Tigers in the Town – A Photography Exhbition by F. W. Champion
Written by Kevin Rennie on August 21, 2013
Pioneering the use of tripwires and camera traps, Frederick Walter Champion produced some amazing photographs of Indian wildlife in the 1920s and 30s. These are the centre piece of a new exhibition called “Tiger, Tiger” opening at Dumfries Museum on Saturday 24 August.
Born in Surrey in 1893 Champion married Julia Stewart from Carruchan, Dumfries in 1923 and she accompanied him whilst he worked overseas. In his role with the Imperial Forestry Service in India, Champion came in close contact with tourist hunters when he was obliged to hand out hunting permits. It is said that he occasionally indulged his burgeoning preservationist tendencies by handing out permits to areas known to be tiger free! As soon as he was able, Champion went against the fashion for shooting with rifles and took up the camera. The resulting work is stunning and evocative. For the first time viewers were truly able to witness animals in their natural state. The night shots triggered by trip wires were, at the time, completely unique and his work has had a profound effect on many wildlife photographers and conservation supporters since.
In 1955 the Champions settled at Julia’s family home, Cairnsmore, near Newton Stewart. After his death in 1970 Champion’s photographs were donated by his family to the Natural History Museum in London. This exhibition celebrates his life’s work with a selection of 50 of his images and also features the original camera equipment Champion used in the field as well as a slide show about contemporary wildlife photography and film making by well known local photographer Keith Kirk.
To help launch the exhibition of FW Champion’s very early wildlife photography at Dumfries Museum, Keith Kirk is giving a talk on Thursday 29 August at 7pm. In contrast to the early camera equipment used by Fred Champion, Keith will bring us up to date with the most advanced methods now used in wildlife photography. Illustrated by Keith’s stunning wildlife images this talk is for people interested in wildlife and those interested in photographic techniques.
On Thursday 17 October at 7pm there will be a second talk entitled “Tripwire for a Tiger: In The Pugmarks of Galloway’s Tigerman”. FW Champion’s grandson James Champion will provide a touching biographical background and retrace his grandfather’s footsteps through the Indian jungles.
There is no charge for these talks, but numbers are limited so please telephone Dumfries Museum on 01387 253374 to reserve a place.
Throughout the exhibition there will be a range of free drop in gallery activities for children including a ‘track the tiger’ trail and tiger mask making. The exhibition runs until Saturday 9 November.
