A quick chat with nature photographer, writer Stan Tekiela

Stan Tekiela has been writing nature books since he was a teenager. Now into his 60s, Tekiela has penned and produced photographs for hundreds of nature books that are enjoyed throughout the world.

Outdoor News readers know Tekiela because this publication regularly publishes his photos on our pages. In addition, he writes the “Nature Smart” column on our Backyard and Beyond page.

He’s also the director of a nature center near his home, and he’s a regular guest on Outdoor News Radio.

We recently sat down with Tekiela, who makes his home just west of the Twin Cities, for a quick chat.

ON: When and how did you get your start in nature writing and photography?

Tekiela: I went to the University of Minnesota and am a wildlife biologist by training and a naturalist. … Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve always wanted to write nature books. I was convinced that I could write a field guide to the nature in your own backyard and show you these things that are there that you don’t notice. So, I would do these things where I would write in a three-ring binder and then take pictures and start writing my own books, even when I was a teenager.

I just wanted to know about everything that was around me in nature – every plant, every bug, every animal, I just wanted to know what it was. I never thought it would ever happen that I would write a book.

But, about 35 years ago, there was a company starting up here in Minnesota called Adventure Publications and they took a chance on me and I became one of their first authors. So, I got a chance to realize my lifelong dream of writing a nature book, a real one. And, no one has said “stop,” so I’ve kept going.

ON: What are some of the more exotic or unusual places to which your work has taken you?

Tekiela: I’ve been to the Arctic to photograph polar bears, which was fabulous. Got to walk around the tundra with polar bears. At the time, I was working on a book on bears, so I got some up-close-and-personal time with them. I’ve been to Belize and Costa Rica … and spent a lot of time in Alaska and Mexico.

ON: Ever been afraid for your well-being or safety on any of your shoots?

Tekiela: I’m almost never afraid of wildlife, but there was one case where a very large coastal brown bear, a male, gave us a good scare. As a wildlife biologist and photographer, my goal is to not get into those situations. My goal is to observe using a long lens – to observe the natural behaviors and document those.

But, in this case we were interacting with a bunch of female (brown bears) and they were all busy feeding, so they didn’t care. … In fact, one of the females came and dropped off her cubs with us, which is a fairly common thing to happen for protection while she goes fishing in the stream.

All of a sudden, this 1,000-pound male shows up out of the clear blue and caught all of us by surprise. He came down a little river valley and hopped out right on top of us. It was like, oh my God. How the heck are we going to get out of this? But eventually, he started walking back down the stream, away from us.

I’ve had a couple of other instances where we were camping and eating salmon and the bears there wanted our salmon. But that’s not really a frightening situation because we know they’re there and they know and so forth.

ON: What is the most rewarding project you’ve ever worked on?

Tekiela: A three-year project on those bears.

Three years of traveling around, photographing bears and climbing in bear dens. Going to the Arctic. At the end of that three years, I was almost depressed because I knew I’d never have as much fun as I did during that time. It was just amazing. That was fun. When I turned all of the photos in to the publisher, I was like, what now? I was a little bit depressed.

We even went up to British Columbia for the spirit bears. These are the white black bears. They’re found only on a couple of islands on the inside passage in British Columbia. It took me seven days by boat to get to the islands. Some of the most remote area you can possibly get to. It was just spectacular. We were fortunate enough to see about six or eight of them and photograph them. What a great time.

ON: Any favorite species to photograph?

Tekiela: For me, my most favorite thing is whatever I’m photographing at that moment. I just got back from Florida where I was photographing snail kites. What an amazing species. They’re so highly specialized. I just had some great experiences with those guys.

I find my inspiration in nature and it’s so inspirational just to watch (wildlife). Just amazing stuff.