Douglas Hutton Quote
King
Motion Picture Corporation
1702
Bell Tower
10104
103 Ave NW
Edmonton
Alberta Canada T5J 0H8
"Leon
Lorenz is one of Canada's most
gifted and respected wildlife
filmmakers.Over the years he has
provided King Motion Picture and
This Living World Nature Trust with
exceptional imagery of the great
outdoors - shot in some of the most
remote locations and rugged
landscapes in British Columbia and
Alberta. His passion and fearless
pursuit of grizzly bear, bighorn
sheep and other large animal footage
is an example of a very dedicated
and seasoned master. Leon has
witnessed and enjoyed more of
Canada's natural world beauty than
most outdoors people will see in a
lifetime. From the smallest to
largest creature that runs, flies or
swims, he has captured their
presence on camera for the world to
see, hear and enjoy. He has a
dangerous but rewarding job and
helps each of us better appreciate
the value of all life on Earth.
Leon
Lorenz is A TRUE PROFESSIONAL.
Travel safe my friend!" Douglas
Hutton
Review of Canadian Wildlife
Productions
Dave Brody
LiveScience.com
The quality that differentiates
Canadian Wildlife Productions' films
from nearly all others in the genre
is extreme authenticity. You will
see exactly what you might witness,
had you a huge travel budget, nearly
infinite vacation time, and a run of
extraordinary luck. Filmmaker Leon
Lorenz literally lives with his wild
animal subjects, on their terms and
in their habitats for months -
sometimes years - at a time.
It has become common practice on
nature documentaries filmed for
television to, at some point
(generally buried in the fine print
of the closing credits), disclaim
the fact that action seen in the
show (and depicted as "real") was
actually shot under artificial
circumstances; be it in aquaria,
zoos, laboratories, sound-stages or
the producer's suburban backyard.
Such clever clauses also hide the
truth that “wild” animal behavior in
the program is sometimes coached,
enticed, baited, or placed in wholly
different context from the way it
truly happened by the film editor's
art.
You will never see this on a
Canadian Wildlife Film production.
What you will experience are slices
of natural systems behaving on their
own; completely outside the scope of
human involvement and sometimes
utterly in spite of human
intervention. Wildlife films can get
no more real than these.
Journey
Home of the Chinook Salmon
Review by Mike
Mitchell of BC Outdoors Sport Fishing
Wildlife
filmmaker Leon Lorenz dedicated eight
spawning seasons to capture some of the
rarest scenes ever filmed on the Fraser
River spawning grounds of the Chinook. The
captivating DVD gets up close and personal
with springs, featuring underwater spawning
action and encounters with predators like
bald eagles, grizzlies and black bears.
See first-hand
how Fisheries and Oceans Canada and DFO
staff monitor the salmon population through
test fishing, law enforcement, counting,
tagging and hatchery operations. Staff will
guide you through their operations, giving a
real insider's perspective on salmon
conservation.
This DVD shows
in extraordinary detail everything you could
possibly want to know and more about the
Chinook and its journey home.
Wildlife
films of Canadian Wildlife Productions
Review by
Shirley Bond, MLA
Minister of
Education
Deputy Premier
I am writing to
express my respect for the work of Leon
Lorenz and his company Canadian Wildlife
Productions. His films offer a unique
glimpse into the awe-inspiring and majestic
wilderness that surrounds us but is often
taken for granted. He has created numerous
films showcasing the rugged terrain and
wide-ranging variety of species that inhabit
the Canadian Rockies. These films foster
feelings of appreciation and respect. His
latest work, "Journey Home of the Chinook
Salmon" is particularly impressive. It has
been renowned as the first of its kind to
document the experience of the Chinook
salmon as it travels to its breeding areas
in the Fraser River and has also received a
"ten out of ten" from the Pacific Salmon
Foundation.
It is important
to ensure Canadian content appears on
television for a number of reasons. Ensuring
that broadingcasting remains relevant to
Canadians can have many positive effects. It
can help to bolster Canadian character in
the international industry and help to
instill a feeling of national identity.
Furthermore, Leon Lorenz's work imparts a
notion of responsibility and admiration for
nature; a message that is becoming ever more
imperative. Increasing awareness and
educating the public are important steps to
creating a general attitude of environmental
sustainability.
Journey
Home of the Chinook Salmon
Review by
Candace Smith
Booklist USA
Every year,
Chinook salmon swim from the Pacific Ocean
to the Fraser River in British Columbia to
spawn. In this beautifully shot program,
wildlife filmmaker Leon Lorenz captures the
sequence of fish laying eggs, hatching, and
swimming through river rapids, waterfalls,
and other obstacles to make their way back
to spawn, completing the cycle of life. The
camera steadfastly records the salmon
falling to predators, including sport
fishermen, bears, eagles, and other natural
enemies. Scenes also show naturalists
capturing, weighing, tagging, and testing
the fish for pollutants.Interwining with the
footage ( including underwater shots ) are
clips of Canadian wildlife rangers
describing salmon anatomy and the spawning
process. For both regional and other
wildlife devotees.
