Life in the wild
By Kim Jay
The first to meet me at the door of Photo Art Canada’s upstairs loft apartment were Bexter and Pricilla. The two felines zig-zagged in and out of my legs, as I made my way to the couch to start my interview with photographer David Krughoff and his wife Sherri.
David is a wild life photographer. He has been taking pictures since he was a child, but it wasn’t until he retired that he got deeply involved with animal photography.
David’s story before he retired is a story in itself. Starting with a hard upbringing in St. Louis, Mo., David and his late wife Carol moved around a lot. They engaged in a variety of jobs including goat farming, pet shop owning, and iguana research, to name a few. He has always been a man of many hats, but it is easy to see a common thread - a love for animals.
David smiled when he told the story of where this love began.
“I was actually given a BB gun for my birthday,” he recalled. “I went out for a walk where my Aunt Florence lived and I shot a couple of birds. And without any condemnation, after about the second or third one I shot, she said, ‘Doesn’t it hurt your heart when you see them fall?’... And then she walked over and picked up the little bird while his body was still warm and put it in my hand, and that was then end of it.”
It was this same passion for the wild that brought David to Mortlach in 2005. He was asked by Nolan Matthies to photograph the piping plovers, an endangered bird located in the area. This species was near extinction in 2005 when the South Saskatchewan River flooded. So David took part in the daunting task of hand rearing the fledglings until they were strong enough to be released into the wild.
David explained that taking a picture of animals in their habitat is a complex, patient task. “Because I met folks at the Canadian Wildlife Federation, I was able to set up a blind by a wild nest so I actually stayed with a pair of piping plovers through their whole cycle, even at night,” David said.
“The Piping Plover Paparazzi!” Sherri added. That was the name he was given in southern Saskatchewan.
A 500 mm lens, tripod, and his camera body stay hidden far away enough not disturb the birds, but close enough to get the candid shots.
“What a lot of people don’t realize, it’s harassment to set up or photograph endangered species, because you could cause them to desert their nest, or bring predators to the nest,” he said.
To avoid this, David was careful, very careful.
“No human odours, no food. I washed my boots in the lake everyday… So when I walked I wasn’t leaving a human scent for coyotes because they love to follow where humans go,” he recalled.
His goal is to capture the beauty of the wild without leaving more than a footprint, and his creativity benefits from living in a small town.
“If you are going to do anything that really springs from inside, you have to be calm. If you settle down in a small town…you can actually find that quiet spot where creativity springs,” he said.
David and Sherri have done just that. The building where they live has a duel purpose. Upstairs is their cozy loft, with a wood burning stove and two friendly cats. Downstairs houses some of the most captivating wildlife pictures in their gallery, Photo Art Canada.
“When Sherri and I sat on the bench across the street and passed our little dream back and forth, I said, ‘We mustn’t start this if we think it will be anything more than our art gallery.’ I think (success in Mortlach) is going to happen, but it could go either way.”
Sherri was chipper when she brought me downstairs to tour the gallery. Its conception was her idea when they purchased the village’s former bank in 2005. She manages the gallery in the open months from spring to the end of summer. Its customers consist mostly of people driving back and forth on the Trans-Canada Highway.
Sherri and David are ready to engage in their next endeavor. David is beginning to explore new project ideas, but his health is a defining factor in what direction David can go next. Photographing in the wild can be an arduous process.
These days, Sherri and David are looking for new ways to share their art with others. Their latest idea is to educate children about wildlife through print. The stories would highlight their knowledge about animals and
David’s photographs. If the idea evolves, it would be a natural fit for a couple whose shared life revolves around their love for the wild.
