From marine biologist to MOMENTS winner, Jayden O’Neill’s story is a pretty extraordinary example of following his passions, giving new things a go, and keeping his love of nature at the forefront of his career decision making.

 

We Are Explorers Podcast host, Amy Fairall, chats with Jayden O’Neill (in person!), whose laundry list of titles includes We Are Explorers contributor, MOMENTS film category winner, and National Geographic Photo Instructor and Naturalist. By combining his knowledge from his bachelor’s degree in marine biology with the hard skills he’s learnt as a photographer and videographer, Jayden’s worked all over the world, from Antarctica to the Top End.

In this chat, we hear about Jayden’s career path so far, as well as stories from his adventures, one of which helped him take out the top film prize in our inaugural photo, video, and writing competition, MOMENTS. Jayden’s journey may not be a blueprint everyone can follow, but it’ll definitely inspire you to make decisions based on your passions.

 

Photographing leopard seals in Antarctica

and crocodiles in the Top End!

In This Episode We Cover

  • Working as a Marine Biologist in Antarctica
  • Jayden’s passion for nature
  • The importance of science communication
  • Photography
  • Storytelling
  • Working with crocodiles
  • Living in the Northern Territory
  • The story of The Bleeding Assholes film
  • Upcoming adventures

Check out Jayden’s winning adventure film, The Bleeding Assholes, from our inaugural photo, video, and writing comp, MOMENTS.

 

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Or check out the We Are Explorers Podcast page.

 

Images supplied by Jayden O’Neill

Featured Event

Belangoloopy – Paddy Pallin Intro Rogain

  • Start Date: Jun 15, 2025
  • Venue: Belanglo State Forest

Come enjoy a classic 6 hour Paddy Pallin rogaine that is only a short drive from Sydney or Canberra! We’ll be using our navigation skills to explore stunning native forest. There will be plenty of route options for all ages,...

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Belangoloopy – Paddy Pallin Intro Rogain, NSW Rogaining

We share news on topics relevant to our mission of getting people outdoors and protecting the environment. We choose carefully to cover the topics we reckon you’ll find interesting or need to know about, this means quirky stories as well as the hard-hitting ones. We're all human here, so occasionally you'll get our writers' opinions as well. We’re proud to follow our Editorial Standards in every article we publish.