What a Life

Joe Riis leads a pretty cool life. He hangs out in really beautiful wild places, where he observes and photographs wildlife. (His photos of pronghorns like the ones seen below are featured in Ranger Rick's November 2009 story.)

We asked Joe to tell us more about himself.

1. Ranger Rick: How did you get interested in nature and wildlife?

My dad is a biologist (a scientist who studies plants and animals) and he was always teaching me about biology and conservation.

As a kid, I spent hours exploring the woods and poking around in the river near our house in South Dakota. When I was five years old, my parents took my sister and me on a camping trip to Alaska. It was the first time I heard the sounds of nature at night, and I loved listening. Alaska was super cool because it was so different from South Dakota. Big, wide valleys opened up between snow-capped mountains -- incredible!

All along, I learned how much I enjoy spending time in wild places.

2. RR: How did you become a photographer?

One day when I was in high school, I discovered a box of old cameras gathering dust in the basement. They belonged to my parents. Since they weren?t using them anymore, I hauled them out. I started messing around with them and teaching myself photography.

When I got to college at the University of Wyoming, I knew I wanted to study wildlife. But I didn't want to write down the results of my studies in field notebooks or on a computer. I wanted to record them with a camera.

These days I'm still at it, studying wildlife and using a camera.

3. RR: What do you love about your job?

I like using my photographs to show people the places and animals I care about. I want to inspire others to conserve these wild places and the creatures living there.

I've had some amazing experiences. I've watched a pack of wolves hunting a small group of pronghorns and seen grizzlies, mountain lions, and huge herds of elk.

I've also gotten to know some wonderful people in my travels.

To see more of Joe's photographs and find out more about him, log on to www.joeriis.com