LIGHTS, CAMERA, WATERFOWL ACTION

World-renowned wildlife photographer Gary Kramer traveled to 40 countries over the past four years to photograph every duck, goose and swan in the world, and they’re all in his latest coffee table book, Waterfowl of the World. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

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THE WATERFOWL WHISPERER

HAVE CAMERA WILL TRAVEL FOR WILDLIFE PHOTOG/ADVENTURER GARY KRAMER

BY SCOTT HAUGEN

“Ithink I just got the shot,” whispered Gary Kramer as he scrolled through the screen on his camera. We were laying side-by-side, photographing ducks last winter.

“Of what, pintails?” I came back with a smirk. “Yep, I have lots of pintail images, but that was the perfect drake and hen shot for the book,” Kramer announced as he zoomed in for a closer look. It was one of multiple shoots I joined Kramer on last winter while he wrapped up the biggest undertaking by one man when it comes to documenting the world’s waterfowl.

Kramer’s book features his photographs of 165 of the 167 waterfowl species in the

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Dolly Varden might not be as popular as salmon or halibut in terms of fishy Alaska table fare, but as Tiffany Haugen can attest, they offer great options. (TIFFANY HAUGEN)

HELLO, DOLLY! TRY THIS FISH SMOKED

BY TIFFANY HAUGEN

Last year we lived in Hyder, Alaska, where we had access to Dolly Varden much of the year. We’ve caught and cooked them many ways over the years, but as much as we ate last year, I was reminded just how good these fish are.

Smaller-sized Dollies – or trout of any kind, even landlocked salmon – are great cooked up to serve as single portions, but if looking to preserve them to use in a variety of ways, try smoking them.

There’s not much to it: simply fillet, Preheat smoker to 160 to 180 degrees. Place racks in the smoker, add chips to smoker pan and let smoke two to four hours or until fish reaches desired doneness. For a light smoke flavor, use one pan of chips. For a stronger smoke flavor use two pans of chips. Remove fish from smoker and keep refrigerated until ready to eat. Vacuum seal and freeze for longer-term storage.

Know that winter temperatures will greatly slow the smoking process, so wrapping the smoker in a manufacturerapproved insulation blanket is a good idea.

brine and smoke. Once a fish is smoked, it’s even easier to remove the pin bones so it can be eaten fresh from the smoker or prepared for something else. Toss smoked, flaked Dolly Varden (or trout) into a hot or cold dip, on a salad or pizza or into a favorite pasta dish.

Four to six whole Dolly Varden (or trout) 6 cups water ½ cup white sugar ⅓ cup kosher salt 1 tablespoon black pepper 2 teaspoons granulated garlic 1 teaspoon granulated onion

Prepare fish by cleaning and scaling. Keep refrigerated until ready to brine. Fillet fish and remove rib bones. In a large glass dish or crock, mix sugar, salt, pepper, garlic and onion until ingredients are dissolved. Add fish to brine and refrigerate eight to 10 hours.

Remove fish from brine and let air dry on smoker racks up to one hour. Editor’s note: For signed copies of Tiffany’s popular book, Cooking Seafood and other bestselling titles, visit tiffanyhaugen.com.

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Kramer has traveled to Alaska’s Arctic multiple times to photograph king eiders, the pinnacle for waterfowl hunters around the world. (GARY KRAMER)

AN OUTDOOR LIFE I’ve been a fan of Kramer’s work for decades. I like his writing style. I love his photography and his drive for perfection in every shot he publishes.

Born and raised in California, Kramer’s passion for the outdoors took root at an early age. Starting in the late 1970s, Kramer landed a job as a wildlife biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in California. Over the next 26 years he worked on four national wildlife refuges, including a 10-year stint as refuge manager of the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex. There, he made unprecedented changes and impacts, which resulted in attracting the highest concentration of waterfowl on any refuge complex in the U.S. WORLDWIDE WATERFOWL HAVENS If you’ve driven through some of these refuges watching or photographing ducks and geese, you know what Kramer did. Strategically placed logs and habitat, clever road designs for good morning and evening light angles, and bringing in gravel that allows birds to stand and gather grit, are just some of the strides he made as a manager that benefited birds and waterfowl enthusiasts alike.

