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A photographer's work 'explores the increasingly complex relationship between people and the environment.'
Sweat and rain dripped from my body as I shivered in the pre-- dawn gloom of the Guatemalan cloud forest. The hour-long 1,000-foot climb in the dark had tested my stamina and nerves. Now I panted from the thin air of my 7,000-foot perch, or maybe from relief at being safely in my make-- shift photo blind, safe from the slick mud reeking of rot, the night calls from night creatures, and shapes moving outside the cone of light from my head lamp. I was waiting for dawn when Guatemala's elusive national bird, the resplendent quetzal, would begin feeding the chick nestled in the hollow tree before me.
I waited. Slowly the cloud forest shapes formed in the gray mist of dawn. I waited. The colors of the orchids gradually emerged. I waited. My stomach growled, and I ate the cold, homemade corn tortillas. After three hours with no quetzal, I was worried. After five hours, I was depressed. After eight hours, I gave up. The birds were gone. The chick must have fledged in the 24 hours since we finished building our blind.
Once the chick flies, the adults leave the nest, too. Weeks of scouting the steep mountains of the cloud forest for nests and five nights of building the blind without disturbing the birds were for nothing. I had supporting photographs of the birds, but I lacked the beauty shot, the direct quote, the nut graf photograph that would excite the imagination of the viewer. I'd spend the next few days scrambling to find another nest and, if successful, several nights building another blind.
I'd done everything right and, still, in my initial attempt, I failed. That happens in environments where animals operate with their own set of rules. As I sat cursing my luck, I recalled the circuitous path I'd taken to arrive at this place. Doing this work was so very different from my newspaper days of photographing spot news, sports, politics and environmental portraits.
Becoming an Environmental Photojournalist
In some ways, I have the Pacific salmon to thank for this transition. My 10-year project on salmon and the cultures surrounding this fish catapulted me...