In 2008, one of my photos was featured by the Smithsonian Channel in the series Stories From The Vault, Episode 3: Nature’s Vault. The channel discovered my work through the Flickr website. They were specifically looking for an opossum in a tree, which is a rare sight, and my photo matched their needs perfectly by capturing this uncommon behavior in vivid detail. The image captured an opossum perched in a tree.
I took the photo while driving through Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, a sprawling military base surrounded by dense woodlands and open fields teeming with wildlife. I noticed a couple of dogs had cornered the opossum up the tree. As I approached, the dogs moved off, giving me the chance to photograph the animal. I was shooting handheld at the time, which made it difficult to keep the image sharp, especially given the low light and the opossum’s subtle movements. To compensate, I adjusted my stance for stability and used a faster shutter speed to freeze the action.
Stories From The Vault, hosted by actor Tom Cavanagh, is a behind-the-scenes series exploring the Smithsonian Institution’s vast collection. The series highlights fascinating artifacts and stories with expert commentary, such as the Wright brothers’ first airplane and rare fossils of prehistoric creatures. It covers topics like wildlife, historical donors, and even top-secret objects. The show debuted on the Smithsonian Channel in 2007 and has an IMDb rating of 8.1.
Episode 3, Nature’s Vault, delves into the natural world. It features Tom Cavanagh tracking sloths, exploring the Panama Canal, and even ascending 16 stories in a crane to study insects in the rainforest canopy. My photo of the opossum captured a rare and intimate moment of wildlife behavior, showcasing the resilience and adaptability of this often-overlooked animal. It highlighted how even the most common creatures contribute to the intricate narratives of nature explored in the episode.