Journey
Home of the Chinook Salmon
Review by Chad
Brealey
Pacific Salmon
Foundation
Journey Home
features some of the most unique and
exciting footage of the Fraser River
Chinook. Congratulations to Leon for his
dedication to salmon and cinematography.
Bighorn
Showdowns
Review by Neil
Thagard
Wild Sheep
Foundation
This is the most
educational and
entertaining film on the Rocky Mountain
Bighorn Sheep.
Bighorn
Showdowns
Review by Dr.
Edgar T. Jones
Nature
Photographer / Wildlife Artist
I have managed
to pick up a copy of USA program on bighorn
sheep filmed in the States by Eastman who is
a well known producer in the USA. I thought
your Bighorn Showdowns was just as good and
in some respects better, as yours was filmed
in much more spectacular sheep country. Leon
keep up the good work.
Sheep
and Grizzly Country
Review by Lennis
Janzen
Crooked Horn
Outfitters
Leon, thank you
for working with me on the video footage,
you have unbelievable stuff and I feel we
will be able to utilize your services for
many years to come.
Feathered Friends
Review by Andrea
McNeely
Wild Birds
Unlimited
We have reviewed
Feathered Friends and have approved it for
Wild Birds Unlimited stores to carry.
Feathered Friends
Review by
Diane Porter
birdwatching.com
I spent a
delightful rainy afternoon watcting this
DVD, with remote in hand so that I could
go back for a second look at many
amazing scenes. I kept asking myself how
videographer Leon Lorenz could possibly
have gotten such intimate views of birds
in their natural settings, performing
their innate behavior.
A pair of
American Dippers feeds their
wide-mouthed young in a nest concealed
in the rocky bank of a rapid river.
A ruffed
Grouse steps confidently up on a log,
stretches himself taller than I would
have thought possible, fans his tail,
and beats his wings to create an
accellerating roar. A coyote sneaks up
from behind the bird. The grouse takes
flight just moments before the coyote
would have had it in its jaws.
A mother
Harlequin Duck escorts her newly-hatched
chicks down a torrent that bounces and
tosses the infant ducks in the waves.
A pair of
Eastern Kingbirds gets into a
dissagreement over the size of
dragonflies to feed their nestlings.
This is not anthropomorphizing. You can
really see that one parent is trying to
feed a dragonfly that is much too big
for the 4-day-old chicks, while the
other parent protests vocally and tries
to take away the dragonfly.
There's a
nice section interviewing Edgar T.
Jones, who has banded over 100,000 birds
in Alberta to help advance our knowledge
of birds and their movements. With great
gentleness and expertise he removes a
Saw-whet Owl from the net and gives us a
look at this tiny owl that few people
ever see. He shows how the Black-capped
Chickadee bites at him, while the
Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler is more
docile.
Another
section features falconer Mark Williams
and his peregrine-gyrfalcon cross.
Watching him prepare for flight, I felt
as if I were watching a medieval
nobleman in his royal sport. After the
falconer releases it, the bird climbs
high into the sky and dives with
astonishing speed and agility on a flock
of ducks, its prey.
Many mammals
are seen in passing, just as if we were
exploring the Canadian Rocky Mountains
in person: moose, grizzly bear, coyote,
beaver, deer, marmot, wolverine, wild
sheep, and others. The scenery is
gorgeous, The sounds of the birds and
water are the natural voices of the
wilderness. It's a glorious, stunning
piece of work, the gold sifted from one
videographer's lifetime of experience
out of doors.
Bighorn Showdowns
Sheep and Grizzly Country
Review by
Suzan Moulton
National
Bighorn Sheep Center
At the
National Bighorn Sheep Center our
mission is to educate the public about
the wild sheep. To most of our visitors
we offer a short film about Bighorns. To
the more knowledeable guests we show "Bighorn
Showdowns" or "Sheep
and Grizzly Country". They
greatly enjoy the in-depth views and
fantastic footage. When I cue up the
DVD, I let them know that because of the
length, they can leave at anytime. A
vast majority stay through the credits.
Journey Home of the Chinook Salmon
Steve D. Chorney
Award-winning outdoor writer /
photographer
Edmonton, Alberta Canada
Just wanted to touch base and let
you know that I received the DVD you
sent, yesterday. Having said that, I
watched the entire film and must
commend you on a job well
done...bravo!!! If you are a salmon
fisherman, you must watch this DVD.
If you are a wildlife enthusiast,
you must watch this DVD. In fact,
everyone should watch this DVD. If
you aren't moved to contribute to
wildlife conservation after watching
this DVD, than I have to question
whether or not you have a
conscience. I have never watched a
film before that has inspired me to
want to give back as much as your
documentary. Again, many kudos on a
job well done!!!
Journey Home of the Chinook Salmon
Peter Foster
Director General
Television Policy and
Applications
CRTC
Let me congratulate on the fine
work you have done. I have
watched your film entitled
"Journey Home of the Chinook
Salmon", and found it to be
extremely well done and very
informative. It is also very
topical, given the recent news
reports about the collapse of
the salmon stocks in the Fraser
River.