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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2015)
S MOKE S IGNALS NOVEMBER 1, 2015 11 an 40 diff erent Reservations with them. “He (Bynum) was awesome,” said Peterson. “He was a super guy.” Tom Opre said he has plans to in- clude Bynum in his next television series that will air in 2016. According to Opre, “No Bound- aries” also will be an outdoor ad- venture series that will feature a more in-depth look into the people in these remote locations. “Tony is going to be an integral part of that as we move forward with production in 2016,” said Opre. Obtaining images diffi cult Bynum said getting standout images of wildlife is not easy. “Most people don’t care that it took 20 tries on 20 different days climbing a mountain getting nothing, getting nothing, getting nothing,” said Bynum. “The story behind the image resonates with me because it took a lot of effort.” Bynum has had his images fea- tured on the covers of magazines like Sports Afield, Outdoor Life, Field and Stream, American Hunter, Bow- hunt America, The Wilderness Soci- ety, Backcountry Journal, Montana Magazine, Elk Hunter Magazine, Montana Outdoors and many more. While working for the state of Montana, Bynum’s photographs appeared on the side of trains in Photo by Tony Bynum A buff alo with Chief Mountain in the background in Montana. Chicago, in the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and the Mall of America in Minnesota, and the side of a city bus in Seattle. “I’ve actually had an image in downtown Seattle that was an entire city block,” said Bynum. “The whole side of the building was painted with one of my images. They were all advertising place- ment for the tourism department in Montana.” Fellow outdoor photographer Rod Sinclair of Sinclair Imagery Inc. said he has had many adventures with Bynum and considers him to be a good friend and partner when it comes to shooting photographs in the wilderness. “I met Tony eight or 10 years ago after he saw a few photos that I had posted on the Internet on a wildlife site where I live in south- ern Alberta,” said Sinclair. “I’ll tell you this — Tony is amazing. And I quite frankly learned everything from Tony. When I met Tony he was already well on his way to being at the professional level and he just excelled. “Like any artist you have to have something inside you that is there that other folks don’t perhaps that makes you stand out. And Tony is one of those. We found out we share a passion for the environment, wildlife and scenery. He just shared a number of his secrets with me both technical and non-technical. You just have to be able to under- stand wildlife, their habitat and be thinking like the wildlife that we are shooting so you can capture it. It’s something you are born with.” Sinclair, whose work has been featured in National Geographic, said he is a loner and will only work with Bynum on photo shoots. “He is fun to be around,” said Sinclair. “But his values and his principles – he is the top of the line. He is one of Montana’s, and as far as I’m concerned, North America’s top wildlife photographers and landscape photographers without a question. He’s the real deal.” Even though his profession takes him all over the globe, Bynum’s home is in the Rockies. “I never tire of coming back to the Rocky Mountains,” said Bynum. “I’m always proud to come back. You know when you’re home. This is the place for me. I love it a lot.” n Plankhouse turns 5 More than 100 people gathered in Grand Ronde on Saturday, Oct. 17, to participate in the fi fth birthday celebration for achaf- hammi, the Tribal plankhouse. Tribal members from several Tribes throughout the Northwest drummed, sang, danced, told stories and shared a meal as part of the celebration. Young women from the Tribe’s Canoe Family danced around the outer edges of the fl oor of the plankhouse, circling the men performing a traditional song with hand drums. The celebration started at 4 p.m. with opening songs and continued well into the night. Grand Ronde Tribal member Kimberly Contreras speaks with Tribal member and Tribal Artisan Brian Krehbiel as he prepares a smudge pot near one of the open fi re pits inside of achaf-hammi. Photos by Brent Merrill Grand Ronde Tribal member and Cultural Outreach Supervisor Bobby Mercier, far right, led drummers in performing an opening welcome song at the Plankhouse Birthday Celebration on Saturday, Oct. 17, at achaf-hammi. Also pictured, from left, are Tribal Council member Jon A. George, Klamath Tribal member Plummie Wright and Grand Ronde Tribal member and Cultural Protection Coordinator Jordan Mercier.
