Dominick Gatto
Wildlife Photographer | Author | Hunter | Storyteller
I've always believed that the best part of wildlife photography has very little to do with the camera.
It's the early mornings. The miles walked in the dark. The hours spent sitting against a tree, wondering if anything will show up. It's learning to recognize the smallest changes in the woods, understanding the animals that call them home, and realizing that sometimes the most memorable days are the ones when you never press the shutter.
That's what keeps me coming back.
I'm Dom Gatto, a wildlife photographer based in New York, with a particular obsession for whitetail deer. What started as a love for the outdoors grew into a passion for documenting the animals, behaviors, and fleeting moments that most people never get the opportunity to see.
Somewhere along the way, I realized I wanted to do more than take photographs. I wanted to share what I've learned.
More Than a Photograph
My approach to wildlife photography is built around one simple idea: understand your subject before you try to photograph it.
I spend countless hours studying deer behavior, scouting habitat, watching movement patterns, and learning how animals interact with their environment. The camera is only one part of the process. The real work happens long before an animal steps into the frame.
I don't believe great wildlife photography requires traveling halfway around the world or owning the most expensive equipment. Some of my favorite photographs have come from ordinary places, through patience, persistence, and a willingness to keep showing up.
My work is about capturing wildlife as it exists, on its own terms. The quiet moments, the details, the personalities, and the behaviors that make every encounter different.
I want someone looking at one of my photographs to feel a little bit of what I felt when I was there.
From the Field to the Page
Over the years, my photography has grown beyond the images themselves.
My work has been published in Buckmasters Magazine, licensed for commercial use, and shared with an audience of thousands of fellow photographers, hunters, and outdoor enthusiasts.
I'm also the author of The Hunter's Guide to Wildlife Photography, a book built around the lessons I've learned in the field. It's not just about camera settings or technical knowledge. It's about developing the patience, awareness, and understanding necessary to become a better wildlife photographer.
I wrote it with the hope that someone, somewhere, might see the outdoors a little differently after reading it.
That same philosophy carries into the educational content I create, from practical fieldcraft and camera techniques to honest conversations about the successes and frustrations that come with wildlife photography.
I don't pretend to have all the answers. I'm still learning every time I head into the woods, and I think that's part of what makes this so rewarding.
The Wild Doesn’t Wait for You
The Hunter’s Guide to Wildlife Photography is not a technical manual. You won’t find pages of charts, gear lists, or step-by-step settings for every scenario. Instead, you’ll learn the quiet skills that hunters have relied on for generations - patience, awareness, and the ability to disappear into the environment - and how to turn those instincts into images that hold the wild within them.
Out here, there are no second chances. The moments worth capturing appear without warning, and they vanish just as quickly. The best images aren’t the product of perfect camera settings - they’re the result of reading the wind, knowing the light, and moving as if you belong in the landscape.
Every lesson comes from the field: long sits in the cold, the electric stillness before a deer steps into view, and the discipline to wait for a single moment that tells the whole story.
If you’ve ever wondered why some photographers seem to be in the right place at the right time, it isn’t luck. It’s fieldcraft.
And you’re about to learn it.
Included in this digital purchase are PDF and EPUB files which have been formatted for use on popular devices and apps including Kindle, Apple Books, Google Play Books, Kobo, Nook, and most computers, tablets, and smartphones.
Why I Keep Going
Photography has given me a reason to slow down in a world that rarely encourages it.
It's taught me to appreciate the mornings that don't go according to plan, to find something interesting in the ordinary, and to recognize that the experience itself is often worth more than the photograph.
I'm a husband and a father, and as my life has grown busier, the time I spend outdoors has only become more meaningful. It's something I hope to pass along to my children: a respect for wildlife, a curiosity about the world around them, and an understanding that some of life's best experiences can't be rushed.
I've been fortunate enough to have my work published, purchased, and appreciated by people I've never met. I'm proud of those accomplishments, but they're not what gets me out of bed before sunrise.
It's the possibility of seeing something I've never seen before.
The chance that, after all those hours of waiting, something extraordinary might happen.
And even if it doesn't?
There's always another morning.
— Dom Gatto