ENDANGERED: Art4Apes is delighted to announce that Debbie McCulliss is our February 2022 Photography Virtual Artist in Residence

Congratulations to Debbie McCulliss for becoming our February 2022 Photography Virtual Artist in Residence. The Virtual Artist in Residence Program is awarded monthly to the artist (or photographer) who has submitted 3 or more entries to the ENDANGERED Fine Art & Photography Contest 2021 and has been selected by the Curatorial Committee as best interpreting the aims of the Contest.

Artist Statement

Debbie McCulliss is a Colorado-based winter wildlife and nature fine art photographer and budding conservationist. A few years back, she began taking photos of what became much-anticipated sunsets in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. She noticed two bald eagles 1500 feet away from her house and tried to capture images of them flying off a pinion tree. McCulliss made it her goal to capture a sharp image of the eagles’ amazing eyes. Her passion for wildlife photography grew from this singular challenge. She started to read about animal behavior and migration, not only for the eagles but for other animals, such as elk and hawks. The more she learned, the bigger her photographic world became. This ever-evolving world continues to provide her with the opportunity to observe and intimately connect with the world and bear witness to and record the wonder, strength, fragility, beauty, and rhythm of wildlife and nature.

Kalispell Montana © 2022 Debbie McCulliss. All Rights Reserved.

McCulliss loves being out in nature where action can happen with little notice. Practice and perseverance are critical, especially when photographing birds and animals that are elusive. She loves the element of surprise in the variety of color, song or vocalization, behavior, or size and shape of her subjects. She’s become keenly aware that, when the environment changes, individual species, food chains, and entire ecosystems can be altered. Through her photography, McCulliss not only captures moments in time, but offers a perspective into the lives of animals forced to navigate this changing world.

McCulliss has learned from recent travels that what she has been privileged to see may not always look the same for future generations. Historic wildfires have scorched a diverse range of ecosystems and rendered air quality unhealthy and sometimes downright dangerous; and record hot temperatures, severe drought, and receding and melting glaciers are changing the world in which we live.

As a budding conservationist, McCulliss continues to learn about environmental threats, disappearing wildernesses, sea ice losses, higher water temperatures, and acidity levels. Endangered animals and rising sea levels can tell us much about the health of the planet. The protection of its land, water, and inhabitants is crucial.

Plans for New Work

McCulliss plans to continue to develop her photographic skills, experiment in the field, and write for publications. Once freer to travel, she will pursue the places on her bucket list—polar regions that include Antarctica, Greenland, Norway, Finland, and the Yukon. Other goals include learning about and photographing other endangered or threatened species, garnering a magazine cover, magazine story, and solo exhibition, writing for a variety of publications, publishing a photo book, showcasing her work internationally, and placing in a prestigious international photography competition.

McCulliss’s work is currently showcased in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, at the Catamount Ranch and Club Lake House, Colorado Group Realty, MountainBrew Coffee Shop, and Mahogany Ridge Brewery & Grill and in Denver at Framed Image. Past gallery representation in Steamboat Springs has included the Riverwalk Collective Gallery and Windfall Fine Art Gallery. Outside of Steamboat Springs and Denver, McCulliss’s award-winning work has appeared virtually and in-person in several regional and national galleries and internationally in Budapest and Barcelona.

Message to Artists

Awareness is critical. When photography focuses on endangered or threatened species and habitats or conservation efforts, it imbues your photos with additional layers of meaning. Learning and predicting animal behavior as a wildlife photographer is critical but so is remembering that we are temporary visitors to an animal’s home. Sharing our voices and talent may affect positive change, but our photographs of endangered or threatened wildlife could also have an immeasurable impact on conservation efforts around the world.

See more of Debbie’s work by clicking on the link below:

Website: https://www.debbiemccullissphotography.com

ENDANGERED: Fine Art & Photography Contest 2021 Submissions

South Georgia island Coastline. Photograph © 2021 Debbie McCulliss. All Rights Reserved.

Gentoo Penguins. Photograph © 2021 Debbie McCulliss. All Rights Reserved.

Rockhopper Penguin. Photograph © 2021 Debbie McCulliss. All Rights Reserved.

See more of Debbie’s work below:

South Georgia Island Icebergs © 2019 Debbie McCulliss. All Rights Reserved.

On my trip in October 2019, I saw icebergs in varying sizes, shapes, and blue and white coloration. Seeing them made climate change more real to me, while also making photographing them even more of a high for me.

