My journey into the world of wildlife photography started back in 1981. A life-long friend of mine invited me on a trip to Maine to a wilderness lake. I went along with my little Kodak 110 camera. I’ll never forget those first moose pictures I got back from the local film lab. The moose were like little brown spots in the middle of the picture.

Slowly, from then on I tried different photo equipment with some amount of success here and there. But now, looking back I know it was not the camera gear that was the important part. The passion that developed within me for just being out there in the woods with all the wildlife, but in particular with MOOSE, was slowly but surely becoming a big part of who I was.

By the summer of 2003 it had become very clear to me that I had found my true calling. Simply put, it was to be in the company of moose. When I am out in the wilderness with the moose and all the other wildlife I feel it deep inside of me. It is what I am supposed to be doing.

I work with a lot of different moose. Some moose encounters only last ten seconds but others last all day. Many of them are moose that I have formed a bond with over the years. And yes, it is very possible to form bonds of trust with moose and other wildlife.

Many of my subjects are named. One of my favorite moose is Pot Belly. She’s an older cow (female) moose I’ve known since 2003. In the summer of 2005 she left her six week old calf with me to baby sit while she went off and fed a couple hundred yards away.

Moose country certainly yields sightings of various wildlife and I enjoy it all, but the other passion to immerse myself in is the Common Loon. In my view they are a special part of the wilderness and pretty tough to photograph as well.

My approach to shooting is rather unique. I do not shoot much from land at all, and I rarely shoot from a tripod. I work almost exclusively in a kayak using a monopod. Aside from that I use traditional methods, shooting Fuji chrome slide film almost exclusively but with a bit of Nikon digital work when needed (early morning in low available light). I work only in calm conditions with little to no wind. With the moose it’s very challenging. Their senses of smell and hearing are nothing short of remarkable and paddling as silently as possible is one of the keys to success. It’s just plain fun and can get pretty exciting with a 1200 pound bull just around the next corner of the wilderness river.

Rick Libbey resides in Andover, New Hampshire with his wife Donna. He likes to speak at schools to children and present slide shows on moose that teach about “moose watching etiquette.” There have been numerous feature articles on his work and he has appeared on prime time television on The New Hampshire Chronicle show.

The vision is to continue to share his art but also to share the stories of the many moose encounters through the years. His wife Donna is an artist as well. She paints Rick’s photos on rocks (doorstops and paperweights) and rustic wooden plaques, and also presents moose jewelry and other moose related items.