Follow her upstairs to her studio, and one finds a lifetime of photography equipment, including the original American Optical field camera that began her career.
For nearly four decades, Mrs. Forrester photographed the birds of Washington, Oregon, and the Alaska Territory. Among many others, the renowned American ornithologist William Norland highly praises her work.
“She is a true birdwoman, and don’t let her tell you otherwise,” Mr. Norland is quoted as saying. “But there is a rare genius to her photographs. The birds aren’t the subject of her lens, as much as light itself.”
And surely her avocation has exposed her to much adventure. She and her husband, the late Col. Allen Forrester, made six journeys to the wilderness of Alaska where she photographed ptarmigan and terns among many other birds.
When asked if she was ever afraid she would drown in a river or be eaten by a bear, she laughs and waves off the question.
“I have only ever been truly frightened of boredom and loneliness,” she says.
It takes much effort on this interviewer’s part to get her to talk about her notable career. When asked about her photographs appearing in the celebrated “Wild Birds of North America,” she says, “Why yes, Mr. Zimmerman did use a few in his book.” In fact, more than 30 of her photographs appear in the pages of that much-acclaimed publication. Over the years, both her photographs and her meticulously noted field observations have been printed in many scientific journals and magazines. Her particular interest has been nests and fledglings.
Her life work as photographer and naturalist went hand in hand with her husband, who passed away in 1918. It seems that the Colonel was known in his own right, as he led an important expedition into the Alaska Territory in 1885, according to Mrs. Forrester.
“He liked to tease that he was my field assistant, but he was the one who actually made it all possible,” Mrs. Forrester reminisces. “I would look up at a nest on a cliff and wonder how on earth I could ever get that photograph. He would lead me up and around and farther on until we were on top of the cliff, then he would tie me off with ropes and lower me down until I was face to face with the nest. And then I’d get my picture.”
Surely then she must have been frightened?
“My stomach did give a flutter now and then,” she admits, “but I knew he could tie a good knot.”
Mrs. Forrester insisted on naming several other people for this article. She credits much of her success to the early encouragement and guidance of a Portland pharmacist by the name of Henry Redington. In 1885, he sent her photographs to a book editor and so launched her career. And those many years ago when she was first starting out at Vancouver Barracks, Army Sgt. Joe MacGillivray helped design what she says is her most valuable invention?—?a photography blind. She describes it as a small canvas tent where she could sit inconspicuously with her camera lens aimed out a hole in the canvas.
Many of her photographs required days on end of sitting in such a tent. But what of her dread of boredom? Mrs. Forrester insists she was never bored when there was the promise of catching a bird in a picture.
Her patient efforts resulted in the creation of more than 500 negative glass plates, and she does have her favorite. It is of a flock of wild geese in the delta of the Wolverine River in Alaska.
“Allen never forgot his expedition to Alaska. He had an extraordinary encounter that led him to believe that the wild geese there had a certain enchanted quality. More than anything he wanted to take me there to photograph them. That was our first trip together to the north,” she says.
She recalls that it was early on a May morning in 1892, and she was still sleeping inside their tent when she heard the calls of geese flying along the river. She rushed out of the tent, still wearing her night clothes and with her camera equipment in hand. Her husband, the Colonel, was making coffee on the campfire.
“He said, ‘There they are, love. Get your picture quick!’ Of course, there was nothing quick about it. It wasn’t until the next day that I was able to get that particular photograph, when the flock had gathered in a marsh near a group of Indian women. It was one of the most beautiful scenes I have ever witnessed, and I am afraid I did not do them justice, but it is still my favorite.”
This interviewer also asked about the only photograph in the house that shows Mrs. Forrester herself. In it, she is wearing high boots, sporting trousers, and a broad-brimmed hat. Her husband, the Colonel, stands beside her, and behind the two stretches a treeless plain.
“That was Nome in 1915,” she says. “We were there to photograph the nesting willow ptarmigan. I’m afraid it was our last journey to Alaska, as my husband’s health began to fail.”
With wistful expression she adds, “I see that and I think, oh my Allen, if only I could be with you now.”