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Photographer and sportsman Jeff Fox took three months to shoot wildernesses in 11 states across the West this past summer. Jeff is a native Montanan who began hunting at the early age of 12, which opened a doorway to outdoor recreation that grew into a life long passion. He has since backpacked in all 11 western states, and worked as a wilderness Ranger in Wyoming and Colorado. He now works for The wilderness Society in their Bozeman, Montana office, helping to ensure good stewardship of America's pubic lands.
Visit Jeff's full wilderness photo gallery. (There are hundreds of photos; click on 'photos' to start slideshow.)
Ansel Adams Wilderness, California.
1. Why did you photograph places in the wilderness?
As far as I am concerned, our country's natural places are the most amazing in the world. Our legacy of wide open spaces, healthy game habitats, and diversity of landscapes are largely unequaled. I photograph wilderness to remind people of what we have right here in our backyard.
2. How much time did you spend in these wilderness areas taking photographs?
The photography project, which doubled as my honeymoon, took place from July 1st to September 30th in all 11 western states. In order to visit the variety of areas we wanted, we were forced to be equal parts long trail backpackers and road weary motorists. Typically we would backpack for 3-6 days, emerge from the woods to buy a shower at a RV park, campground, or gas station, and then drive though the night to our next wilderness destination. In all we spent more than 40 nights well beyond the road, and more than 55 days on the trial. (We also spent just 3 nights in a hotel room, and our greenhouse gas emissions were at least partially covered by a nifty terra pass, or "carbon credit," that a friend had given us as a wedding gift.)
3. Which place was your favorite?
Be sure that I have my favorites, but the most rewarding thing I have ever done in wilderness is to get to know just one place. To thoroughly explore just one drainage at different times of the year is guaranteed to be far more rewarding than ticking off the latest must see list from some magazine or interview. Besides, sportsmen will want to scout out their terrain and learn the game patterns of their favorite hunting grounds from year to year.
4. You're a hunter, as well as a photographer — what are the parallels between shooting photos and bullets? The differences?
You're always playing the odds as a photographer or a hunter. If you are knowledgeable about the area/habitat and your subject/game then you can do much to set yourself up for success. But in both photography and hunting, at least a little luck is required. By all objectionable standards you can put yourself in the right place, at the right time, and still not end up with anything to show for it. I guess that is when the largest difference comes in. Shooting images is a more carefree and creative endeavor. If my sunrise shoot is obscured by clouds, I might focus my lens on a puddle from the morning rain and shoot indiscriminately. Hunters don't often have that kind of flexibility. If you you're aiming for elk in the evening, you'll probably not be able to set your sights on a big horned ram before dark instead.
5. You have photos of a lot of people in wilderness areas. How is shooting people in wilderness different than taking photographs in more "civilized" surroundings?
There is a privacy issue for sure. Unlike a city street, folks in wilderness have an expectation to be left alone, and they might even wish you weren't around at all. Barging into a campsite with a camera and asking to take a bunch of photos of people that are trying to get away from everything can be awkward. That said, the challenges also produce rewards. If I am on a city street and I want to take your picture we might have a five second conversation, or, depending on the circumstances, I might not even ask you. Now in the woods, that's simply not an option. You're going to want to know who I am and what I'm doing. We are going to have a 20 minute conversation or more. You are going to want my story, and I am going to get yours. That's the main reward. Having real conversations with folks, learning their stories and seeing wild places through their eyes.
6. What does wilderness "mean" to you?
Well I am not a lawyer, so I won't quote the wilderness Act, and I am not a purist, so I won't say the place can't have seen a human hand. I guess wilderness to me has something to do with convenience. Wilderness cannot be designed or enjoyed with an overriding objective toward human convenience. Trails can be conveniently located, maps should be conveniently available, access is usually conveniently guaranteed, but beyond that wilderness is a place where you make yourself comfortable according to your own abilities and ambition. That kind of self control gives back as self satisfaction, and that lack of convenience gives back as simple, attainable freedom.
7. What did you learn about yourself in doing this project?
I learned how much of me is tied up in the lands of the American West. I think most people would agree if they stopped and thought about it that the land itself does more than just provide for people, it molds them, it recreates us in its image. Maybe that is why I like the West and wilderness so much. I don't want to see the land that recreates me further refined and trammeled, because I don't want to be further walled in and civilized. I like my space, I like my freedom, I like my individuality, the West gives me all these things.
West Elk Wilderness, Colorado.
Photos Sierra Club collection or courtesy Jeff Fox, used with permission.