Inspiration comes from many places. We are often inspired by people’s stories, places we visit, or experiences we have. Inspiration provides the drive to take action. Passion, on the other hand, is a different level of inspiration. It grows in our heart into something unstoppable. Passion is a strong and often uncontrollable emotion. 

Fontaine Radcliff Howard’s passion is photography, particularly wildlife. She has published three books of her photography to date, and her latest work, It’s a Wild Life, is scheduled for release in October 2025. A fifth book on wild horses in America is already in the works, and it promises to be a stunner! I recently visited with Fontaine to learn more about her latest work and understand her passion for photography.

Fontaine is very much a product of her environment. Born on Mobile Bay, daughter to the infamous George Radcliff, who, along with Jimbo Meador, saw their names in the dedication page of the book Forrest Gump. She is a self-proclaimed Bay Rat. Growing up, she moved around quite a bit and settled in Point Clear in the early 70s. There, she learned to sail, water ski, and even barefoot ski. 

Her father was a polo player and, with Kenny McLean, Herndon Radcliff, and Ed Bernard, started the Point Clear Polo Club. (Mobile Bay Monthly published an excellent article by Watt Key on George Radcliff in 2015: Let George Do It) He skied professionally for Cypress Gardens in Florida and became the 3rd person in the world to barefoot water ski. Following in her father’s footsteps, Fontaine started riding horses and seeking adventure. The great outdoors was always a part of her life. 

As a young girl, her exposure to the outdoors sparked her curiosity about the natural world; she was fascinated by horses, dolphins, mullet jumping to digest their catch, pelicans diving for food, and the multitude of aquatic life she experienced along the Eastern Shore during jubilees, the exclusive natural summer occurrence along the shoreline where she lived. 

Her dad also owned a watering hole tucked away on Fowl River, called the Bay Boosters Club, which had a dock on the river. It was popular with the locals, hosting water ski shows, and was one of the few places that could legally serve its patrons a libation on Sunday. 

In high school, she began taking photos of sunsets in Point Clear every afternoon. These were the days before digital cameras and social media. It was something she enjoyed, and her family and friends took notice. Inspired by the spectacular sunsets, she continued to use a camera to capture images of the natural world.

Her love for horses and riding also grew quickly. She even learned to play polo, but excursions through the woods with friends were more to her liking. Living among outdoorsmen, including her dad, brothers, and extended family, she became adept in the woods on hunting trips. She was familiar with the wildlife and their habits and learned to appreciate them.

Through a series of family moves and her parents' divorce, Fontaine spent time in Mobile, Point. Clear, and Delray Beach, Florida, in her teenage years. Her dad eventually purchased a home in Point Clear from M.D. Anderson, who was building his now-famous medical practice in Houston, Texas. 

The Radcliff family also owned land in Celeste, Alabama, a rural community north of Mobile. Oil was discovered on the property, and her dad decided to sell the home back to the Andersons and relocate the family to Celeste. This land is known for one of the largest black bear populations in Alabama, and Fontaine began quietly observing and filming them.

“It was the early 90s, and the cameras I used were loud and noisy. The photos didn’t turn out well at all. The camera would shoot 36 frames at a time, and the result was just a big, black blob. That’s when I invested in a telephoto lens that could capture images in low light. Everything changed. I could see all the details, the eyes, the nose, and the ears of the black bears.”

I asked Fontaine if she ever did commercial photography. She tells me she did some promotional photography for Lucy Buffett for several years. When the BP Oil Spill occurred, everything came to a standstill. She was living on Cotton Bayou in Orange Beach at the time, and Lucy was featured in many national news reports. With the beach essentially closed for business, Fontaine went to work with Crowder Gulf, a disaster relief company that was assisting with the cleanup of the oil spill.

“While I was working on the oil spill, I observed the wildlife struggling. It wasn’t just the birds you saw covered with oil, but the dispersant that was used to dissolve the oil caused the oil to drop to the sea floor, impacting the bottom fish as well. I was watching the wildlife, and could see that the birds were confused when they saw the sheen on top of the water. I thought we were about to lose our way of life on our coast.” 

She documented the recovery throughout the cleanup. When the beach finally reopened, Lucy’s brother, Jimmy Buffett, performed a concert at LuLu’s, signaling that the beach was, once again, open for business. With Lucy’s blessings, Fontaine decided it was time to do a book of her photography to capture the importance of life on the coast. In 2010, she published Spirit of the South.

