Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Tom Mangelsen has photographed jaguars in Brazil and polar bear cubs in Manitoba. But the striking beauty of nature and wildlife is no less impressive just outside his home in Moose, Wyo.

“The other day, I had a pair of foxes that were in my front yard,” Mangelsen said. “They were romping and playing and mating and playing king of the mountain on this snowdrift. And there were the Tetons in the background, and I just thought, ‘This is why I live here.’”

Mangelsen, who has 10 galleries nationwide displaying his limited edition photographic prints of nature and wildlife scenes, will visit his Images of Nature location in Steamboat Springs for a reception from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday.

Images of Nature Gallery on Lincoln Avenue is the only one of Mangelsen’s galleries that is independently owned.

Owner Todd Savalox said having Mangelsen on hand to sign and talk about his work is a unique opportunity to hear the stories behind the images.

“I just think it’s a big honor because he’s world-renowned for his nature photography,” Savalox said. “For him to take time out of his schedule every year, we’re fortunate to have him here in Steamboat.”

Mangelsen said his father, a fisherman and a hunter, taught him the patience he needed to wait for days for scenes and behaviors to unfold before him.

In the past few weeks, he spent several days visiting a group of otters in Grand Teton National Park. Only one day did a bald eagle show up to feast on the otters’ leftovers, projecting the spontaneous and mysterious interplay of his natural subjects.

“Part of my goal is to elevate nature photography, and not that I can do that alone by any means,” he said. “The (nature) photographers, except for a few masters like Ansel Adams, weren’t really recognized after their deaths.

“I just want to show people the beauty of a place, and the behaviors — like the bear with the fish in his mouth — and for me, photography was the tool to do that.

“I kind of got carried away in it,” he said.

In the process of being carried away, Mangelsen employs his wildlife biology background to weave a conservationist theme into his work.

As much as he likes to capture the scenery and intricate behaviors of the natural world, he hopes those images will endure for generations to come, both in print and in the wild.

“I wanted to bring enlightenment about these areas so that, hopefully, people would protect them and write about them and do films about them,” he said. “And bring awareness that we need to save these wild places.”

— To reach Nicole Inglis, call 970-871-4204 or e-mail ninglis@SteamboatToday.com