June 21, 2007
Nature on full-color display in ‘Yellowstone to Yukon’
If German photographer Florian Schulz shows a boyish enthusiasm for his photography, it’s no surprise. Now 31, he’s been shooting wildlife and breathtaking landscapes since he was a teenager.
Schulz talked with reporters the other day, describing with energy and expansive gestures how he came to get certain shots — of an owl or bird in flight, of coyotes howling together, as if in harmony — and how patience and stillness bring rewards to the wildlife photographer. Schulz’s stunning photography of scenes from Yellowstone National Park north to Canada’s Yukon territories, and the ongoing effort to preserve wildlife corridors in those areas, is on display through the end of the year at the Burke Museum.
The exhibit is titled Yellowstone to Yukon: Freedom to Roam, and there’s also a lush book of Schulz’s photography, published in 2005 by Mountaineer Books. After its stay at the Burke, the exhibit will tour to museums in Chicago and Canada.
Schulz said the photography project amounts to a “childhood dream” come true. As a boy, he said, he read the stories of Jack London and dreamed of exploring the wild areas America still possesses, and which Germany has lost. He came to the U.S. as an exchange college student, and for about a dozen years, he said, kept returning to the area for more photographs. “I still go back,” he said.
The time spent in Yellowstone and the Yukon, all the while witnessing the coming of development nearby, engrained in Schulz a lifelong commitment to saving wilderness areas, while there’s still time. He wrote in press notes for the exhibit, “Through my work I hope to fuel the new conservation movement of connectivity, and perhaps, sharing my photography will move people’s hearts to get involved in saving North America’s greatest treasure.”
Few arguments could be as compelling as the photographs themselves — scenes of pristine wilderness, infused with dramatic natural light. A bluebird is caught with great detail in mid-flight, a brown bear looks out from his wintry perch in a tree, a mountain goat gazes with wise-looking eyes on the rocky terrain below.
One photograph shows an owl captured head-on in flight, its wings spread wide, its eyes aglow. Schulz described how he scoped out a direction the owl might fly to a nearby tree — “a total guess,” he said — and positioned himself, even focusing in advance, to get to quickly snap photos when the owl took flight.
This photo was one time, he said, when he knew right away that he had gotten his shot. “I wanted to jump for joy,” he said.
Another image is an incredibly close-up shot of a beaver chewing on plants in a pond. Schulz slowly entered the water and waited, and waited, his camera and mind finely focused, for the right moment. He shot with a flash, he said, which caused the beaver to look up. As with a great deal of his photographs, he spent much time and took many images before the right one presented itself.
Schulz said about half of the images were shot with film and half on a digital camera. He said digital photography has come so far, it’s now better than film for wildlife photography.
Schulz’s work is supported by the Blue Earth Alliance, Mountaineer Books and the Yukon Conservation Initiative. It’s the first of three exhibitions of nature photography over the next three years planned by the Burke Museum, partnering with various environmental organizations, each linked to a critical environmental issue.
For more information about Schulz and his photography, visit http://www.visionsofthewild.com/index/home.html.