“It wasn’t just a wildlife book. It was a coastal lifestyle book. We came close to losing everything  that I hold dear, and I wanted to emphasize our way of life.” The book featured the Gulf’s wildlife, but also the things we love about living on the coast: the Blue Angels, margaritas, and, of course, women in string bikinis. She did everything herself and had 1,000 copies printed. 

“Lucy Buffett wrote the Forward, and the books were presold before printing. We had four additional 1,000-copy printings totaling 5,000 for Spirit of the South. I did it all myself: photos, quotes, design, marketing, book signings, and took and fulfilled each order.”

In 2012, Fontaine published a second edition called Spirit of the South II. “This edition was more of my wildlife images, but more of my inland photography.” By then, she had a collection of wildlife photographs taken all over the South, including the wild horses on Cumberland Island and the black bears of Celeste.

After publishing her third book, Wild South, in 2017, she decided to take a break. “I was beginning to get burned out. Putting together a book is a lot of computer work.” She continued traveling to capture photos of wild animals. “There is a lot more to it than you can imagine. People told me you would never be able to photograph the elusive Bobcats of Central Florida, but I did. It’s not glamorous, and most people aren’t cut out for the isolation involved, which may take days and weeks to accomplish.” 

With her English Cocker Spaniel, Bear, Fontaine ventures across America to capture images of the wild. She will tell her husband, Sandy Howard, where she is going, but she is often without cell service. She takes an e-bike with her so she can move about quickly and silently, looking for scat, hoping to come across her subjects. Her patience and perseverance often yield stunning images of animals in their natural habitats.

She recently returned from photographing the wild horses at Carova Beach, North Carolina. The posts she made on her Facebook page were incredible. Many were shot just using her cell phone. “Most of my friends who I ride horses with think this would be a great experience, but they soon discover it's not for them. It just takes a lot of determination in uncomfortable surroundings. I’m okay sleeping at a camp, or in my car for a day or two, but I prefer a hotel room and a hot shower these days.”

It’s not unusual to see photos of the bears in Celeste. Over the years, she has gotten to know them well. “Black bears move their cubs around to several dens, or nests, as I call them. I know where these nests are and can usually capture photos of them in the wild from long distances with a telephoto lens. Now and then, I go with a biologist to tag them, and I get to hold the cubs.” 

Fontaine has decided it’s time for another book to be released this Fall. The title is It’s a Wild Life. “I decided to go large. This is a limited-edition, signed, and numbered art piece. It’s a commitment,” she says. “Capturing images in the wild is always fluid, always changing. There is nothing glamorous about it, so I try to treat myself to something nice and frilly after a long shoot. I prefer a wilderness area over property used for hunting. I always have my dog with me, and he’s very protective.”

Safety is always a concern for Fontaine when she is away from home and in unfamiliar surroundings.  She enjoys free diving and loves to photograph manatees. She tells me that when she was 5 months pregnant with her second son, Rad, she was in the water in Perdido Key when a 14-foot Hammerhead shark tried to attack her. Fortunately, it beached itself before it could get to her. “That got my attention. The whole time this was taking place, Sandy was yelling, “Where’s your camera! Where’s your camera?” I think I’m a shark magnet. I don’t tempt them anymore.”

“I’ve photographed most of the wild horses in America, but still have a few more to complete in Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming.” She has photographed horses on Cumberland Island, off the coast of Georgia, and in Chincoteague, Virginia, and can expect to see another book in the future.

She spent two months planning a shoot in Mesa, Arizona, to photograph the wild horses of the Salt River. “I wanted to go during the monsoon season because the light is great. Bear and I drove for 3 days to get there, staying in dog-friendly hotels. You never know what you're going to get. These horses eat grasses from the river bottom, and snorkel for food.”

Her favorite excursion so far? “The Grizzlies in Alaska. Every adventure is different. You just never know, and my approach is, “As long as it takes.”

You can order the limited, numbered, signed collection piece of It’s a Wild Life through Fontaine’s website, FontaineHoward.com. Follow Fontaine’s Facebook page, Spirit of the South, to get up to date with her latest adventures. 

Thank you, Fontaine. This was fun! I can’t wait to see It’s a Wild Life in print!