Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2015)
10 S moke S ignals NOVEMBER 1, 2015 Bynum has been to more tha BYNUM continued from front page Sarah “Sally” Hudson Jones and the great-great-great-grandson of Chief Alquema or Joseph Hutchins, who was the chief of the Santiam Calapooya. Alquema signed the Santiam Treaty of 1851. Born in Walla Walla, Wash., Bynum moved to Olympia as a child and graduated from Capital High School. He earned a master’s degree in resource management and undergraduate degrees in geography and land studies from Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Wash. Bynum then spent the first 15 years of his professional life work- ing on developing environmental regulations in Indian Country, first for the Yakama Nation and then for the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. Bynum became the acting senior Indian program manager in the assistant administrator’s office at the EPA. “I wasn’t seeing change as rapidly as I wanted to see it, so I left that job in Washington, D.C., shortly after 9/11,” said Bynum. “I had a daughter (now 13) after that and I decided I wanted to raise my daughter, and I wanted to focus in on being home and being around her.” Bynum’s daughter, Jaida, is a member of the Blackfeet Nation. Building a portfolio Bynum said he had always had an interest in photography and spent the next few years building a portfolio of his landscape and wildlife images. “He has worked very hard,” said Grand Ronde Tribal Elder Tracie Meyer, who is Bynum’s aunt. Bynum said he worked on a num- ber of large conservation projects as a photographer and that he liked the results. “The imagery actually changed minds a lot faster than pushing papers or developing or working on policy at the highest levels of our government,” said Bynum. “It was really driven – the whole photography thing – was really driven by an interest in the out- doors. I figured out I could actually influence people’s thinking maybe in a more effective manner just by taking photographs and it was a lot more enjoyable. I got to be outside a lot more.” Since beginning his photography career, Bynum has photographed buffalo, bull elks, grizzly bears, black bears, mule deer, caribou, Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, mountain goats, coyotes, northern pintail ducks, sage grouse, bull sprigs, geese, hawks and horses. He also has photographed bow hunt- ers, rifle hunters, backpackers, kay- akers, river rafters, rodeo riders, powwow dancers, yoga enthusiasts and children, as well as landscapes, flowers, trains, airplanes, lodges and a dog outside of a restaurant. Photo by Tony Bynum Teepees on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana. Bynum operates Tony Bynum Photography and FinalShot Pho- tography as well as his seasonal Glacier Impressions Gallery. He also worked as a location manager for an IMAX film “Wild America – Our National Parks” that will be released in 2016. When he is not out in the field shooting, Bynum writes a regular blog and an outdoor photography column for Western Hunter Mag- azine, where he is the photo editor as well. Bynum is also the elected second vice president of the Professional Outdoor Media Association and a member of the board of directors of the organization. Bynum has traveled the world taking pictures. “I have been to over 40 different Reservations,” said Bynum. He has taken photographs throughout Montana – including Little Dog Mountain, Logan Pass in Glacier National Park, Sinopah Mountain, Chief Mountain, Badger Two Medicine area, Saint Mary Lake and Wild Goose Island, Swift Current Lake, Flathead Lake, Two Medicine Lake, Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument and the Marias River. Bynum has traveled to all the lower 48 states, Alaska, British Columbia, Mexico, Argentina, Af- rica and, most recently, to France and Switzerland to pursue his profession. “The Swiss Alps are some of the most incredible places I’ve been,” said Bynum. “That has to be one of the highlights, being able to go hunting and photographing in the Swiss Alps was pretty fantastic. The alps in France and Switzerland were pretty spectacular.” Most of Bynum’s international travel has come during his time working on an outdoor sports televi- sion series called “Eye of the Hunt- er,” which airs at 9 p.m. eastern time on NBC Sports Outdoors on Mondays. Episode clips of “Eye of the Hunter” also can be viewed at www.eyeofthehunter.com. The show’s producer and director Tom Opre hosts the show along with his wife, hunting consultant Olivia Nalos Opre. Tom Opre, who has hosted the program for the last eight years, said the show is a big adventure series based around hunting. “We travel the world and meet people and look into the history and cultures of the places we go,” said Tom Opre. “We take Tony along with us to do photo docu- mentation of everything. The stuff he shoots looks like it comes right out of National Geographic. He is an awesome photographer. It really helps us.” Tom Opre said that he also shoots high definition film for several cli- ents and that he takes Bynum on those outings as well. “Often while we are doing these shoots, they (his clients) would like to have professional still photog- raphy so we bring Tony on,” said Opre. “We are traveling around and we were just in France and Switzer- land a couple of weeks ago. We were hunting mountain ibex. We’re hik- ing, climbing up mountains. We’re stopping off at villages, eating at restaurants that only serve wild game taken from the surrounding area. We meet a lot of different people from different places. “Tony has been all over the world with us. He’s such a phenomenal photographer. He’s just got a great eye for capturing relevant, real subject matter. He’s able to capture these moments in time. It works out really great because he captures the essence of what we do. “We’re out there in the wilder- ness, on horseback or flying in little planes to get to the middle of nowhere, and being able to live out there and be comfortable takes a special kind of person to be able to do that. Tony is a great guy, great to be out there with. We’re always striving to do things better than the last time we did them. Tony and I always push each other when we are out on location. He is just a phenomenally great professional.” While working with Opre on a television shoot in northern British Columbia, Bynum met guide/out- fitters Jim Peterson and Dempsey Callison of Tahltan Outfitters. Both Peterson and Callison live and work out of Smithers, B.C., which is east of Ketchikan, Alaska. Peterson, who has been a guide/ outfitter for the last 15 years, brought in Callison for this partic- ular assignment. Callison, 77, is a living legend of sorts in the area and has been a guide/outfitter for 35 years. Calli- son said when he met Bynum on the trip to hunt stone sheep, he was impressed. “I met him at a place called Gun Lake,” Callison said. “Then, of course, we traveled together up into the mountains and it was fantastic. He definitely was a real pleasure to work with. He is very professional.” Callison said that the Canadian government divides areas up into hunting zones for the guides and that is the area they work out of. He said his area is the northwest part of the province within about 100 miles from the Yukon border. “It is remote,” said Callison. “The area that Tony was in is even more remote because there isn’t any roads at all. It’s one of the only ar- eas in British Columbia that there are no roads at all. It is 214 miles of just complete wilderness.” Peterson agreed with Callison on Bynum’s professionalism and he said you learn a lot about people when you spend the night in a cave
