Posted by Randy on 5/6/2006, 9:26 am Just ask Julie Larsen Maher, an Underwood native whose job it is to photograph exotic creatures on a daily basis for five wildlife parks in New York City and 350 field sites around the world. Her close calls with unusual species have often reminded her of her childhood. "Being bitten and shocked by a fence are some of the same things that happen on a farm; the animals are just exotic instead of domestic," the 47-year-old Larsen Maher joked. Her unique profession as the official photographer for the Wildlife Conservation Society, headquartered at the Bronx Zoo in New York, recently earned her an extensive article in the Wall Street Journal online edition. The Journal captured the photographer behind the lens as she waded with the flamingoes and stuck her head near a leopard's mouth photographing a tooth extraction. "There is no typical day for me, everything is different every day," Larsen Maher said. "I get to travel with vets and document surgeries. It's never the same every day; there's no routine to it."Larsen Maher is just the sixth person - and first female - in the society's 111 years to carry the staff photographer title. She worked as the art director for the Wildlife Conservation Society - a non-profit group dedicated to saving wildlife and their habitats - for 15 years before taking over as the official photographer in 2005. "It's a kind of job that more men have held because of the challenges in terms of conditions and animal contact with nature photography," she said. However, four-legged creatures and wild animals are not the only things Larsen Maher takes pictures of. She also snaps shots of celebrities like Uma Thurman, Glenn Close, Nicole Kidman and even former President Bill Clinton when they visit the zoo. However, she'd rather be in the field capturing wildlife shots like she'll be doing next week in Yellowstone National Park. There she'll photograph progress on preservation efforts. "They have a conservation program, and there will be plenty to document," she said. "I enjoy doing it because it involves something that has concern." Of all the chameleons, frogs, birds, butterflies and other animals she has photographed, Larsen Maher doesn't have a favorite animal; but she does delight in capturing the unique and never-seen-before species. She has traveled far and wide over the last year and a half, including four trips to Madagascar to document wild animals. Biting and scratching aside, Larsen Maher trusts her companions to keep her out of danger. Angling for just the right shot, she can get caught up in the moment. "I work closely with our animal staff, and trust their knowledge of animals. If they say it's OK, I work through it." To view some of Larsen Maher photographs, visit the Wildlife Conservation Society's Web site, www.wcs.org.
Being bitten, scratched or spit on by wild animals in Madagascar isn't really all that much different than growing up on a farm in southwest Iowa.
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