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Taming predators through photographyJuha Suonpää aa Researcher in the department of photography , University of Art and Design, (UIAH) ,HelsinkiPublished online: 03 Jul 2008.

To cite this article: Juha Suonpää (2000) Taming predators through photography, Visual Sociology, 15:1, 51-64, DOI:10.1080/14725860008583815

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Visual Sociology 15, pp. 51-64, © International Visual Sociology Association, 2000 51

Taming Predators Through Photography

Juha Suonpää

Bear, wolf and wolverine—wild predators al-most extinct by now—are gradually returningto the Finnish forests. During the last decadeit has been extremely popular to photographwild predators using carrion. Nature photog-raphers go to great lengths trying to photo-graph predators in the wilderness while al-most identical photos could be obtained withmuch less effort in a zoo. But the effort anddaring required for photography in the wildunderscores the importance of the photogra-pher and adds value to the resulting photo-

graphs. Nature photographs are trophies andmeans for social respect. Photographing wildpredators is a rite, an ordeal of initiation. It isa physical and emotional endeavour subjectedto unwritten laws. Successful photographs ofwild predators are pictures that embrace asocially defined aesthetic. These aestheticallyuniform pictures provide a ticket to the grow-ing social community of photographers. As aresult public interest in nature is heightened,but only as far as it is tamed and controlledin colourful images.

Figure 1:Portrait of anature photog-rapher. Photo:Juha Suonpaa.

Juha Suonpaa is a researcher in the departmentofphotography at the University of Art and Design, Helsinki (UIAH),currently working on his doctoral dissertation on the Social Construction of Nature Photography. He is also anindependent photographer, educational film producer, teacher and author (together with his wifeMarja) of severalbooks for children.

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52 Suonpaa

The Case of "Split Ear"from an Individual into a Genre

In 1986 Antti Leinonen, a Finnish nature pho-tographer, managed to capture a bear on filmfor the first time during his career.1 The bear inquestion was a large male, which had beenenticed by carrion put down in the forest by thephotographer. The same bear was later photo-graphed over and over again by other photogra-phers, who had likewise resorted to the use ofcarrion.2 The bear was easily recognizablebecause of its unusual lack of fear of humanbeings, and its one ear lobe, which was split.Photographers began to call the bear by thename of "Split Ear" because of this easilyrecognizable feature in its physical appearance.During the course of many years, Split Ear wasphotographed by a legion of Finnish nature

photographers, and thus it became the mostphotographed bear in the history of Finnishnature photography.

Many newspaper articles were written onSplit Ear, and while presenting their slide showsto their audiences, photographers told manycolorful stories about it. Not only was Split Earwidely photographed, his pictures were alsowidely sold. They play a leading role in manyFinnish nature photography books.3 The bearhas also been used in commercials for Toyotacars.4 The large amount of images involvingSplit Ear has created marketing potential whichhas also been used for promoting photographyas a hobby.5 Besides being exploited by naturephotographers and advertisers, Split Ear wasalso the subject of the research of a well-knownscholar studying the social behavior of largepredators.6

UUTTA PUHDJ.STA VOIMAA!

<$ mmm

®.TOYOTA

Figure 2: Split Ear in Toyota advertisement in Helsingin Sanomat (9 April 1992).

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Taming Predators 53

Nature Photography asSocial Construction

In Finland, nature photography developed into agenre in its own right during the 1970s. Almostall the photographers who can be labeled asnature photographers are men. In addition to

thousands of amateur photographers, there areseveral hundred professionals who earn signifi-cant additional income by working in this field.The study of one particular genre within naturephotography and the way its aesthetics areconstrued sheds light on Finnish culture and therelationship Finns have with the nature of theirhomeland.

Figure 3: Postcards from Finland.

