A FOREST ON FILM
Tomas Koeck will never forget when he saw his first owl. Koeck’s mother was mimicking owl calls while they were outside. A barred owl then flew out from a tree and over Koeck’s head.
“I was totally captivated,” he said. “It was a magical situation.”
Koeck, 22, of Fairfield, has since become a wildlife photographer, videographer and filmmaker, often capturing images of owls, birds and other animals. His photos and videos are regularly viewed by thousands of people on YouTube, Instagram and his website.
On April 22, Earth Day, he’s releasing a short documentary film titled “Sentinels of the Boreal.” The film highlights the importance and beauty of the boreal forest, including the “majestic creatures” found there, and how logging, mining and other human activities threaten its future, Koeck said.
“Join me on a tour of what makes the boreal forest so special and why one should fight for the survival of this massive forest,” he said in promotional material.
The boreal forest consists of land with coniferous trees in northern regions of the planet. It’s the world’s largest ecological habitat.
North America’s boreal forest is found in far northern parts of the contiguous United States, Canada and Alaska. Koeck traveled to Minnesota, Maine and New Hampshire in 2020 and early 2021 while filming for the project.
Particularly important is the boreal forest’s role in combating climate change; it captures an estimated 11% of the world’s carbon, making it perhaps the largest land-based carbon container on the planet.
The film spotlights people who are working to preserve the boreal forest, including Jeff Wells, the National Audubon Society’s boreal conservation expert.
Koeck said protecting the forest means encouraging local activism on the issue, saving pockets of land from logging, and creating conservation pathways for animals within the boreal forest.
“Sentinels of the Boreal” is being released through Sacred Heart University’s School of Communication, Media & the Arts (SCMA), where Koeck is a student. It will be available on Koeck’s YouTube channel, which has 32,100 subscribers. An in-person event to celebrate the film has been put on hold due to the pandemic but should take place this fall at a SHU venue.
Koeck received support from the Vision Project, a nonprofit journalism supporter, as well as SCMA to make the film. He wrote the script and edited the movie with assistance from SHU faculty members. Another SHU student provided graphics. He secured additional sponsorships from Canon, lens manufacturer Tamron, Milford Photo and the Undergraduate Research Institute.
Koeck’s filming trip to northern Minnesota in January required a 22hour drive each way with his father and uncle. The goal was to get footage of the great gray owl — the world’s tallest — in the remote Sax-Zim Bog. Temperatures dipped to 15 degrees below zero, and the owl proved to be elusive for the first few days.
“It was very stressful,” Koeck said of his concerns that he wouldn’t capture the images he needed. They eventually saw four great gray owls and the trip was a success.
Owls are his favorite bird, Koeck said, describing them as being large, predatory and mysterious. “They are a sensitive species,” he said, noting owls are hard to find and therefore difficult to photograph.
Koeck didn’t pick up his first camera until 2017. Soon, he was taking photos and creating videos that attracted interest. One video he made involving a song from a Hollywood movie soundtrack has now received more than 22 million views.
The camera, Koeck explained on his website, “serves as an extension of [his] own mind.”
“I keep it at my bedside so it will be the first thing I grab in the morning and the last thing I put down at night,” he said.
He’s previously made short films about the common loon, a great horned owl rescue and why he photographs wildlife, and is preparing to release “Reef Jumper,” about two individuals who search for adventure along the New England coast.
Koeck grew up with an appreciation of the outdoors. He watched nature TV shows and films and would read environmental field guides, especially while visiting his uncle in New Hampshire.
“I’ve always been into nature, being around it all the time,” he said.
The 2017 Ludlowe Fairfield High School graduate studied dendrology, focusing on invasive plant regeneration, at Penn State University before transferring to SHU for a more personalized collegiate experience.
Now a junior, Koeck plans to pursue a master’s degree and eventually find work “creating visual content” in broadcast journalism or film. His ideal job would have an environmental connection but he’s open to other possibilities, such as outdoor sports.
Koeck’s work has appeared in local and national publications and websites. He writes a regular column on nature hikes that feature his photos for the online Easton Courier, a news publication affiliated with SHU.
His advice for finding wildlife while outdoors is simple. “Just sit and wait,” Koeck said. “Blend into the environment and let nature happen around you.”
For more information about the film, visit tomaskoeck.wixsite.com.