Out on a limb to photograph Rockies

By GAIL SCHONTZLER Chronicle Staff Writer

Salvatore Vasapolli has done some crazy things to capture amazing photographs of wild places.

He has set up his camera on cliff ledges high in the Beartooth wilderness, risked falling from ski trams to certain death, and been mistaken for a predator by ticked-off Yellowstone Park bison. He once was backed into a tight spot by a bull elk that took him for a challenger because of the tripod over his shoulder.

“He thought I was another elk and wanted to play,” said Vasapolli, 53. So the photographer slammed the tripod on the ground as if to say, “‘My horns are strong!’ It scared him off.”

Vasapolli’s dramatic color photographs are now on exhibit at the Museum of the Rockies. “Northern Rockies: The Introspective Landscape” has 27 of his favorite and best photographs of Montana and Wyoming on display through Jan. 4 in the upstairs gallery.

The exhibit is another milestone in his career. Other highlights include having the cover photograph for a National Geographic book on national forests (“Sinuous Cedars”) and Vasapolli’s award-winning 2003 book “Montana,” for which former Congressman Pat Williams wrote the text.

What’s unique about Vasapolli’s photographs is their amazing detail and crisp focus, from the Yellowstone River rocks at your feet to mountain peaks 25 miles in the distance, all captured in a single image.

Using a large-format, 4-by-5-inch camera makes that possible in a way that 35mm simply can’t do, he said. He also relies on film cameras, rather than digital, because film can capture thousands more shades of color and intensity.

Steve Jackson, the museum’s curator of photography and art, said Vasapolli’s work is known for its “quality of intimate detail.” His style “combines ideas of complexity and beauty,” Jackson wrote for the exhibit.

One of Vasapolli’s own favorite photographs combines two Yellowstone icons n a herd of bison walking in front of the Old Faithful geyser, an image he calls “probably one in a billion.” He had set up his camera to shoot the geyser at sunset and realized the bison were moving into the frame. In 30 seconds, they were gone.

“This is what I’ve always wanted to get, what I’ve dreamt of getting,” Vasapolli said. Seeing it all come together gave him a feeling he describes as “total bliss. Taking a photograph that’s unique is my primary objective.”

That photograph also captures, he said, “the struggle Yellowstone still has. We’ve preserved the features of Yellowstone, but not the large migratory herds.”

An outspoken environmentalist, Vasapolli said his nose was once broken by a logger at Livingston’s Murray bar, an incident he chalked up to “wise use thuggery.”

Vasapolli said he loves photographing Yellowstone because of its “living geology.” A stunning image of the Minerva Terrace at Mammoth Hot Springs was taken before the feature disappeared, he said.

The secret to finding unique images in a place as well-photographed as Yellowstone, he said, is to understand what makes a great composition and good light, and have “patience, lots of patience.”

Born in New Jersey, he was 9 years old when his parents gave him his first Kodak Brownie camera. His original career goal was to be a drummer, but 30 years ago he married and moved to Montana. He loved the skiing, fishing, outdoors and subzero winters.

During the 13 years he operated a bike shop in Livingston, he started teaching himself photography. In 1989 he became a professional photographer, and in 1996 he was able to sell the bike shop, about the same time he got the National Geographic book cover.

Today he splits his time between Montana and the East Coast. He’s taking new photos of New York City and working on a book on the California wine country.

Admirers of Vasapolli’s photos can purchase them through the Old Main Gallery downtown (a price list of photographs, ranging from $500 to $900, is available at the museum bookstore), or check out his new book, “Montana: Portrait of a State” (Graphic Arts Center Publishing, $17). The museum exhibit is co-sponsored by Epson, which produces photography papers and inks, and Outdoor Photographer magazine.

Gail Schontzler is at gails@dailychronicle.com or 582-2633.

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