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In this article, nature photography isunderstood as a dialectic process in whichnature photographs and those who producethem are seen as the constructors of the con-cept of a nature photograph, but at the sametime nature photography is something that hasbeen constructed by the social world (Aittolaand Raiskila 1995:220-221; Berger andLuckmann 1971). It is based on my licentiate'sthesis Luontokuvan sosiaalinen rakentuminen[The social construction of nature photography],(Suonpaa 1997), in which I have studied Finnishnature photography as a social construction,whereby a nature photograph is seen as a partof our social life and its practices. The primarymaterial used for this study consisted of news-paper articles on predatory animals and bookson nature photography. Cultural practices givenature photographs their social significance,around which their aesthetics also tend torevolve. One typical example of the way theaesthetics of nature photography becomeconstrued is the case of Split Ear.

The Death of Split Ear—the Birth ofPredatory Animal Photography

Although the heart of Split Ear has ceased tobeat, the animal itself lives on in photographsand texts. Split Ear was shot by a hunter in theKainuu province on the first day of the huntingseason in the autumn of 1992.7 As the bear wasbeing skinned, it turned out to be a decrepitanimal with poor health and bad teeth. It stayedalive only because of carrion provided byphotographers.

Split Ear had been exploited by photogra-phers and researchers until it was finally shot bya hunter when it had outlived its natural lifespan. For the hunter, its shooting was a highpoint in his life, but for photographers this bearwas important in a rather different way. The skinof Split Ear now hangs on the wall of the hunterwho shot it; for the photographers the importantthing was to be able to hang pictures of theliving bear on their walls as well as to presentthem in photo exhibitions.8 From the economicperspective, the case of Split Ear and its fatemark the beginning of a new era: the economic

benefit the hunter received from the deadanimal is immeasurably smaller compared tothe sums that photographers got paid for theirpictures, which amount to tens of thousands ofFinnish marks.

The Hunt for Photographs

During its life Split Ear was ideally suited forman's need to experience his environmentthrough single objects rather than experiencingit as an aesthetic whole. These singular objectsprovide observers with highlights in the wilder-ness which are sources of immense gratificationfor people. Photographs of bears, too, becomeobjects, and these objects are the coveted prizesfor photographers participating in speciallyarranged bear safaris. These safaris provide

Figure 4: Split Ear skinned.

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Taming Predators 55

photographers with opportunities to photographwild bears which have become used to being fedwith carrion by the organizers of the safaris.9

One of the better known participants on suchsafaris is Mr. Pertti Salolainen, a politician andpublic figure best known as a former member ofthe cabinet in Finland. In the newspaper articleswritten about the safaris, the carrion site ispresented as a place where one can add to andcomplete one's collections of nature photo-graphs.10 Acquiring such collections of imagesclosely resembles the activities of huntingparties, and even the word "safari" links thisactivity with hunting. In the newspaper articles,the sites of bear-photographing expeditions aredescribed as places of pilgrimage of a kind, thevisiting of which will become the most importantevent in one's life and which will even become a

source of happiness. The Finnish bear huntersof the past used to arrange a special feast foreach bear they had killed and one of the ritualsof this feast included hanging the skull of thebear on the branch of a pine; this symbolizedthe hunters' wish that both his family line andthat of the defeated animal would continuesuccessfully. Today the participants of the bearsafaris hang their trophies, their bear photo-graphs, on their walls so that they might reas-sure themselves of the continuity of theirrelationship with nature as well as the fact thatthey came out victorious from a fearful encoun-ter with a predator which forms part of thepassing of an initiation rite. The bear safari alsoprovides one with an opportunity to take uniquepictures to achieve both financial and socialsuccess.11

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The bear safaris and the sites where carrionis put down are places where one can experi-ence a kind of carefully planned theatricalperformance. The preparations made in advanceare an integral part of the show and proceed inmuch the same way as nature books and naturephotography guidebooks describe them. Acquir-

ing a licence to use carrion, building a hide fromwhich to observe the carrion, transporting thecarrion to the scene and the silent wait for thepredator to appear can be compared to stagingany major event, both with regard to the troubleone has to go through and the financial burdeninvolved. The construction of the repeated bear

Figure 5: Trophies in photographer/hunter's living room. Photo: Juha SuonpM.