South Georgia Island Iceberg at Sunrise © 2019 Debbie McCulliss. All Rights Reserved.

An icebergs color is determined by how much it interacts with light. The longer the path light travels in ice, the bluer it will appear.

A Breeding Colony of King Penguins at Elsehul © 2019 Debbie McCulliss. All Rights Reserved.

Penguin chicks rely on their parents to hear their sounds and find them. Both king penguin parents can recognize their individual chick’s voice, despite the size of the cacophonous colony or length of time that they have been out to sea catching food for their young.

King Penguins © 2019 Debbie McCulliss. All Rights Reserved.

Penguins on iceberg Heading Out for Lunch © 2019 Debbie McCulliss. All Rights Reserved.

On South Georgia Island, penguins forage for food, such as krill. Scientists are currently researching if existing fisheries pose a threat to penguins, by directly competing for their food.

Fur Seal on Grytviken © 2019 Debbie McCulliss. All Rights Reserved.

Grytviken was the largest whaling station on South Georgia. The exploited whales have shown considerable recovery. Fur seals are another example of an animal that was exploited during the slaughter of the fur trade in the late 19th and 20th centuries.

South Georgia Island Albatross © 2019 Debbie McCulliss. All Rights Reserved.

South Georgia Island is home and a globally important breeding site for the wandering albatross as well as the black-browed, grey-headed, and light-mantled sooty Albatross. Albatrosses are on steep decline, threatened by introduced species, pollution, and fishing issues.

Southern Elephant Seal © 2019 Debbie McCulliss. All Rights Reserved.

South Georgia Island has the largest breeding colony of Southern Elephant Seals. After the discovery of South Georgia Island by Captain James Cook in 1775, intensive indiscriminate slaughter almost exterminated the seals. The hunt waned at the end of the 19th century because it was no longer profitable. Depleted fish stocks appear to affect some populations of elephant seals more than others.

Tongass National Forest © 2022 Debbie McCulliss. All Rights Reserved.

Rain and snow typically feed the bordering coastal rain forest. This November day was an exception The low-lying clouds hanging over the towering distant mountains of the Inside Passage showcased Alaska’s wild and rugged beauty. Fog rose from the forest floor. This was scenic grandeur at its best. These undisturbed lands are vital to a natural ecosystem’s ability to adapt to climate change.

Chilkat River Bald Eagle © 2022 Debbie McCulliss. All Rights Reserved.

In 1982, the state of Alaska created the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve to protect bald eagles and salmon, as well as their critical habitats. In 2019, American Rivers, an advocacy organization whose mission it is to protect wild rivers, named the Chilkat River among America’s most Endangered Rivers due to the threat that mining poses to the river’s salmon, culture, and economy. The spectacular Takshanuk Mountains surround the preserve.

Yellowstone Bison Herd © 2022 Debbie McCulliss. All Rights Reserved.

Yellowstone bison are symbols of strength, stamina, and survival in this protected land of unpredictable, harsh weather and wind. Yellowstone snowfall totals in winter can be upwards of 100 inches, and temperatures can drop well below zero. Bison don’t have to worry about dramatic temperature changes as they have excellent winter insulation due to their thick coats.

Humpback Whale Bubble-Net Feeding in Alaska © 2022 Debbie McCulliss. All Rights Reserved.

Humpback whales that bubble-net feed dive deep into the water and release bubbles, which force dense schools of fish upwards. The whales then ascend upwards in a spiral pattern through the center of the bubble net with mouths agape, swallowing hundreds of fish at a time.

LeConte Glacier Alaska © 2022 Debbie McCulliss. All Rights Reserved.

Named in 1887 after biologist Joseph LeConte, the LeConte Glacier is the Northern Hemisphere’s southernmost tidewater glacier (a valley glacier that flows all the way to the ocean). It is one of many stunning tidewater glaciers along the Inside Passage of Alaska.

Alaskan Glacial Ice © 2022 Debbie McCulliss. All Rights Reserved.

Alaska’s glaciers are melting at rates among the highest on the planet. Scientist can now measure how some glaciers melt below of the surface of the water.

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR VAiR PROGRAM

The Virtual Artist in Residence Program is awarded monthly to the artist and photographer who have submitted 3 or more entries to the ENDANGERED Fine Art & Photography Contest and have been selected by the Curatorial Committee as best interpreting the aims of the Contest.

Questions? Lindsey@Art4Apes.com