Stephani Teran
Express staff
If you belong to the Plympton Helping Plympton Facebook page then you have likely been treated to seeing beautiful photographs and videos of local wildlife and insects that are not only lovely to look at but fascinatingly informative. These generous offerings that seem more likely to be found in National Geographic than a local Facebook group are the work of local photographer, Donna McBrien.
McBrien, who has lived in Plympton since 2009, can often be found hauling her top of the line photography equipment while roaming and exploring local forests, rivers, wildlife sanctuaries, and “secret places” where she has found nature in its purest, undisturbed form. With a former lucrative career in finance for Fidelity, Donna has always had an underlying passion for science -labeling herself as a “science geek”. She attributes her journey into photography and life in general to an insatiable streak of curiosity that runs through her.
McBrien first dabbled in photography in high school and was gifted her first camera and lens by her sister. McBrien’s first frequent subject matter was architecture. Her career required a great deal of travel and McBrien found herself using nearly every non-working hour of her trips taking pictures of the places she was visiting -often at nights and on weekends. This later evolved into landscape photography and satisfied her urge to explore in depth and learn about wherever she happened to be.
Her quest for the perfect shot was taken her to some perilous places. She has had some very close calls from steep canyon roads where the car nearly went over the cliff edge to muddy, icy roads in the Midwest where she had to push her car up the hill by herself as no roadside assistance could reach her remote location. She recalls returning a rental car on a business trip after a photography adventure turned south. “It was entirely covered with icy mud balls and my coworkers still tease me about it.”
Landscape and architecture were McBrien’s main focus in photography until she and her sister went on a life -changing African safari in 2013 with five days in Kenya and three days in Tanzania. She describes the transcending sights of the African wildlife. “We saw things like Silverback Gorillas and I couldn’t believe how incredible it was. I wanted to photograph everything I saw.” McBrien’s enthusiasm was not yet met with full potential as she did not have the proper wildlife photography equipment at the time.
That changed when she got home. By 2014 McBrien’s main focus and passion in photography had shifted to animals, environment, and insects. This new niche was perfectly fueled by her developmental and cellular biology degree and her passion for exploring and indulging her endless curiosity. “I still turn over rocks looking for bugs and salamanders. I look at every detail in the environment around me. I notice things others don’t.” This has proven true in cases like locating an eagle via her photography that had been banded by a local wildlife agency and not seen in eight years. McBrien was subsequently invited to attend the banding of the eagles’ babies.
Labeling herself as “an explorer by nature” McBrien has a gift for wandering and wandering well. She has been able to scout out areas that have not been intruded upon by others and respectfully capture the environmental happenings of various “hidden gem” locations. In addition to being able to locate hot spots for wildlife activity, McBrien is especially keen to learn about her subject matter in great depth. “If I am going to photograph an animal I am going to learn all about that animal -what it eats, when it eats, when it sleeps, mates, moves and anything it does or doesn’t do. I don’t just take a picture of an animal, I know their habits.”
McBrien takes her research a step further by sending her images and questions about the creatures or events pictured to local wildlife and entomology experts to verify and expound upon her subject matter. She enjoys this rather academic approach to her photographs. “If I do the work, I learn. And to me the learning is as satisfying as taking the photo.”
McBrien’s approach to capturing wildlife is not just about “getting the perfect shot”, but being aware and respectful of the environment she is a guest in -something that has been highlighted as an issue with the recent surge in hobby photographers. “I don’t tell people exactly where things that I find are because if you do, before you know it, you’ll have twenty people there taking pictures and trampling plants and being disruptive.”
McBrien expresses frustration in observing frequent disregard for rules at local wildlife preserves and the exploitation of delicate sites such as nesting areas and dens. “I don’t like to be ‘that person’ but if you are say, bringing your dog to a place with signs saying dogs are not allowed, and I happen to know there is a nearby den with baby foxes wandering around, I am going to say something.” McBrien is ever aware that rules and guidelines honor how intricately everything is tied together in nature and that respect shown in your actions and how you interact with your surroundings can go a long way in preserving the inhabitants of any environment. Often finding herself braving the elements, in uncomfortable positions, or enduring long waits, McBrien says “Anything for the shot -anything but being disrespectful to the place I am.”
McBrien also prescribes to the philosophy of quality over quantity when it comes to taking photographs in the wild. “I am not there for hundreds of shots, I am there for a few really good shots.” McBrien has taken more than a few really good shots. Her work has been showcased in the community and sold at the North River Arts Festival. One glance at her website or her frequent town Facebook page posts easily prove that she has mastered the art of not just wildlife photography but all subject matter from fireworks to architecture, and lightning to air shows. McBrien has an eye for detail and placement that afford her images exquisite reality without being overly edited or made to look unrealistic. She also prefers to photograph insects and creatures in their natural state. “If I take a picture of a hummingbird, it won’t be at a feeder. It needs to be when it is perched on the branch it keeps returning to at the edge of the woods.
When asked what she would like others to know about her photography and the mission or goal behind it? “Just look around you. Notice things. Be curious. Look for evidence of life around you and you’ll see new things you didn’t see before.” Whether capturing the often unnoticed and illusive animals in her backyard with game cameras, documenting the intricate life cycle of the Monarch butterflies she raises, or taking stunning images of local fireworks over a lake with her feet submerged in mucky water to get just the right angle, McBrien certainly notices the miracles and mysteries the earth has to offer and I, for one, am all the more inspired to do the same.