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Taming Predators 57

spectacle can also be seen in how the scenesfor these shows are chosen. The sites of thesafaris of both the Martinselkonen WildernessCentre and Mr. Lassi Rautiainen have beenchosen so that they resemble as closely aspossible the site of the Finnish Nature Photo-graph of the Year 1990, in which the bear isseen next to a pristine forest pond enveloped infog. Similar photographs of bears next to aforest pond have been published in othercontexts as well, which is an indication of theway in which the Nature Photograph of the Yearcontest shapes the ideals of nature photographyin Finland and influences the choices of thephotographers.12 For a photographer, a bearphotographed next to a pond represents proofof the successful pursuit of a climactic experi-ence in nature, and for the organizer of thesafari it represents a selling business idea.

Nature as it is Presentedin Photographs

From the perspective of aesthetics one can saythat the expressive content of Finnish naturephotographs has become impoverished as aresult of the pursuit of certain preconceived,ideal images. Photographs which resemble eachother repeat an aesthetic canon which no longerhas anything to do with unique and personalaesthetic experiences, but which aim at theslavish reproduction of a standardized, norma-tive view. It can be assumed that the concept ofnature that the public has in Finland has at thesame time been reduced in its content andscope. It can be argued that in the mind of thepublic in Finland, bears are on the move only inthe autumn as they harvest the berry crops onopen marshes. In real life, however, a bear by amarsh pond is a highly unusual sight, but a

Figure 6: Nature Photograph of the Year 1990. Photo: Antti Leinonen.

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common occurrence in nature photographs.The concept of nature has thus acquired itsmeaning from nature as presented in photo-graphs.

Bear safaris are events which the public inFinland know well, yet they exist only in photo-graphs. Safari participants may well be disap-pointed as the reality might not correspond tothe romantic moments which they expect toexperience on the basis of nature photographsfrom past safaris. In this way the carrion siteresembles a zoo, where visitors might bedisappointed when the animals fail to appear(cf.Berger 1980:21).

In stark contrast to the reality of bearsafaris, the Mature Photograph of the Year gala,held annually in the Finlandia House inHelsinki, is a place where a close encounterwith nature is guaranteed for the participants.This event, which is sold out year after year, is

the equivalent of a giant hide, where the screenand the slides projected on to it form the windowinto nature. The program of this event resemblesa tourist trip with a stereotypical, preconceivedsequence of experiences, only here the se-quence is based on the narratives of the slideshows. These visual journeys take place in thefar off wilderness areas to which the spectatorscan travel through being immersed in the land-scapes of the slides. The realism of the photo-graphs is a guarantee of genuineness of theexperience for the spectators, and the highlightsof the shows consist of an unexpected encounterwith a rare animal or of the struggle of thephotographer against the elements. The emo-tional undercurrent of the gala, held in the mostprestigious premises in the country, consists ofan entertaining show presented in a pleasantatmosphere combined with a concern about thepreservation of the wilderness areas of thecountry for future generations.

Figure 7: Nature Photograph of the Year Gala. Photo: Juha Suonpaa.

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Taming Predators 59

Subject-oriented Photographyand the Amount of Work Required

During Split Ear's life, his pictures were used inmany different ways. The uses of these picturesproduced a kind of brand, a norm for aestheti-cally appropriating pictures of predators withinthe field of nature photography in Finland. Theuse of Split Ear in photographs and the bearpictures elected as the Mature Photograph of theYear have resulted in the bear becoming anespecially suitable and desirable object ofphotography. In this sense it is possible to speakof subject-oriented photography which hasbecome part of the nature photography sceneand tradition in Finland. The bear is the celebrityof nature photographs, something that is worthphotographing as such.13 The Mature Photo-graph of the Year contest has turned into astock exchange of nature photographs, definingboth the aesthetic value of nature photographsand the mutual ranking of the photographers inthis field.

