Beth Maynor Young's now famed photos have come to symbolize Cahaba River's vulnerability, diversityFor Young, that lily trip was a transition from a job photographing gardens, food and architecture toward a calling as a conservation photographer. Since that assignment, she's gone on to shoot rivers and wilderness throughout the state and Southeast: Little River Canyon, the Locust Fork River, The Walls of Jericho, the swamps and wetlands of the Mobile Tensaw Delta.
"I tend to photograph unprotected places as opposed to just nature photography in national wildlife refuges or national parks," she said. "There are a lot of wonderful unprotected places in Alabama."
A recently published book, "Headwaters: A Journey on Alabama Rivers," features work from throughout her career, and the most gratifying part of the book is that many of the unprotected places she photographed are now protected.
"I think of her as the Ansel Adams of Alabama," Byington said of Young. "She truly has shown how to be an advocate for conservation through conservation photography."
