PAGES 4-7 - MANGELSEN — Images of Nature Gallery

Conservation
Photographer of the Year 2011
Thomas D.
MANGELSEN
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ONSERVATION IS A KEY theme
throughout Thomas D. Mangelsen’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. Mangelsen 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 Mountains,” 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.
“Catch of the Day,” Brooks Falls,
Alaska, USA. A sockeye salmon leaps into the waiting
jaws of an Alaskan brown bear. This has remained
Mangelsen’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.
A B OV E , R I G H T:
“Bear River,” McNeil River Bear Sanctuary, Alaska,
USA. Each summer, brown bears congregate to feast on salmon as they
pass through the shallow waters.
Nikon F3; 600mm lens; 1.4x teleconverter;
Pentax 645; 75mm lens; 1/125 sec at ƒ/11; Fujichrome Velvia film;
1/1000 sec at ƒ/9; Fujichrome 50 film; Sachtler
Sachtler tripod and head.
tripod and head.
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Sometimes “up-close-and-personal”
means stepping back to capture the scene
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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 Mangelsen’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.”
TO P :
“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.
B E L OW : “Reflections
of Denali,” Denali National Park, Alaska, USA. Mirrored 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 Mt. McKinley—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.
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“Morning 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.
TO P :
Pentax 6x7; 105mm lens; 1/60 sec at ƒ/8; Fujichrome Provia film; Sachtler
tripod and head.
F
or Mangelsen, 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.
“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.
B E L OW :
Nikon D3S; 200-400mm lens at 240mm; 1/1250 sec at ƒ/14; ISO 6400;
Sachtler tripod and head.
O P P O S I T E : “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.
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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.
“Dreamcatcher,” Southcentral Alaska, USA. This photograph captures
a macro look at the most identifiable characteristics of our nation’s bird.
L E F T:
Nikon F5; 600mm lens; 2x teleconverter; 1/15 sec at ƒ/16; Fujichrome Velvia film;
driftwood for support.
B E L OW : “First Light~Grizzly Bear,” Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming,
USA. First light strikes the summit of Mt. Moran, 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.
“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 Mountain
West is the arrival of the western tanager. These birds winter in central Mexico
and Costa Rica and migrate north to breed and summer in North America.
OPPOSITE:
Nikon D3S; 600mm lens; 1/1250 sec at ƒ/7.1; ISO 2500; Sachtler tripod and head.
“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.
A B OV E :
Fuji GX-617; 180mm lens; 1/500 sec at ƒ/11;
Fujichrome Velvia film; Sachtler tripod and head.
A large-format print of his portrait
of a polar bear family cuddled up on a bed
of spruce in Manitoba, 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 2011.
L E F T:
The Natural World: One
Hundred Panorama Images of Nature (Images
of Nature, 2007) is Tom’s latest and most lavish
book. Mangelsen selected 115 images for this
collection, which is presented in a 256-page,
19” x 10.5” hardcover coffee table book.
© Sue Cedarholm
OPPOSITE:
hen asked what he predicts for the
future of his work, Mangelsen 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 Mangelsen aims to achieve when
people experience his Images of Nature Galleries. With
several locations throughout the West and Midwest,
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.”
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For more about Thomas D. Mangelsen’s photography, conservation
alliances, and galleries, visit his website. www.mangelsen.com
Learn more about the Conservation Photographer of the Year Award.
www.naturesbestphotography.com