The Biography of Dave Rein
Dave Rein grew up in a family loving the outdoors and hiking the back country of Yosemite and Yellowstone National Parks. Dave and his brother Pete hiked the John Muir Trail in their beloved Sierra- Nevada mountain range in 1966. The vitality and energy gained from the mountains fueled his imagination.
Dave graduated from California State Polytechnic College in 1971 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Engineering with a specialty in Air Pollution Control. This was the developmental time of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Clean Air Act, and Clean Water Act.
Scientists were teaching us all about understanding the interplay of man and his environment. Perishing birds (E.I. Bald Eagles, Osprey, and Peregrine Falcon) were warning us that life was not safe. Air in populated city basins also created health problems for people.
Applied Engineering Science was about designing complex systems to filter air and water both within the interior and exterior of buildings. Dave’s interests included both – how humans are effected by the quality of their environment and how the natural world is being effected by degradation to the quality of ecosystems.
Dave’s interest in photography began as a boy following his father taking pictures with slide film during family trips. As a young man using Kodachrome 64 was wonderful for landscapes and architecture but the slide film speed limited quality wildlife images especially with a consumer camera. Dave’s wildlife photography became serious and blossomed in the early 1990s with the purchase of Canon’s new auto-focus lens and visits to Glacier National Park.
Based in Bend, Oregon since 1975 Dave has modestly journeyed the globe seeking to photograph wildlife naturally in wilderness situations. In addition to individual wild travel destinations he has participated in fourteen wildlife research conservation expeditions with Earthwatch. Research projects included studies of Grizzly Bear in Montana and the Yukon, Black Rhinos in Namibia and Kenya, Lions in Kenya, Gray Whales in British Columbia, Killer Whales in Iceland, Giant Pandas in China, Whooping cranes in Texas, Wolves and Elk in Alberta, Chimpanzees in Uganda, and Rainforest wildlife in North Queensland, Australia.
His photographs have illustrated the pages of: Audubon, National Wildlife, Wild Planet, Outdoor Photographer, Cascades East, RMEF Bugle, RMEF and Oregon Natural Desert Association calendars, The Natural History of Texas book, Hunting Oregon books, Grizzly Bears on the Hunt book, Seeing Red book, Horn of Africa article – The Age newspaper in Melbourne, Australia.
The main goal of this site is to provide images of nature to benefit and further wildlife conservation. I seek to provide additional context for each image of the natural world to further a deeper appreciation and understanding of each part of the web of life.
