Q+A with Lou Newman

For Lou Newman, retirement from his career as a veterinarian sparked a second career as a wildlife photographer. A Plymouth Harbor resident, Newman conducts three to five local shoots a week and takes six trips a year to photograph wildlife around the world. His latest exhibit, “Feathers: From Sarasota Bay to the Antarctic” is on display through Oct. 3, at Plymouth Harbor.

Q: What was your life like before photography?

A: I went to vet school at Cornell. I knew if I didn’t go west right after school, I never would. I spent one year in Wyoming and moved to Glasgow, Mont. At the time, there were only 55 vets in the whole state. My primary interests were pregnant cows, newborn calves and viral diseases that affect them. 

My wife developed cancer, and at that point, Michigan State University had been recruiting me for years. I became the director of veterinarian extension and a teacher in the large animal clinic and earned my Ph.D. I then went to the University of Kentucky, where I was director of the veterinary diagnostics lab. There, I performed autopsies on animals and diagnosed them with illnesses. One time, I had 30 horses in a single day. 

From there, I went to the University of Georgia, where I was the director of the veterinary diagnostics program. I worked on animals as diverse as crickets, alligators and catfish but mainly farm animals. I retired in 2000 and moved down here.

Q: How did you make the jump from being a veterinarian to a photographer?

A: I started as a teenager with a darkroom in my basement. Taking pictures was always part of my daily activities. When I went into the academic arena, I took pictures for research and to illustrate what I taught. Starting in 1990, I worked toward a career to become a wildlife photographer in my retirement.

Q: Where have you traveled for photography?

A: My travels have carried me to 70 countries and all seven continents. I wound up in China three times. The Arctic is a favorite of mine. I’ve been to Alaska seven or eight times, and I’ve been to the Siberian Arctic. 

Q: Where is your favorite place to travel?

A: Africa is special. The birds and the animals of Africa are extraordinary. South America is amazing, too, especially the birds. I always wanted to go to Australia and New Zealand, and I’ve finally been there. It’s a good thing I never went there when I was young. I never would have come back.

Q: What are your future plans?

A: I’m leaving for Palouse, Wash., this week. It’s my second crack at landscape photography. I did it one time in Iceland and ended up taking more photographs of birds. I tend to be going back to places now. I’m going back to the Galapagos Islands this summer and then Peru.

Q: What are your favorite animals to photograph?

A: The cow has always been my first love. My favorite animal, though, has to be the bear — first polar bears, then the Alaskan brown bear. It’s exhilarating when brown bears pass so close to you their hair brushes your leg. It’s exciting to see a polar bear on an ice flow or catching a seal.

Q: How did you become interested in bird photography?

A: When I retired, I really thought I’d be primarily photographing four-legged animals, but now bird photography is what I do. In March, April and May, Florida is the best place in the world to photograph birds. They’re used to tourists. Some birds I can get 50 feet from, whereas the same kind of bird you can’t get within half a mile of somewhere else. It’s unique. I love the osprey and the brown pelican. The osprey is a noble bird. 

Q: How many pictures do you take during an average shoot?

A: I take about 700 to 1,500 each shoot. On a trip, I’ll take about 30,000 photos, and I’ll bring home 7,000 of them. From that, I’ll print anywhere from seven or eight to 15. I took 600 pictures this morning. From that, I probably have one or two shots I’ll use. One in 1,000 pictures make my show. 

Q: What’s your most memorable photography experience?

A: On an African safari, I was up front, and a cheetah jumped on the hood of the car and looked me in the eye. In Tanzania, a huge bull elephant started charging our vehicle. The women near me were screaming, the driver was trying to back away as quickly as possible, and I was just clicking my camera as fast as I could.