The experience led Kitsch to pick up a camera and become an accomplished still photographer.
Not a conflict photographer like the photojournalist he portrayed in the film, Kevin Carter.
Kitsch relocated four years ago from Texas to Montana, where his photography took a different turn.
Courtesy of Taylor Kitsch
Braving the cold has never been a problem for him.
Im Canadian, he explained.
How did the shutter bug take hold?
I still have my 60-something-year-old Leica that I shoot on film with.
And so thats where I got the photography bug.
And then me and a couple other buddies, we motorcycle all over the world.
I would always bring my camera and Id be doing street photography and that kind of stuff.
And then I started going through Yellowstone National Park, all these places on the West Coast.
Oh my God, the big redwoods there!
Pursuing those predators armed only with a camera brings an irresistible adrenaline rush.
The process settles him and keeps him creatively engaged between roles.
Its kind of an amalgamation of all that and the challenge of getting a shot.
Its 100% you.
Thats the beauty of it.
If its a wolf, then you have under five seconds to get the shot.
It was at from a really good distance, he said.
There are these things they call Bear Jams, in the park where theres a hundred cars.
I dont really like doing that because its just not very artistic to me.
And youre not in the moment as much when youre posturing for fu*king parking.
But yeah, were very conscious of the danger.
I guess thats a part of the adrenaline.
Right now is a great time to track because theyre bedded down.
Theyre hibernating for the most part.
So winters the best by far, because you might find prints as well.
But yeah, its always in your head, for sure.
But there is that adrenaline, right, that youre always chasing.
My buddy has a beautiful ranch here in Montana and theres a bunch of grizzlies on it.
Unless its by accident.
Even with the best planning, success is being in the right place at the right time.
Leifer pointed to a more experienced photographer visible through the fighters legs, who stands with mouth agape.
Honestly, you could be the best tracker, and you could have everything down, Kitsch said.
That happened with me.
We were in Churchill, Manitoba, and we were with a guide whos a biologist.
I was at the right place at the right time, and he was on the wrong side.
But it really is a lot of what your friend was saying.
He said Id heal a little faster with the bone cut out, and still be in a boot.
You cant walk for six weeks.
So I was out of shooting for six weeks.
That was tough, man.
I just think going through that surgery and then Im shooting on a horse in a boot.
It was just kind of a whole thing.
I couldnt get off the horse without help.
I felt more like Isaac when Im speaking Shoshone than when I spoke English.
I just learned an enormous amount and have so much respect for that community.
Take your big toe, theres a bone that goes to the ball of my foot.
They just cut it out right there.
My mobility is okay, unless I roll on it.
And then Ill have early onset arthritis and then it gets really tough, because the circulation is shit.
So unfortunately with the snow and hiking and being out there, it just hammers it because the circulation.
The iPhone serves a purpose, I guess, he said.
But for me, I want the highest quality photo you’ve got the option to get.
It obviously picks up an enormous amount more.
I still cant believe the speed of these cameras and what they can get now.
Youre on your own little journey.
And I love that part of it.
I think its more of an empowering, creative journey for me.
I do love collaborating but I think with photography, youre telling your story and no ones editing it.
No ones telling you its shit.
Maybe it is, but maybe you love it.
And thats all that matters.
If youre bored, its your fault.
Just get in the van and drive, and youre going to find something worthy of photographing.
Ill have my camera with me when Im fly fishing.
Youre usually starting early in the morning, and thats when wildlife is most active.
And so you never know.
So its always around you out here.
I was right there.
And that was pretty fucking incredible.
