On Our Cover – Michele Crawford Nature Lover – Photographer

– Conservationist

Nature is home to local photographer Michele Crawford most days. It’s where she is happiest and where you’ll find her with camera in hand. She loves catching sunrises and sunsets, watching animals care for their young and finding rare unique wildflowers and native plants. The best part about it is that she is really good at it! She waits sometimes hours, other times days to capture the shot she is looking for. She is content to wait and take in all of the unexpected surprises along the way. “I’ve always loved being outdoors”, she said when we chatted for this article. “I grew up playing in the woods and the creek. I played with bugs, snakes, whatever I found. One time I took a green snake and wore it around my neck like a necklace.” Michele grew up with her brother in Gainesville, Georgia.

In 1988 she moved to Rabun County and fell in love with Broderick Crawford and the southern Appalachian mountains. She noticed every detail along the hiking trails that seemed to call her name. She just couldn’t get enough of the beauty of the mountains. Michele signed up for a class offered through Smithgall Woods State Park in cooperation with the University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry. The curriculum centered around advanced environmental education. This was the beginning of her quest to further her education and she continues to educate herself on species of plants and animals.

Michele and Broderick Crawford own and operate Crawford Art Gallery. It is here you’ll find her photography. She has framed and unframed prints and offers framing services, another area where she excels. The Crawfords are active in conservation efforts through Ducks Unlimited and Trout Unlimited. Their generosity is shown through donations to support conservation efforts. She is passionate about protecting our natural resources and ensuring that future generations will be able to explore these mountains and enjoy their beauty. If only everyone had this dedication to and love of nature.

“A couple years ago a man came into our shop. He had heard that I had an interest in wildflowers and he knew the location of some Large Whorled Pogonia. They are unique and listed as endangered. He offered to take me to see it so I could photograph it. We went and the next day when I knew the light would be right I went back on my own and got some great photos. I keep journals of the wildflowers I find and I go back year after year to check on them. I want to see how many I see and if they are surviving. I note what I find in my journal. I’ve found Dutchman’s Britches, Yellow Fringed Orchids, Pink Lady Slippers and Vassie Trillium. It is the largest Trillium and is a deep burgundy. That one is my favorite”, she spoke of these flowers with such enthusiasm. It is evident that she has vast knowledge of plants that I would likely walk over without knowing it.

After marrying Broderick who has painted numerous duck species for Duck Stamp competitions, Michele began photographing ducks for her husband to paint. For instance she recently photographed a Common Merganser Duck. This is a busy time for these ducks because they are hatching off their babies and this particular mother merganser had 11 ducklings. Michele said that she watched her move those ducklings up and down the river, through rapids, teaching them to catch fish. “The mama duck taught them how to dive down and get their food. After she had worked with them in the water, she crawled up on a rock and the babies followed her. She lay on a rock above the babies and they fell asleep. She stayed alert the entire time they napped watching for predators and making sure they were safe,” she said.

“Sometimes I get so lost observing how the mothers interact with their young. It is truly amazing to watch,” she said. Michele went and bought every book she could find to learn about the different species of bird, their habitats, life span, migration and differences.

With the increase in our bear population in the mountains, Michele and I talked about how important it is to take bird feeders down and secure trash cans. As bears began roaming, most females have little ones and Michele has witnessed again the love of a mother while watching these sows teaching their babies. “She will be eating and

they’ll try a bite of a leaf and the faces they make are so funny, just like a kid. They whimper and she comes running. They communicate in their own way. Seeing the human toll on nature is hard, but the hardest part of Wildlife Photography is witnessing Mother Nature when it is brutal. I once witnessed a cub fall out of a tree about 50 feet to the ground. The mother bear came down quickly to care for her cub. But the fall either scared the cub or injured the cub and it would not climb up the tree any more that day. So later that evening when a male bear came the mom had no defense to save the cub, so the male bear killed and ate the cub. Then for three days the mother bear searched the area looking for her cub. It was heartbreaking!” Michele has captured the tragic and the magic of nature. She spoke of finding a mama Wood Duck with several ducklings but one had gotten its bill in fishing line and had a hook stuck in its mouth. She and Broderick removed the hook and the duckling ran and caught up with its mother and other ducklings. As more land is developed, more human toll is seen. “I’ve been watching and documenting plants and animals for over a decade and I see their habitats shrinking,” she said.

Michele has traveled out west twice in the past eight months visiting the Grand Tetons in fall and Yellowstone in February with a blanket of snow. “I watched a Bison swing his head from side to side to clear a path to dried grass. I got a photo of him. It looks like I was right on top of him but I was far away with a great lens! I watched this herd of 14 Bison for two hours or more. It was 7 degrees that day in the Lamar Valley!” She truly loves

watching animals communicate with each other. She spoke of being in Savannah and watching a Barred Owl feeding her babies. I was three years getting that photograph. Wildlife photography is 95% luck and timing and 5% equipment and habitat knowledge. I study the habits of the animals and spring is always about the babies, in summer most animals molt and there is too much cover to get great photos of critters. In summer I chase light, capturing spectacular sunrises and sunsets. Fall brings incredible landscapes and the migration begins. The Wood Thrush is the first bird to leave in August. They are my favorite song bird.” she said.

I honestly don’t know which is more impressive, her devotion to God’s creation or her ability to photograph it. Either way I appreciate both.

The bear on our cover and so many other photos are on display at the Crawford’s art gallery located at 108 N. Main Street in downtown Clayton, Georgia. Stop in and meet Michele and you’ll be in awe of her work. Her husband is pretty awesome too. Check out their website at www.crawfordartgallery.com and follow them on Facebook (@CrawfordArtGallery). For more info you can call 706-782-8379 or email crawfordartgallery@windstream.