Into the Unknown with Brittany Crossman
There are a lot of photographers on Instagram, but there are only a few that inspire and delight in equal measure. Brittany Crossman is one such photographer, and I am honoured to be able to share both her thoughts on wildlife photography and her stunning images. So, sit down, settle in, and get ready for another instalment of my interview series Into the Unknown.
Brittany Crossman is a visual storyteller who uses wildlife and nature photography to promote ethical connections with the natural world. With photos that have graced the cover of Canadian Geographic and placed top five in the People’s Choice Award for the prestigious Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, Brittany facilitates relationships of respect and understanding between viewers and the wilderness around them. Brittany also uses her work to highlight various wildlife rehabilitation facilities, allowing her childhood passion for photographing animals to blossom into an incredible resumé of conservation. Take a journey with Brittany Into the Unknown and discover how she builds relationships with her wild subjects.
Photo Credit: Brittany Crossman
There seems to be a strong theme of human-animal coexistence within your work. What would you say is the main difference between photographing an urban animal vs. an animal living in nature, and how does your approach to photography change in each of those spaces?
Animals that live out in wilderness areas are typically more cautious around humans. They don’t see people on a daily basis, and therefore are usually nervous, tending to want to distance themselves. What I love about photographing urban wildlife is they are far more accustomed to human presence and tend to ignore you for the most part. They see humans on a daily basis and kind of accept them as a part of their natural surroundings, which enables you to get a more intimate look into their lives. With red foxes for example, it has allowed me to capture kits playing, mothers nursing, and mousing (hunting) with minimal disturbance. Whereas foxes I have come across in more secluded areas tend to either run or get as close to the tree-line as possible and observe you from their idea of a safe distance (which is usually too far to even capture an image). If I come across an animal and they give off a feeling of being uneasy, there is no sense in trying to photograph them. No image is ever worth making an animal uncomfortable or scared, nor is an image of a frightened animal ever going to be appealing. This isn’t always the case when photographing in wilderness areas; sometimes curiosity does get the best of them. Occasionally, I am able to capture a few good images, but my favourite photos, which I feel have a more storytelling component, seem to always come from my urban work.
Along the theme of coexistence, how does your passion for wildlife rehabilitation influence your work? Does seeing the results of negative human interaction change the way you relate to the subjects you photograph or the stories you tell with your work?
Being able to document behind the scenes at wildlife rehabilitation centres, and getting to volunteer occasionally with animal care, has been an eye opening experience. There is a significant number of animals being brought into these facilities yearly, and 9 times out of 10, the reason for it is due to human related causes. Reasons being either the animals are hit by vehicles, caught in fencing, garbage or traps, or their parents were removed from a property only for the home owners to find crying babies in their shed days later. After experiencing this, it really motivated me to push for people to do better and facilitate ways in which we can coexist successfully. One species in particular that, after being at rehabs, changed the way I interact with them is the snowy owl. Snowy owls visit my area during winter since it’s easier to hunt and find food opposed to the high arctic. I used to really enjoy going out and photographing these beautiful birds until I started spending time at rehabs. Almost every year, snowy owls are admitted to rehabs starving, weak, and emaciated. Although photographers are not always entirely the ones to blame, many have played a role in this unfortunate circumstance. When a bird that needs to hunt several rodents a day just to survive is being pursued by photographers constantly, they start spending more time flying away from people than hunting and feeding themselves. This results in wasting precious energy and can make them sickly to the point that they can no longer hunt. After seeing these birds I love in rough shape, I no longer have any desire to go out to photograph them during their winter visits.
Photo Credits: Brittany Crossman
You have spent nearly a decade photographing foxes in a multitude of settings. What does it take to foster such an enduring relationship with a single species, and how has your time with your subjects transformed your work?
I have always had a thing for foxes, raccoons, and pine martens from the time I was a little kid. They are species that will forever hold a special place in my heart. About 15 years ago, I was away with a few friends, and happened to bring along my camera (when I was younger, I was reluctant to do so because some people I used to associate would make fun of me and photography). I captured my first photos of foxes that day, and I was over the moon. Ever since then, I became more and more interested in learning about them, watching them, and getting a better glimpse into their lives. The more time I spent with them, I realized each fox encounter was unique. I started picking up on habits, personalities, family dynamics, and I became more enthralled than ever before. The better you get to know the wildlife, the stronger your work becomes. I truly believe that falling in love with your subject is the key to producing work that will foster a connection to nature with your audience.
Looking at this shot specifically, what goes on behind the scenes when capturing a photo like this? Do you go out with the intention of sharing a particular story, or does the moment unfold organically, with the storytelling coming after the capture?
Photo Credit: Brittany Crossman
Wildlife is so unpredictable, most of the time I am happy if my time out in nature even results in a sighting of something with a pulse. I will often go out with a specific species in mind, but not usually a specific composition. I am usually all over the place. With red foxes, after so many years of photographing them, I became picky as to what I wanted to capture. For example, I had mousing photos, but none in which I was overly happy with: bad angle, blurry, too much messiness in the foreground. I would venture to areas that were prime hunting grounds for foxes with lots of voles and try to capture an image that was better than what I had, but that didn’t always work out.
Fox Affection is my image that placed in the Natural History Museum’s wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award, and it is an image that almost didn’t happen. During this particular day, my goal was to go out and photograph foxes, but I had no particular agenda. On my way to see the foxes, I got distracted by a bald eagle eating a roadkill raccoon (what wildlife photographer wouldn’t?). That moment sucked me right in, and I was happy with the images I was creating, losing track of time and my original goal. I walked back to my vehicle, beaming over my eagle photos, and noticed a text from my brother. I was about two hours away from home, and he notified me that there was a bobcat in the backyard hunting mallard ducks. I was then torn on either hightailing it home, or continuing on my mission to photograph the red foxes. I figured by the time I got there it would be long gone, and I only had an hour or so left of light so I continued on to look for foxes. I never anticipated capturing this moment, but I am sure glad I did. This moment unfolded organically, and the images created told the story with very little need for an elaborate explanation. Moments such as this are what I strive to capture.
What has working closely with wildlife taught you about yourself as a creative? What lessons would you like to share with other photographers?
Working with wildlife has definitely taught me uncountable lessons in patience and made me more self-aware. I now have a strong understanding of my values and beliefs when it comes to wildlife photography. As a visual storyteller, my goal is to share compelling images that can foster a connection to nature, inspire, and leave my audience with something to reflect and act on. I never went into wildlife photography hoping to be well-known or popular. I do what I do purely on passion for my subjects and with the hope that even if I can just change one single persons skewed perspective on foxes, raccoons, martens or bears, then I have done my job. For up and coming photographers, or even those that haven’t caught their break yet, there will be many disappointing moments in this career, but you can’t let it hinder your love for what you do. Find your voice, your craft, and work on perfecting it no matter the challenges.
Photo Credits: Brittany Crossman
Thank you, Brittany, for taking us behind the scenes of your incredible photography and sharing the intimate relationships you foster with your subjects. If you have fallen in love with Brittany’s work as much as I have, check out her Instagram account, Facebook page, and website!
