. Sometimes I have seconds to capture an encounter, and sometimes I spend much longer waiting for an opportunity that never happens.
That unpredictability is part of what I enjoy about it. Every photograph has a real place, moment, and experience attached to it.
Always Learning
Finding Something Is Only the Beginning
One of my favorite parts of an encounter happens after I get home. That is when a photograph can turn into a question, and that question can lead me into hours of learning about something I may have known almost nothing about before.
I enjoy learning about identification, behavior, habitats, life cycles, ecological roles, conservation, adaptations, and the relationships that connect species with the environments around them.
I’m also continuing my education in environmental science because I want the natural world to be more than an interest in my life. I want it to become part of the work I dedicate myself to as well.
I never want EncountersWorld to be based on pretending I already know everything. I want it to reflect the process of discovering, researching, learning, and continuing to improve.
Turning Curiosity Into Something Bigger
Why I Built EncountersWorld
EncountersWorld came from wanting somewhere to put everything I was already doing — exploring, photographing, identifying, researching, and keeping track of what I found.
Instead of allowing those encounters to disappear into a camera roll, I wanted each one to become part of a growing collection where someone else could discover the same species and learn something useful from it.
As the idea grew, so did the purpose. I began imagining something larger than my own collection: a place where other people could share observations, explore species, test what they know, discover new places, and become more interested in the natural world themselves.
EncountersWorld is now where nearly every part of my interests comes together — exploration, photography, wildlife, education, web development, and community.
Looking Forward
What I’m Working Toward
I want to build a life that keeps me connected to the things I care about most: wildlife, conservation, exploration, photography, learning, and creating something meaningful from those experiences.
Professionally, I’m working toward a future in the environmental and wildlife field. At the same time, I want to continue developing EncountersWorld into a long-term project that grows alongside everything I learn and experience.
There are thousands of species I have never seen, habitats I have never explored, photographs I have not taken yet, and questions I do not even know to ask yet. That is exactly why I’m excited about what comes next.
Beyond the Biography
A Few Things About Me
A few simple things that describe what exploring and documenting the natural world looks like for me.
The unexpected encounters are often the ones I remember most.
Mammals are exciting, but insects, reptiles, amphibians, plants, and overlooked species can be just as interesting.
Identification turns a photograph into a species with an entire story behind it.
I would rather be prepared to document something than realize afterward that I missed the opportunity.
Even familiar places can feel completely different when you start noticing more of what lives there.
One encounter, one photograph, one species, and one adventure at a time.
A Personal Note
Thanks for Being Part of the Adventure
EncountersWorld may have started with my own curiosity, but the most exciting part is seeing it become something other people can explore too.
If something on this site encourages you to notice a species you had never paid attention to before, walk a trail you have never explored, photograph something unusual, learn the name of an animal or plant, or simply spend a little more time appreciating what is around you, then EncountersWorld is doing exactly what I hoped it would do.
I still have an enormous amount left to discover, and that is the best part.
