Where did I get the name Bigfoot Hunter?
Posted by: Rick Noll on November 19th, 2005
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I didn’t always want to be a Bigfoot Hunter. I had many other interests at heart, aerospace and oceanography to name but a few. I might touch on some of the adventures at a later date but right now I am in this spot and your reading it because of that. But I can show a few pictures at least.
We attracted about 50 of the animals about a mile off Huntington Beach, California. I made several trips in hopes of filming sharks and was regularly rewarded.
A Marine iguana interrupted at lunch time. These animals dine of marine alge, drinking saltwater in the process. The salt is discarded on dry land through glands on there heads, shooting it out several feet away.
A Land iguana sunning next to it’s favorite food source. It eats the prickly catus in the background, especially relishing the fragrant flowers.
The Yeti in Quito, Ecuador. My hotel sported this mask on the wall. It was made in Tibet and brought with the owners of the establishment. I couldn’t get the whole story due to language differences.
Many people have asked me just what am I trying to accomplish with this Bigfoot stuff. Get rich? Nope. Become famous? I hear that isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I’ve thought hard about this… being out in the woods a lot leaves one with a lot of time to think about such things without interruptions. I justify almost everything I do so indulge me a little here.
Scuba diving with sharks? Yes I have but wouldn’t do it without a camera, even if it was in the Galapagos. So is the common theme in most of my efforts… Photography. I love it… it is my passion.
My purpose or goal in all of this is to obtain and share with science, reproducible results validating the existence of the Sasquatch, hastening the day they are protected from extinction as so many other animals are quickly finding themselves fighting. I want to do this with pictures in the field, studying habitat, range and behavior within two study site types:
1. The approximate state boundaries of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, northern California and the lower section of British Columbia.
2. Several long-term subset micro sites within the above areas.
So how exactly does one study Bigfoot when you don’t have a Bigfoot? Well that is something I wrestled with also… out there in the woods. Bigfoot is rare. You can’t just go out to your favorite camping spot and call them in, even though some think that is exactly what you do.
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I think you have to compete with them. No – not like in the Olympics. This isn’t a game. I am talking about competing for their resources. You have to come up with a theory on how they live, where they live, what they eat, their behavior, travel routes, etc… then insert yourself into those situations. Fine tuning it all as you go when things work or don’t.
A theory is a must. I have one… do you?
With this in mind… I had to get a haircut one day and was waiting outside in my truck listening to the radio when I heard a DJ talking about what his listeners wanted out of him… it was more a question then a statement. Seems like a lot of people ask that question of themself.
It broke my current train of thought about Bigfoot momentarily but not entirely. I reached for the cell and called the radio station.
“I think you should talk about Bigfoot. I think your listeners want to know where to go to try and see one. Where the lastest sighting took place and things like that.” I blurted out. Stunned silence on the other end. They think I am a nut case, especially after the last listener’s call… think it was about homeless people coming in and talking live on the radio. I felt like an idiot was just about to hang up…
Then Timberlake, the DJ’s sidekick, said “You look for Bigfoot?” I wasn’t talking on the radio yet. Well of course they would have to screen calls first. I said yeah, I do. He said wait a sec…
There was a couple of clicks and then I heard the radio through the phone, but out of sync with my truck’s… “Hi… This is DJ No Name and your on the end… whatcha got for me?”
“Ah…”
About Rick Noll
Rick Noll has been actively searching for the Sasquatch since 1969 and continues his pursuit with extended field trips into the Pacific Northwest's most remote regions. Rick has worked with Peter Byrne, René Dahinden, Grover Krantz, John Green, Jeff Meldrum and the BFRO during all this. He helped with many documentaries on the subject including Animal X: The Skookum Expedition and Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science.
Rick, those are beautiful pics, especially the sharks. On the B/W pics what camera/rig did you use? I’m developing an interest in photography myself and I’m curious what other people use.
The shark pictures were taken with a Nikonos V and a 20mm lens. I no longer have the system though.
The Galapagos B&W pictures were made with my film workhorse… a Canon F1n. I try not to use any zoom lens so these were taken with a 28mm and a 85mm lens.
Thanks Rick. I’ve been looking at the Canon EOS Rebel series as sort of a starter camera as they’re relatively inexpensive and accessories are reasonable. Have you had any experiences with them?
I have the Canon Digital Rebel and think it’s a great camera. Don’t know if this is the same one you’re talking about though.
I was talking about the film cameras like the EOS XT, but I’ve been looking at digital rigs like the Canon 20 also.
I’m thinking of something that has some good auto features that I can manually focus, until I get more comfortable with manually controlling aperture, exposure etc.