“Tigers of Kanha” cinematographer Chip Houseman died in an airplane crash in December 1998. A memorial fund has been set up in his honor in care of Jackson State Bank, P.O. Box 1788, Jackson, Wyoming, 83001. A portion of contributions will be steered to tiger conservation efforts.
Houseman was considered a rising star among wildlife cinematographers. He spent more than two years filming the royal Bengal tiger with mentor and friend Hugh Miles. “He made the film what it is by sheer dedication and pure artistic talent. His cinematography was fantastic, and Chip was very much driven by wanting to protect the tigers,” says Miles. Their project aired as a National Geographic Television Special on April 10, 1999, on NBC.
During his tenure with the tigers of Kanha, Houseman developed a strong passion for their conservation. His plans to return to India to learn what steps could be taken to ensure the tigers’ survival in the wild were cut short by his untimely death.
Houseman developed his passion for wildlife at an early age. He spent much of his Montana childhood outdoors, becoming an avid fisherman, hiker, and skier, and later attended the University of Montana to study wildlife biology. It was after moving to Jackson, Wyoming, to work with noted cinematographers Wolfgang Bayer and Franz Camenzind that he became interested in wildlife cinematography.
Houseman left Wolfgang Bayer Productions in the early 1990s to work independently. He produced films for National Geographic Television (NGT), BBC Wildlife, PBS, and ABC/Kane. During his 18-year filmmaking career, Houseman traveled to Alaska, the Arctic, Russia, India, and Africa to film wolves, polar and grizzly bears, tigers, and chimpanzees. He spent the last two and a half years working on “Tigers of Kanha” in India for NGT. While filming there he developed close relationships with Miles, the forest guides they worked with, and the tiger family he filmed.
Houseman was recognized for his passion for accuracy and for his concern for the safety of the animals he filmed. His high professional standards and ability to capture beautiful and compelling footage made his work very much in demand.
