Conservation. Photographer of the Year Thomas D. MANGELSEN

Transcription

1 Thomas D. ANGELSEN Conservation Photographer of the Year 2011

2 TD angelsen CONSERVATION IS A KEY theme throughout Thomas D. angelsen s body of work. By showcasing the beauty of nature, he hopes to encourage others to discover the wonders the natural world has to offer and to care enough to preserve what remains. His conservation activism efforts came of age with a once-in-a-lifetime experience in his hometown of Jackson, Wyoming. A mountain lion mother and her three cubs were discovered at the nearby National Elk Refuge, within range of Tom s lens. angelsen was so inspired that he co-founded The Cougar Fund in 2001 to help protect the cougar by educating children and adults on the value of cougars, by funding and promoting the use of sound science, and by monitoring state policies to assure a lasting place for this graceful creature. ABOVE: Spirit of the ountains, National Elk Refuge, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA. Sunset illuminates a cougar emerging from her den. Nikon F5; 800mm lens; 2x teleconverter; 1.4x teleconverter; 1/15 sec at ƒ/16; Fujichrome Provia film; Sachtler tripod and head under lens; monopod under camera. PREVIOUS PAGES: Bear River, cneil River Bear Sanctuary, Alaska, USA. Each summer, brown bears congregate to feast on salmon as they pass through the shallow waters. Pentax 645; 75mm lens; 1/125 sec at ƒ/11; Fujichrome Velvia film; Sachtler tripod and head. ABOVE, RIGHT: Catch of the Day, Brooks Falls, Alaska, USA. A sockeye salmon leaps into the waiting jaws of an Alaskan brown bear. This has remained angelsen s most iconic image, photographed in 1988, long before the digital era. Tom previsualized this image and spent an entire week attempting to capture it. He would not know that he had been successful until the film was developed a month later. Nikon F3; 600mm lens; 1.4x teleconverter; 1/1000 sec at ƒ/9; Fujichrome 50 film; Sachtler tripod and head. Sometimes up-close-and-personal means stepping back to capture the scene

3 w angelsen hile many photographers put on their longest lens to get up-close-and-personal, Tom steps back to include a wider view of the natural world. Sensitivity to his subjects and a deep reverence for their surroundings is a defining mark of angelsen s work. Environment and habitat are so important to the overall scheme of the image, he says. After all, this is where these animals call home, and without placing them in that habitat, without including the artistry of place, the image would not be complete. TOP: A Secret Path, Denali National Park, Alaska, USA. A solitary lynx stalks through willows and grasses while hunting wigeon on a nearby pond. Nikon D3; 600mm lens; 1.7x teleconverter; 1/400 sec at ƒ/7.1; ISO 800; Sachtler tripod and head. BELOW: Reflections of Denali, Denali National Park, Alaska, USA. irrored in one of the many ponds on the tundra below the Alaska Range, a moose stands amid the multicolored patchwork of birch, willow, and wild berries in the shadow of t. ckinley a reminder of the grand scale of Denali. Fuji GX-617; 180mm lens; 1/60 sec at ƒ/22; Fujichrome Velvia film; Sachtler tripod and head. TD

4 TD angelsen For angelsen, meeting the sunrise is a lifelong passion, one that has carried him to the farthest corners of the earth in search of bald eagles, polar bears, tigers, and lions. Knowing the animals being photographed as well as their habits, and learning to see patterns between the two, goes a long way when you spend eight months a year in the field. His understanding of light and weather and how they affect animals behavior is also key to knowing when to act. TOP: orning at Wonder Lake, Denali National Park, Alaska, USA. As early morning rays strike the face of Denali, a bull moose and his harem search the shallows of the lake for submerged vegetation. Pentax 6x7; 105mm lens; 1/60 sec at ƒ/8; Fujichrome Provia film; Sachtler tripod and head. BELOW: Snake River Crossing, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, USA. Fog rises off the river and swirls into the half-lit morning, partly obscuring a herd of elk crossing the river. The morning stillness is broken by one of the most chilling sounds in nature the echoes of bull elk bugling. Nikon D3S; mm lens at 240mm; 1/1250 sec at ƒ/14; ISO 6400; Sachtler tripod and head. OPPOSITE: Windswept ~ Bison, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA. This bull, along with others of his herd, is seemingly unaffected by the brutal, 30-mile-per-hour winds that sweep through Lamar Valley. Nikon D3; 600mm lens at ƒ/4; 1/320 sec at ƒ/13; ISO 320; Sachtler tripod and head.

5 TD angelsen angelsen focuses on three main elements to capture the ideal photograph: patience, light, and behavior. These golden rules go back to the days when he would spend hours by his dad s side in a duck blind, observing the abundant waterfowl of the Platte River ecosystem that fed his love for the natural world early on. Those rules, which he still relies on today, are simple and straightforward. Combined with over 30 years of practice, they have earned him the reputation for which he is known today. LEFT: Dreamcatcher, Southcentral Alaska, USA. This photograph captures a macro look at the most identifiable characteristics of our nation s bird. Nikon F5; 600mm lens; 2x teleconverter; 1/15 sec at ƒ/16; Fujichrome Velvia film; driftwood for support. BELOW: First Light~Grizzly Bear, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, USA. First light strikes the summit of t. oran, painting the sky orange as mist rises off the Snake River. On this crisp October morning, a female grizzly wades through a shallow bend in the river, returning to the remains of an elk she had killed two days earlier. After catching her breath, she drug her hardwon prize out of the river and into the protection of the forest. Nikon D3S; 300mm lens; 1/500 sec at ƒ/11; ISO 6400; Sachtler tripod and head. OPPOSITE: Spring Blossoms~Western Tanagers, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA. A chokecherry tree adorned in blossoms sways gently in the breeze as two males perch lightly on a branch. A sure sign of spring in the Rocky ountain West is the arrival of the western tanager. These birds winter in central exico and Costa Rica and migrate north to breed and summer in North America. Nikon D3S; 600mm lens; 1/1250 sec at ƒ/7.1; ISO 2500; Sachtler tripod and head.

6 Sue Cedarholm ABOVE: High Noon on the Oxbow Bend ~ Bald Eagle and Osprey, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, USA. A vanishing ripple on the water s surface is all that remains of an aerial battle between a bald eagle and osprey over their sought-after prey, a cutthroat trout. Fuji GX-617; 180mm lens; 1/500 sec at ƒ/11; Fujichrome Velvia film; Sachtler tripod and head. LEFT: A large-format print of his portrait of a polar bear family cuddled up on a bed of spruce in anitoba, Canada, hangs on the wall of the Smithsonian in the Windland Smith Rice Awards exhibition, marking his title as Conservation Photographer of the Year for OPPOSITE: The Natural World: One Hundred Panorama Images of Nature (Images of Nature, 2007) is Tom s latest and most lavish book. angelsen selected 115 images for this collection, which is presented in a 256-page, 19 x 10.5 hardcover coffee table book. when asked what he predicts for the future of his work, angelsen expresses the desire to see more people relate to the natural world, to be less afraid of the wild and what it represents. This common bond between the animal world and the human world is what angelsen aims to achieve when people experience his Images of Nature Galleries. With several locations throughout the West and idwest, Tom s work has long been viewed as collectible, and its popularity continues to grow. I hope my work reminds people of what is beautiful and, if we take care of it, lasting in this world. The natural world somehow has this incredible ability to put things in perspective. For more about Thomas D. angelsen s photography, conservation alliances, and galleries, visit his website. Learn more about the Conservation Photographer of the Year Award.