Interview
Chuck Graham
Chuck Graham is a freelance writer and photographer from Carpinteria, CA. He’s been leading kayak tours at the Channel Islands National Park for over 22 years. His stories and photos have appeared in National Geographic publications, BBC Wildlife Magazine, High Country News, American Forests, Natural History Magazine, Men’s Journal, Backpacker, The Surfer’s Journal, and Westways. He’s the author of the award-winning Carrizo Plain, Where the Mountains Meet the Grasslands, that was published in January 2021. His new book – Paddling into a Natural Balance, Stories of Kayaking and Conservation around Channel Islands National Park – is a collection of his paddling adventures coinciding with conservation success stories around the unique archipelago.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I've been a freelance photographer for 30 years. I specialize wildlife conservation, experiences with wildlife in wild places. That first experience took place at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa in 1985. Since then, I've made it a priority to document wild things in wild places. I photograph what I love. It's wildlife first for me because if there is no wildlife around, then it's not a wild place.”
What does your work aim to say? Does it comment on any current social or political issues?
“Wild places, the environment, habitats, and wildlife should be a priority in the world, but sadly it's not. Photography can make people aware but something has to be there to force a person to stop and look.”
Do you plan your work in advance, or is it improvisation?
“It's both. I try to have a mental list of subjects I want to shoot, but I always have to ready for happenstance. Sometimes that's the best situation.”
Are there any art world trends are you following?
“No, just photographing what I love.”
What process, materials and techniques do you use to create your artwork?
“Being a photographer, I love showing as much of the habitat around the subject to reveal a sense of place. I'm constantly moving around, working with different exposures and light.”
“Photography can make people aware but something has to be there to force a person to stop and look.”
What does your art mean to you?
“It means I'm living a full life. It means the viewer is seeing something they may have never seen before.”
What’s your favourite artwork and why?
“Wildlife photography with incredible backgrounds and habitat.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“I recently had a four month long photo exhibit at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum. It show cased my photography of island foxes, the smallest fox species in North America. It was on the Endangered Species List from 2004-2016. When the island fox was delisted, it was the swiftest recovery of a terrestrial mammal in the history of the Endangered Species Act. I have another photo exhibit coming out in December 2026, also at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum. All the photos in the gallery will all be taken from my kayak.”