But Kramer’s latest undertaking could be his most spectacular of all, as he recently completed a nearly four-year journey to more than 40 countries in which he photographed 165 of the 167 waterfowl species in the world. No one has ever accomplished this, let alone captured such stunning images that are highlighted in his latest book, Waterfowl of the World.

Kramer has always been a stickler for composing shots with perfect lighting in natural habitats at unique angles that make viewers feel as if they are there. Kramer ventured into the native habitat and some of the most remote corners of the world to get the highest-quality images possible for this project. Once home in Willows, California, where he checked the images on his big screen, if Kramer didn’t like what he saw, he went back multiple times to multiple places to get the perfect shot.

A DREAM TOUR Waterfowl of the World is a once-in-alifetime work. In fact, this book is at such a

high level, I have my doubts it will ever be equaled, let alone surpassed. The photos alone are worth the price of admission, but by including the informative text, maps and adventure stories, this is truly a special book that will meet the interests and needs of many people on a global scale. If you’re a waterfowl hunter, this book is a must-have.

While captivating photos keep me coming back, it’s Kramer’s photographer’s notes that I most appreciate. Perhaps that’s because I, too, am a professional photographer and I know I couldn’t come close to achieving what Kramer did in this masterpiece, especially on the level he did.

The stories of Kramer’s travels to complete Waterfowl of the World would be a worthy read, in and of itself, as there’s no end to the challenges and hardships he faced. Like the time he traveled to the remote mountains of Papua New Guinea to photograph Salvadori’s teal in their native habitat, which is most common above 8,000 feet.

Kramer first traveled to Australia, followed by Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea’s capital, and he then boarded a domestic flight to the town of Tabubil to find these teal. After over 9,000 miles traveled and five days of sitting in a blind on a remote mountain stream from daylight to dark, in the final 30 minutes Kramer got the shots he came for, a pair of Salvadori’s teal.

There was also a trip to capture the Madagascar pochard, the rarest waterfowl in the world and presumed extinct for 15 years, until its 2006 rediscovery on the island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent.

Following three days of commercial air travel from California to Antananarivo, Madagascar, Kramer spent 10 hours driving on treacherous roads for the next few days before embarking upon a 30-minute hike down a slippery slope, where he finally pitched camp near a secluded lake.

The next morning he wasted no time hopping in a canoe with a local guide, and five minutes later captured what are likely the best images ever taken of these rare ducks.

MORE DUCK TALES UNTOLD The adventures continue, but it’s the stories behind the two ducks Kramer was unable to photograph that stand strong in my mind, primarily because of the effort Kramer put in and the money he was willing to invest to photograph these ducks.

One was the Eaton’s pintail, which is only found on two subantarctic islands in the Southern Ocean, which encircles Antarctica. Despite Kramer’s willingness to travel 30 days by ship and spend over $20,000 of his own money, the French territory administration denied his multiple requests to visit the island and refused to issue him a scientific permit. No reason was ever given.

With the printing of Waterfowl of the World, it’s likely Gary Kramer will have published more photos of waterfowl than anyone on Earth, 1,299 of them in this book alone. The 540-page coffee table work features all 167 species of ducks, geese and swans on Earth.

As Dr. John Eadie of UC Davis points out in the book’s foreword, “Waterfowl of the World is an extraordinary accomplishment and a testament to Gary Kramer’s and John Mensik’s (text contributor) long, professional history and expertise in waterfowl ecology and management, and even more importantly, Gary’s superb photography.”

Waterfowl of the World can be ordered at GaryKramer.net. Signed standard edition books are $99, postpaid in the U.S. There’s also a limited edition of 250 signed and numbered books that come in a slipcase and leather-like cover with gold embossing for $250. If you’re interested in waterfowl, you can’t go wrong with either option, as this will be a collector’s item for decades to come. ASJ

Editor’s note: For signed copies of Scott Haugen's popular books, visit scotthaugen .com. Follow Scott on Instagram and Facebook.

Alaska’s most prized goose is the emperor. And seasons are now open for limited hunting opportunities. Gary Kramer has photographed these geese throughout their range in Alaska. (GARY KRAMER)