Plains man's love of nature evolves into photography

By CHUCK BANDEL

Valley Press

There are some things in life that just go good together.

Ketchup and mustard. Salt and pepper. Beer and Pizza.

Add Orvall Kuester and nature to that list.

It was the love of nature that brought Kuester from his native Nebraska to the woods and mountains of Montana 45 years ago.

“I have always liked nature and being outdoors,” Kuester said from his home in the woods southwest of Plains. “I thought to myself, ‘what better place to be in nature than Montana?’”

With that thought in mind, he packed up and headed west. A long-time home builder and remodeler he was chasing a dream that he had for as long as he can remember.

And while he kept building and remodeling, a trade he still employs from time-to-time in his “retirement”, that dream centered on hunting and becoming an outfitter and guide.

“I was a guide for 20 years, from 1976 to 1996,” he recalled in his soft-spoken, easy going manner. “And it was during those outings where I was first exposed to photography.”

So began the transition from guide to photographer. On one outing he was serving as guide for two guys who were professional photographers. After a successful hunt, he asked them if they wanted a picture of the animal they had just bagged.

“They shot a big elk and I wanted to take a picture for them,” he said. “I was getting them into position when they started showing me what getting a good picture involved. They knew how to set up a great picture involving the elk they had just shot.”

From that point on, Kuester said he was hooked on photography.

“I had always had an interest in photography from the many hunting trips I’ve been on over the years,” he said. “I considered myself a good hunter and guide but I wanted to learn about photography as a way of sharing and displaying my love for nature.”

Good hunter and guide is probably a huge understatement. The walls throughout his home are adorned with mounted deer and elk heads, bear hides and taxidermy prepared birds of all kinds.

In a very large room at the back of his house he has what could be a museum of taxidermy involving big and small game he has harvested from lands far and near. Included in the mounted display is a musk ox, a large mountain lion, several bears and other species of animals.

But there are just as many uniquely mounted photographs lining the majority of wall space throughout the rest of the house. His special touch with the photographs involves having them imprinted on canvas.

“Putting the photos on canvas just seems to give that extra something, a little more pop than traditional photos,” he said. “It makes the colors of these many animals and other things really stand out.”

Among the many photos he has on display are several of owls, a particular favorite to photograph, he said. Getting the pictures he has, Kuester said involves always being ready.

“I keep a camera with me all the time,” he said. “You never know what you are going to come across, especially living out here. I try to make sure I’m always ready because that picture you want isn’t going to sit there and wait for you.”

One of the more intriguing photos among his collection is a shot he had just a few brief seconds to get before it was gone.

“There were fires in the area I was at and in the distance I heard a growing rumble,” he said. “I was scrambling to get up a hill to get closer when I first saw a large orange tail so I pointed my camera at the top of the ridge and started shooting.”

In a flash the orange tail was followed by a large fire-fighting airplane that was just started to drop its load of fire retardant foam as it swept by. He got the shot he hoped he would have.

“I took probably six quick pictures as it swept overhead and one of them came out pretty good,” Kuester remembered. “Then I covered my head and camera with my jacket because that orange foam was plopping all around me. I could hear it hitting my jacket but I got one really good picture out of the deal.”

It’s days like that which Kuester said just increase his love of photography and keeps him wanting to learn more. At one point in his life in the Plains area he was owner of Horse Plains Photo, a store and shop in downtown Plains that sold photography equipment and supplies including film, which has now been replaced by digital gear.

He has sold several of his photographs to publications such as Glacier Country, and also at local art shows like the one in Paradise, which was cancelled this year due to the covid situation.

“Photography is something I like because it helps keep my mind sharp,” he said. “I can be having a bad day, see something good to photograph on my way home and forget about anything bad that happened.”

A fan of Cannon photo gear, Kuester said the advancements in digital photography have revolutionized the art of picture making. He said anyone interested in learning how to take good pictures should spend some time reading and learning about the process and equipment involved. And he said getting to know someone who is a good photographer can be a huge help along the way.

“The equipment available these days allows for so many ways to manipulate and edit a picture,” he said. “In the early days of digital I used to think it was just not right but I guess I’ve gone that way myself.”

Most importantly, he said, he has found a way to stay in the middle of nature and experience the joy of being outdoors.

“Find you niche,” he said. “Find what thrills you. If photography doesn’t thrill and excite you then maybe it’s not for you.”

For Kuester, the thrill of photography is all about nature and being outdoors.

“There’s nothing better than animals in nature,” he said. “They don’t talk back to you and they don’t pollute anything.”