The rules that apply to the photography ofpredators are, in principle, the same as in naturephotography in general: whatever animal is rare,timid or exceptionally spectacular is consideredto be especially valuable when captured on film.If this was true in the strict sense, one wouldimagine that pictures of the lynx would beespecially highly valued, yet one hardly eversees pictures of a lynx in its natural environ-ment. However, it is the wolf which has theposition as an especially desirable photographicsubject, precisely because it is rare in Finlandand difficult to photograph.

Photographs of predators taken in a zoo donot meet these socially defined criteria fornature photographs because the most importantcriterion is that the pictures are taken in thewild. Part of the work of a "genuine" naturephotographer involves strenuous physical effortssuch as carrying the carrion to the photographysite. The amount of physical work carried out bythe photographer is an important factor contrib-uting to the value of nature photographs be-cause, following Bourdieu (1965:78), one couldsay that the efforts one has to go through in

order to secure an image is a counterforceagainst the basic problem of photography as anart form, that is, the apparent ease with whichphotographs can be produced. A predator is, byall accounts, a real challenge for any photogra-pher and the photographs taken of them attestto the physical capability of the photographer,which in turn is one of the factors contributing tothe value of his or her photographs.

The "Uncontaminated" Imagea Guarantee of the Authenticityof the Experience

One might think that placing carrion in thewilderness would be in contradiction to theconcept of an authentic nature photographbecause this clearly involves the manipulation ofwild animals by human beings. However, thenotion of authenticity of nature photographs hasmore to do with the absence of any signs ofhuman interference in the images than with thetrue absence of any form of contamination ofthe scene by humans. Thus, the criteria are metwhen the photographs are taken so that thecarrion is not visible in the final images. Theauthenticity of the image thus depends to agreat extent on building a visual illusion ofpristine nature in the photographs. Certainchoices in the composition of the image areconsidered to be guarantees of the authenticityof a nature photograph, so that one might saythere exists a recipe for an authentic naturephotograph. Over the course of the years,certain implicit rules have evolved amongnature photographers in Finland through theproduction and use of nature photographs.These implicit rules consolidate the communionof nature photographers, their feeling of belong-ing to the same social group and to the samefield. These implicit rules become explicit onlywhen they are broken. A good example of this isa photograph by a well-known photographerthat was presented as a unique image depictinga wild wolf but which later turned out to be apicture of a stuffed animal. When the cheatingwas revealed and a public scandal ensued, thephotographer was expelled from the nationalorganization of nature photographers.14

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Figure S: Thewolf as stuffedemotion. Photo:Juha Suonpaa.

The preferred choice of color transparencyfilm among nature photographers can beexplained through the criterion of authenticity: acolor slide is taken to constitute evidence of thecircumstances prevailing during the act ofphotography, and an uncropped color sliderepresents the ideal of authenticity. The illusionof authenticity has become part of the conceptof a nature photograph, thus contributing to thefeeling of a window, which is part and parcel ofany nature photograph. The image on the colorslide is symbolic evidence of the genuine andauthentic experience of the photographer in thewilderness. The realistic impression created by

the use of color transparency film and thetendency to maximize the sharpness of theimage can be seen as indicators of the instru-mental use of photography among naturephotographers: the aim of the images is tocreate the impression of authenticity, natural-ness and genuineness in the minds of theaudience. Naturalness and authenticity seemalso to be the conditions upon which the viewingof nature photographs depends in the minds ofthe audience. If the illusion of authenticity,which is based on an implicit agreement be-tween the photographers and the audience, isshattered, the aesthetic experience of theaudience maybe completely ruined.15

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Figure 9: Wildwolf "caught"with camera.Photo: JuhaSuonpaa.

