John Hyde is a nature photographer whose work is featured on the cover of the 2012 summer issue of American Forests. This Alaska-based photographer has always been interested in the natural world and has found solace there as well. But he never got interested in photography until he took it as an elective while working on natural sciences major in college. He took the class so he’d have an opportunity to meet a girl whom he knew was going to be in the same course. And indeed he met her, and they did go out for some time. That wasn’t the end. His interest in photography just continued to grow year after year, even after his relationship with the girl waned. Eventually, Hyde went back to school to study film and photography and on to work professionally in both fields. Hyde tends to be more attracted to raw, aggressive landscapes and large predators. But he also finds tranquility and quiet beauty irresistible as well. He says that the subject itself isn’t as important to him as the sense of place and time portrayed his images.
Many of his favorite memories involve wild subjects, and every one of these hinges on moments when he felt a connection with the subject that went far beyond admiration or respect. He enjoys his photography work but says that the most difficult one for him are those that demand the most persistence and patience. Ones like when he has to sit in a blind and on a board the size of a swing while suspended eight feet above the ground for several days waiting for the subject to enter the frame of his remote-controlled camera. Such times that are the most stressful for him because of the time it sitting there waiting for something you have absolutely no control over.
