Allen Max.The Itinerant Photographer: Photographs from Five Years of Wandering with Wildlife and the Stories behind Them

101 Pages·2016·5.03 MB·English

The Itinerant Photographer

Photographs from Five Years of Wandering with
Wildlife and the Stories behind Them

By Max Allen
Red Fox in Winter Ruff
Dedicated to

Elizabeth Powell and Ingwe

For living their lives in a way
that will always inspire me.
rd
3 Edition
Text Copyright: 2010, 2013, 2015 by Max Allen
Photography Copyright: 2010, 2013, 2015 by Max Allen
Cover Design by Rochelle Victor
All Rights Reserved.
Published by the Animalia Press
Mountain Skyline Sunrise

Introduction

Collected here in one volume are photographs I took during the five-year
period I spent traveling across North America in search of wild animals. My
travels took two forms: First, I travelled from place to place in search of wild
places and wild animals. Second, once I found a photogenic wild animal, I
wandered with the individual or group on their daily journeys.
My travels took me from my native New England down to the tip of
Florida, up and across the wilds of Montana, along the coasts of California, and
to many places in between. As you will be able to tell from the photos I have
selected, it was the Rocky Mountains that captured my imagination during this
time. I traveled, time and again, from Montana down through Wyoming and
Colorado to New Mexico.
It was the animals themselves that drew me. I have found that there is no
moment so real as one spent with a wild animal. In my youth, I spent countless
hours sneaking up on wild animals until I was close enough to touch them—and
in many cases I did indeed softly touch them before sneaking away again. It was
the challenge itself in my early days that helped me perfect the art of getting
close to animals but the draw of the wild was always present.
Later, after college, when I was trying to find my way in the world, I
turned to photography. At the time, I was looking for a way to share my gifts
while remaining true to myself and my goals. My friends always enjoyed
hearing my tales of being close to wildlife, and they always wanted to hear more.
After some contemplation, I realized that the best way for me to share my gifts
and abilities with the world would be to photograph the animals and show the
resulting images.
Thus began my love affair with wildlife photography. And really, what is
not to love? I spend time with the wild animals I adore, travel across our
beautiful country seeking out new and wild places, and share with others what I
enjoy most in the world.
Learning the art of photography was an intensive journey in itself.
Recording the animals I was seeing wasn’t nearly as easy as I thought it would
be. There were many technical aspects I needed to learn, from how to capture the
good light and photograph my subject free from a distracting background to
learning how to use the correct exposure.
I began learning the art of photography on a film camera. I now shoot
exclusively with digital “film,” and though I would never go back, I am always
glad I took the time to learn on film. Its unforgiving nature—slide film, in
particular—pushed me to learn film speed, exposure, and lighting to a degree I
don’t think I ever would have with a digital camera.
After switching to digital and seeing the improvements in quality and the
abilities of my new camera, I took all of my film negatives and dumped them in
the trash. In many ways it was an act of graduating to the next stage: I had spent
years photographing animals on film and had taken many memorable
photographs. It was, however, a training period, and by freeing myself of my
past, I was ready to begin anew.
I could have spent a few years re-photographing everything I had thrown
out, but instead, the photography of new and exciting wildlife drew me further
and further from my home. Eventually, this led to an in-depth knowledge of
many great places ideally suited for photographing wildlife throughout the lower
forty-eight states.
And now I find myself setting even further afield. My graduate studies
have led me to split my time between California and New Zealand. The allure of
the wild continues to call me, ever further it seems, with ever more exotic
species.
My typical photographic philosophy is a mix of my biology background
and my photographer nature. My goal is to learn about the animal while I
photograph it. With this in mind, what I like to do is find an animal and then
spend the day following it as it goes about its daily life.
This is not an easy task by any means. The nature of following the animals
through the wild is a constant push to my awareness and physical abilities. The
physical exertion involved means I need to limit the weight of my photographic
gear, and a 400mm lens is most often the largest lens I carry.
Though not an easy challenge, it is a challenge I love. Between my work
as a biologist and a photographer, I spend most of my time with wildlife.
Learning about and photographing animals as they go about their daily lives is
something I will be happy to do for all of my days on this earth.
I don’t see photographing wildlife as the end, however, for wild animals
are constantly embattled by and with our modern world. With so many battles on
a local, national, and global scale, there are always limitless opportunities to help
preserve our wild lands and wildlife.
My hope is that you, the reader, are inspired by this collection of
photographs and, in your own way, both seek out the wild animals of this
country and help in their continued preservation.
I would like to thank Mark Elbroch, Rochelle Victor, Dan Gardoqui,
Jerilyn and David Brownstein, Preston Taylor, Jill Wallace, Nate Harvey, and
my parents for their support throughout the project. In particular, I would like to
thank Mark Elbroch for his constant support and feedback, Rochelle Victor for
her exquisite cover design, and Dan Gardoqui for his continual encouragement
with my wildlife photography.
Sandhill Crane Flock Silhouetted at Sunset
Bobcat Surrounded by Pine Gold Hill, Colorado 400mm, ISO 100. Evaluative
metering at 0: 1/15 second at f/5.6