The Uniformity of Imagesin Nature Photography

It is customary to expect an aesthetic guaranteewith nature photographs which will ensure theaudience the aesthetic experience it is lookingfor. However, one might at the same time pointout that this emphasis on an aesthetic guaranteewill easily result in the impoverishment of theaesthetic experience of the audience. Similarexpectations on the part of both photographersand their audience tend to weed out the kind offeatures which do not conform to the mutualimplicit agreement on what a nature photographshould look like as well as features which mightundermine established practices. This will leadto a monotonous and uniform way of presentingnature in photographs. An impoverished,predefined supply of experiences will narrowdown the possibilities of forming views of reality.From the point of view of innovative learning,

this will lead to an unpleasant scenario in whichthe limited amount of choices can be seen asproducing a risk for mankind's coping with thephysical and psychological problems relating toits environment (Botkin et al. 1981:24-28). Therepetition of beauty and the absence of uglyscenes may well give society cause to think thateverything is well with our environment. Onemay note that while nature photography hasbecome increasingly popular in Finland, it hasalso become more and more clear that our oldforests are in need of protection. Nature photog-raphy could have a role to play in helping us toform a clear image of this problem in our minds,but concentration on just a few top-rankingattractions from our nature will distort our viewof it and prevent us from seeing the big picture.From the point of view of environmental ecol-ogy, it may be argued that a multifacetedunderstanding of our nature as well as a plural-istic attitude towards environmental values

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would help secure us a functional and viableenvironment. This is something that naturephotography, concentrating on just a few selectspecies, as has been the case in Finland duringthe last few decades, is not able to direct atten-tion to.

It might be argued, on the other hand, thatattention to the beauty one can find in ournature and to the unique experiences it can offercan lead to the emergence of positive attitudestowards environmental protection among thepublic at large. Nature photographs couldprovide the urbanized people with an indirectway of experiencing nature when direct ways ofdoing so are no longer possible or the possibilityfor them has disappeared. Photographs of thegravely endangered ringed seal of Lake Saimaa(Phoca hispida saimensis) can be assumed tohave had a positive role in the protection of this

species. However, it cannot be taken for grantedthat a similar situation would occur when onelooks at the attitudes towards large predators.The wolverine, for instance, which is also anendangered species, does not have the kind ofattributes which have made the cute ringed sealsuch a successful symbol for the nature protec-tion movement in Finland. This being the case,one cannot expect the celebration of cutenessand beauty and similar values to help in theprotection of wolverines or other less well-known and less sympathetic-looking animalspecies. When it is desirable to promote theliving conditions of predators it would thus bemore useful to emphasize the intrinsic value ofnature and reject the idea that the value of thevarious animal species would depend on what-ever instrumental value they might have forhuman beings.

Figure 10: Wolverine in a zoo. Photo: Juha Suonpaa.

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The Zoo of AestheticsIn nature photographs predators are presentedto us in a scene where the experiences are of adistanced kind, in a scene that could be com-pared to a zoo where things are turned insideout: although the predators are free to roamaround the photographer's hide, man still hasthe same subjugating attitude toward thepredators that he has in an ordinary zoo. Thephotographer's desire to control the situation inevery possible way is akin to the controlledsituation in the zoo, where visitors are given thepossibility of having unique experiences. Thefact that photographs of predators resembleportraits brings to one's mind man's desire torule over nature, and it also reflects the photog-raphers' tendency to isolate the predators fromtheir environment, in order that humans may

properly observe them and also have themunder their control. The arrangements at thephotographic site and the removal of disturbingtwigs and thickets are ways through which theveil of mystery covering the animals is removed.At the same time it is a way of bringing thewilderness into the sphere of human culture, away of bringing it under man's power. Photo-graphs of predators resemble trophies in whichthe correspondence existing between expressionand content takes form. The distinctive featuresof each species are clearly visible just as theyare in a stuffed animal. The sharpness of theimages is a guarantee of their authenticity and italso creates a feeling of naturalness, whichmakes it possible for the picture to act as asubstitute for the real predator. However, inpractice the fate of large predators in Finlandhas not been an enviable one: people do not

Figure 11: Wolf under construction. Photo: Juha Suonpaa.

