For Park City resident Mike Flaherty, the thrill of the hunt is why he lies in wait, armed with a camera and camo telephoto lens, hoping for a wildlife moment he has yet to capture.
The 22-year Park City resident traded in the southern sights of Atlanta for the plethora of open space and natural habitats in Summit County specifically for the opportunities for photography. But it was a trip to Alaska that first got Flaherty hooked on capturing wild creatures through his viewfinder.
“In 1990 I went to a place called Brooks Falls, and that’s where you get the classic photo of the salmon jumping up into the bear’s mouth. And I really got hooked. I had a very crude film camera. It’s called an Olympus OM one, and I just got hooked,” he said.
But what goes into capturing an image of wildlife in nature, with the sun setting just right or a fresh snowstorm moving in?
“I get up really early in the morning,” Flaherty said. Photographers are rewarded for showing up.
Early wake-up calls, combined with his two decades of knowledge of the patterns of animal behavior in the area, allow for the images he makes on a frequent basis. He said it is also common for friends around town to help.
“I’ve got people that tip me off, sure, and it works a lot of time,” he said.
His process to photograph a wild animal and not disturb it includes a few tricks he has learned over the years. Using a pillow in the window to rest a 500 or 600 millimeter lens, turning off the car engine, for instance. And, of course, waiting, and waiting.
Living just off of the Swaner Preserve & EcoCenter provides Flaherty with an abundance of wildlife right off his back porch. He is enthusiastic about the foxes, moose, elk and other creatures that live close to home, but he loves photographing during excursions outside of Summit County.
Bears and wolves in Yellowstone. Puffins in Iceland and Ireland. Alaskan brown bears in Katmai National Park. His fervor for wildlife photography has taken him to many places in that search for the next great shot. Recently on a trip down the Danube River with his wife, he met a group of people from Slovenia who described the bears that live in the Carpathian Mountains.
“I don’t need any more bear shots, but it just seemed like it would be so much fun and enriching to go to the Carpathian Mountains, where Dracula’s from, and photograph the bears that are over there,” he said.
The photographer is humble when speaking about his work, but he is no stranger recognition around town. Flaherty often shares his work in a local Facebook forum, where residents and visitors share their excitment for his images of snow-covered elk, moose cows with little ones and other wildlife.
“My wife is in a Bible study and when she’s introduced herself, there are women that go, ‘Oh, is your husband that guy?’ Or when I’ve worked at Park City, I’ve had people come up to me, or they see my name tag, and they go, ‘Are you the guy that does the shooting?’”
The interactions are “very complimentary and very encouraging,” but the work is his outlet for creativity, passion and interest.
Flaherty has amassed an impressive number of photos, in the hundred of thousands. He said he knows there are projects such as books and other ways to package the images, but as he put it, “I’d rather be out shooting than doing that.”
“I’ve got no ulterior motives. I don’t sell anything. I just enjoy sharing, enjoy networking,” Flaherty said.
He loves photography for the in-the-moment experience, the hunt. And at 71, after having open heart surgery in July, he feels ready to see what more he can discover from behind the lens.
“When you get older, you feel like the clock is ticking. And if there are things that you want to do in terms of travel or photography, you feel like you got to get on the stick,” he said.
