Lake County >> On a chilly winter day in 2016, Bob Minenna had his ducks in row. More specifically, he had eight wood ducks in a row, perched on a branch in Clear Lake State Park out in Kelseyville. He’d already preset his camera, prepared to capture a pair of the easily-spooked water fowl before inevitably startling them into flight.
When he popped out of the bushes, what he wasn’t prepared for was eight birds — four pairs huddled together by the edge of the lake. Being familiar with the animals, Minenna had ventured into the park knowing he’d find two. But at the sight of four times that many, his first thought was that he was suffering from double vision.
He lifted his camera, but could only fit seven of the eight wood ducks in his shot. Afraid any sudden movement would scare the birds away, he didn’t want to reposition himself, so he clicked his camera, captured 20 frames in ten seconds, and the ducks, quite expectedly, took off — but not before Minenna was able to capture the shot that snagged him Best Outdoor Feature Photograph from the Outdoor Writers Association of California (OWAC).
The OWAC is comprised of outdoor, environmental and travel writers, photographers and journalists from across the state. Each year they host a convention in Buffalo, California, where they present a number of awards to outdoor journalists across the state. These awards are judged by individuals from the east coast.
“He was competing with some of the top photographers in California,” said Terry Knight, Record-Bee Outdoors Writer and former OWAC President. “To win that award, it’s huge in the journalist community.”
This fact wasn’t lost on Minenna, who was more than a little surprised when his name was announced during the awards ceremony that took place at the end of April. Ecstatic about his win, Knight was the first person he called to tell. Then he rang his father and fiance.
“Some sports writers and photographers, I’m small potatoes compared to some of these guys,” Minenna said.
Of all the trophies he’s won over the years, both for photography and shooting — he’s an avid hunter and partakes in regular shooting competitions — Best Outdoor Feature Photograph is right up there with the best of the best.
Minenna considers this award the pinnacle of his photography career. There’s only one thing that could top it. “It’s always been my dream … to shoot one assignment for National Geographic,” he said. “I think I could probably die a happy man, I guess, if dying’s a happy thing.”
It would be something of a full circle. Minenna began his foray into photography by studying images in National Geographic, along with other popular magazines like Sports Illustrated and Outdoor Life. In fact, that’s how he learned everything he knows about what makes a good pictures. He’s never taken a single photography class, never had a formal photojournalism education. Minenna is entirely self taught.
His hunting background has been nothing but an asset. He was handling a gun before the age of 10, and gained valuable and-eye coordination skills, helping him to deftly wield his camera. Over the years he’s also learned the habits and behaviors of numerous wild animals, which has been invaluable when it comes to both hunting and photography. Without this knowledge, he’d never have been aware that wood ducks would be in the Clear Lake State Park, and he never would have stumbled on those eight birds.
But knowing where an animal is going to be at a specific time can only get you so far. There’s a lot of waiting, a lot of keeping your eyes peeled for that perfect shot, and a degree of luck. Minenna has returned to the park to look for those same wood ducks, and has yet to see another one. This is why he’s is never without his camera.
“The key to wildlife photography is patience,” he said. “It’s patience, timing and being in the place at the right time is what I tell people.”
He recalled a day when he was driving down a stretch of highway on the 395 when he spotted a bald eagle not 25 feet off the side of the road. Minenna whipped his truck around, parked and snatched his camera, and got in position. “I said, ‘I don’t care how long it takes. I’m here, he’s that close, I need him in flight,’” he remembered, adding that he had a 12-hour drive ahead of him, but that didn’t matter.
There are some photographers who visit preserves, where handlers prod animals into motion for the perfect photo. Minenna prefers a different approach. “That kind of takes all the fun out of it,” he said. “I’m trying to really do it myself.”
Although he was born and raised in San Francisco, Minenna is a country man. He spent 20 years on a ranch, then made the move up to Lake County. He’s been here for the past 23 years, living on 20 acres of land out on Spruce Grove Road, where he can take photographs of deer and wild turkey right from his back porch. Over the past six years, he’s followed half a dozen different groups of deer, from birth into adulthood.
21 of the past 23 years were spent as a volunteer firefighter. When Minenna was first hired by the Record-Bee as a photographer, he told the publisher he was a firefighter first and a photographer second. If he was on scene and help was needed, he’d trade his camera for a hose.
Like hunting, that experience was yet another asset for photography skills. “With my fire photos, my buddies would tell me … if it doesn’t look like a photographer is standing in the fire or in the action, it’s not you,” Minenna said.
But fire photography is risky business, even for Minenna, who understands fire behavior. When he was out photographing the Valley Fire, he experienced some truly frightening moments, such as the time he began driving down a road that wasn’t supposed to be covered in flames, but was. He’s been in situations where a power line went down on an electric fence, energizing it. Unable to pass over or through the fence, he and other firefighters had to wait for PG&E. On more than one occasion, a helicopter has dumped flame retardant over him.
“It’s pretty dangerous out there if you don’t know what you’re doing,” Minenna said. “I probably have put myself in danger a few times to get the photo. I guess I’m a junky.”
Despite the risk, he could never quit. It’s just too much fun. “This is a profession that you can grow old at,” he commented.
So while he’s now retired from volunteer firefighting, Minenna continues to plan photography trips. A camera around his neck, he runs headfirst into fires. He watches wildlife from his back deck, kept company by his dogs. Every October he goes hunting for three weeks with his dad, and he attends shooting competitions. He’ll forever be venturing into the great outdoors, in search of that next award-winning photograph.
“I see the world one frame at a time,” said Minenna.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
