Rangefinder Magazine
Columns, August 2001

Insight/On the Cover

Dreams do come true. Witness the collection of expert photographers featured in our August issue. David Clark Wendt (page 14) was a hard-driving, successful commercial photographer for most of his career. But he had a passion for exotic sports cars—he loves everything about them. By combining his uncompromising work ethic and his passion, he’s carved out a niche—calendars—that affords him success and great job satisfaction. Mike Kelly (page 8) is another photographer living his dream. Mike wakes up each morning with “a smile as broad as the sunlit horizon.” His work and his lifestyle are perfectly in sync. As a marine biologist, scuba diver and surfer, Kelly’s work naturally revolves around the ocean, and his uncompromising love of the unmanipulated image make his work true and authentic. Jose Ramos is yet another photographer whose dreams are his reality. From the age of 11, Ramos wanted to be a military aviation photographer. And everything he has done in his life has led him to that dream—rather ambitious, considering Ramos is a civilian. His work (featured on page 22) is a collection of breathtaking aerial images made from inside the cockpits of the most fearsome airplanes on earth. Chuck St. John (page 28) photographs gorgeous models in swimsuits on the beach, day in and day out. Not a bad dream come true, but St. John quickly points out that although he has always “wanted to shoot models in cool locations,” it is grueling work. Once again, the art of not compromising one’s dreams leads to unqualified success.

Bill Hurter
Editor

ON THE COVER
PHOTOGRAPHER: Mike Kelly
CAMERA: Nikon F4 with Nikkor 500mm f/4 P IF
FILM: Fuji Provia
LIGHTING: The light at these latitudes (sub-arctic) is usually pretty funky during the onset of winter. Most of the time the cloud cover goes right down to the tundra, further reducing the already pretty minimal contrast of white bears on white snow. This image, however, was the opportunity you hope for. Just as this bear was walking right at me, the setting sun momentarily dipped below the cloud cover just before dropping below the horizon. The brief blaze of golden horizontal light bouncing off of the bear’s fur was an amazing sight.
COMMENTS: The most effective point of view for animal photography is eye level. I think eye-to-eye perspective is far more interesting. The vehicle we used to move across the tundra had pretty high ground clearance. To facilitate access into the vehicle there were a few steps at the door. To get to polar bear eye-level, I'd sit on the bottom step with my feet and monopod on the snow while my wife and our guide watched each side of the vehicle to make sure there were no bears sneaking around from the rear. With all of the equipment one needs, it becomes difficult to move as quickly as one may wish when there are wild polar bears nearby. To resolve this dilemma I had an agreement with my guide, a very sturdy off-duty forest ranger. He would stand directly behind me and pull me into the vehicle and kick the door shut just as the bear reached the vehicle, thus allowing me significantly more shooting time than if I would have been responsible for lifting all my stuff and clumsily climbing the few steps into the vehicle. For more information, see Peter Skinner’s article on page 8.