Capturing the Impact of Avalanche Rescue Dogs | National Geographic

It's impossible to spend time with animals without feeling that there's something more inside them I'm deeply passionate about telling stories about animal intelligence So this assignment with National Geographic on avalanche dogs was a wonderful opportunity to launch the broader project I have in mind I'm a photographer for National Geographic I'm here in Bosesmen Montana trying to tell the story of a man named Graham and his avalanche dog What truly drew me to this role was the unique perspective I brought and the animal intelligence involved What I'm trying to accomplish is telling a story that proves dogs are sentient thinking beings And thus convey that they're out there focused on their work Every time I take a step I fall to my knees People think photographers' lives are idyllic even romantic as if you could just step outside and images flow like wine But the truth is there are plenty of things you have to deal with There were instances when we had to walk through the snow to reach other areas where skiing wasn't possible It was about 15 degrees making everything much more difficult Even the best cameras aren't built for these conditions I'm not much of a skier Frozen hands buried in the snow up to the waist carrying a $40 000 camera setup on their back I kept thinking it was all against me Every photo I tried to take felt like the universe was working against me I had you know just a couple of days to pull it off What did you manage to get Often the images we want to achieve end up unfolding on location in the moment I saw Emily Graham's wife being buried and that's when I realized that was the photo I thought you know why shouldn't I go in too That way I could show what it feels like to be saved by a dog Well then I'll have enough oxygen down there You'll be fine Good I mean the challenge of getting that shot Doing an audio check of the radio here I'm stuck in a tiny space and have to wriggle around and I'm not exactly the most flexible person Well The look on his face— you know he's thinking about one thing pulling me out Pulling him out of there And then the challenge was that as I dug snow kept falling on me So every five seconds I had to clear the snow off the front of the lens and then take a photo My hair got soaked I was drenched I felt great It was amazing Sai I think if I were seriously buried under an avalanche Can you imagine the feeling you must have when you see a Labrador Retriever digging a hole and saving your life I mean it has to be a moment You don't always have the opportunity There's a saying that if you think you have the opportunity then you don't And so you're always left with this worry I took the photo And when you get a photo you're happy with it's like Christmas What I always think about is what Graham and Erna are doing that’s special and what I believe is important to say They are out there every single day saving lives