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want them around unless they are dead, or ifthey are alive, they are only accepted in photo-graphs. One of the reasons for the popularity ofnature photography may well be the fact thatwhen seen in photographs the predators can bemastered by the human eye, they appear to benice, well behaved and under control. In thisrespect the predators of nature photographs arevisual castrates, about whose lives, reproductionand death man can decide within his ownsociety, through photographs.

Notes1 Kuhmolainen, 28 March 1991:5.2 Among these photographers are e.g. Lassi

Rautiainen, Pertti Härkönen, Kari Kemppainen, SeppoRonkainen and Hannu Hautala.

3 Rinne, Veikko (ed.). 1991. Vuodenluonnonkuvat 90. Nature Photographs of the Year 90.Espoo: Weilin & Göös, 9; Leinonen, Antti andSuominen, Teuvo. 1991. Suomen karhu [The FinnishBear]. Helsinki: Otava; Rautiainen, Lassi. 1995. MinaBjörnar. My Bears. Meine Bären. Karhujen kaverina.Helsinki: Articmedia.

4 Helsingin Sanomat, 9 April 1992: C 5.5 Luonnonkuvaaja [Nature Photographer], No.

1/1994, back cover.6 Eläinmaailma [The World of Animals], No. 2/

1990:22-23.7 An interview with photographer Eero Kemila,

10 April 1996.8 One such exhibition was held by the bear

photographer Antti Leinonen in the ViktorBarsokevich Photo Centre in the summer of 1994(Viikko-Savo, 15 June 1994).

9 In Finland safaris of this kind have beenarranged by Mr. Lassi Rautiainen in Kuhmo and bythe Martinselkonen Wilderness Centre inSuomussalmi.

10 Apu (Finnish weekly magazine), No. 28/1995(14 July 1995):37.

11 Photography has an important role also in theso-called ecological hunting safaris in Africa, whereelephants are shot with paint shells instead of liveammunition, leaving a colorful stain on the animal.The event is shot both with video and conventionalcameras as proof a successful hunt (HelsinginSanomat, 25 September 1994:C 4).

12 Cf. e.g. Metsästys ja kalastus [Hunting andFishing], No. 11/1989:38-39; Luonnonkuvaaja[Nature Photographer], No. 1/1996:15; and Etmagazine, No. 2/1995:39.

13 In the "Press Photos of the Year" contest, too,the choice of subject is of importance. For example,in the photograph which was awarded this prize in1998 the subject was the Finnish cross-country skierMika Myllylä, who had won a gold medal in theOlympic Games of that year.

14 Erä [Wilderness], No. 1/1981:64; HelsinginSanomat, 5 April 1981:28.

15 A good example of this is the review of JimBrandenburg's book Brother Wolf by Antti Leinonen.The wolves photographed by Brandenburg had beentame ones, as was revealed by the short focal lengthsof the lenses with which he had shot them(Luonnonkuvaaja [Nature Photographer], No. 2/1992:11).(Translation from Finnish by Panu Hallamaa)

ReferencesAittola, Tapio and Raiskila, Vesa. 1995. "Jälkisanat,"

Epilogue to the Finnish edition of Berger andLuckmann (1981) (Todellisuuden sosiaallnenrakentuminen). Helsinki: Gaudeamus.

Berger, John. 1980. About Looking. USA: Pantheon.Berger, Peter L. and Thomas Luckmann, 1971. The

Social Construction of Reality: a Treatise in theSociology of Knowledge. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

Botkin, James W., Elmandrja Mahdi, and MalitzaMircea. 1981. No Limits to Learning: Bridging theHuman Gap. Oxford: Pergamon Press.

Bourdieu, Pierre. 1965/1990. "The social definition ofphotography," in Pierre Bourdieu, Luc Boltanski,Robert Castel, Jean-Claude Chamboredon, andDominique Schnapper, eds, Photography. AMiddle-brow Art. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Suonpää, Juha. 1997. Luontokuvan sosiaalinenrakentuminen [The social construction of naturephotography]. Unpublished Iicenciate thesis, Uni-versity of Art and Design Helsinki, Department ofPhotography.

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