Photo: Miscellaneous Items in High Demand, PPOC, Library of Congres, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
George Shiras III was born in 1859 in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. His grandfather had hunted and fished in the Marquette area, and the family spent summers there for years.
He trained as a lawyer, served a term in Congress from Pennsylvania and spent much of his free time on Whitefish Lake and the rivers near Marquette.
Hunting with a camera
Shiras began trying to photograph animals instead of shooting them. He used a camera mounted on a canoe and a flash of magnesium powder to capture deer and other animals at night. He also set trip wires that let animals take their own pictures.
National Geographic
In 1906 National Geographic devoted most of its July issue to his photos. It was a turning point for the magazine and helped make wildlife photography part of its identity.
Conservation
Shiras drafted a bill to protect migratory birds that led to federal action. He became an advocate for wildlife protection.
He lived much of his later life in Marquette and died there in 1942. A subspecies of moose, the Shiras moose, is named for him. The city’s Shiras Park and Shiras Planetarium also carry his family name.
