GREAT FALLS, Mont. — A Great Falls boy has emerged as one of the best young bird photographers in the world — and it all started with a simple question on a family trip.
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Jackson Duff grew up watching his father, Craig Duff, work behind a camera lens. What began as curiosity turned into a passion of his own.
"My dad's a big photographer, too, so I would be going on trips with him, and he would be taking a lot of photos," Jackson said. "But then one day, I was like, oh, can I, like, get a feel of the camera. Maybe take a couple pictures."
That first feel for the camera stuck. Jackson's parents are not only photographers but also avid birders, so family trips soon became a chance to combine both worlds.
One of those trips took the family to Ecuador, deep into a South American cloud forest in search of a rare bird — one that might only appear for a few fleeting moments.
"They weren't there for long," Jackson said. "Like the birds would come and then go, come back and go. So it's really hard to be in the right place at the right time."
Jackson had to be patient — and quiet — waiting for just the right shot. He got it.
As a surprise, his parents entered the photo into an international competition featuring more than 24,000 entries — without telling him. Jackson was 11 years old, competing in the 11-and-under category, when the photo made it to the finals.
"My parents entered the competition without telling me," Jackson said. "And then I think it was like, oh, you got in the finals. And then they told me the whole story."
On Sept. 22, the results were announced.
"Finally on Sept. 22, I was finally able to announce that I got third," Jackson said. "Felt pretty good. It was pretty exciting. I had a pretty strong feeling I was going to do pretty good."
For Craig, the award is a bonus — the real reward is the time spent together.
"It's awesome, it's a great thing to do together," he said.
Jackson says he hopes photography remains a major part of his future — potentially even as a career — whether it's birds, sports or portraits.
