Behind the scenes

Interview with Brome McCreary: The Man behind the 2024 Amphibian Week Amphibian Athlete Champion

Brome was just your everyday biologist. But when he decided to take his camera along on a random stream survey in July of 2023, it changed his life. The photo he took of the Rough-skinned Newt became a sensation and catapulted this extraordinary amphibian into the winner’s circle as the gold medal winner in the Amphibian Week 2024 Amphibian Athlete competition.


As readers may remember, the winner of the 2024 Amphibian Week Contender competition, held parallel to the Olympic Games in Paris, was the Rough-skinned Newt, sponsored by The Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) of the U.S. Geological Survey. But, like nearly all celebrities, it takes more than just charisma to be a star. For this competition, the Rough-skinned Newt had a whole stable of supporters working to show its best side and provide all the fascinating details about its amphibiany persona.

Brome McCreary is one of those scientists acting in a supporting role. Brome’s stunning photograph captures the Rough-skinned Newt mid-unken reflex, an image that clearly shows the ability and personality of this contender. Brome’s photographs also illustrate the depth of knowledge and concern that he has for amphibians. We took the opportunity to ask Brome a few questions about how he came to be the behind the scenes support for the Rough-skinned Newt’s run for the gold. We asked him about how he got into the study of amphibians and amphibian decline, how he uses his photography to promote amphibian conservation and how he got to know his subject, the Rough-skinned Newt.

The Interview

Reporter: What is your background? Did you grow up with amphibians?

BROME: I grew up on 80 acres in Southern Oregon and my interest in amphibians began early. I enjoyed catching Coastal Giant Salamander larvae in our small stream and hatching Pacific Treefrog egg masses in mayonnaise jars on my bedroom windowsill, raising them to juvenile frogs and releasing them.

Reporter: Were you an amphibian scientist before you became a photographer or vice versa?

BROME: Since I spent almost all my free time outside as a young person, I connected with that world at an early age. This fostered a profound appreciation for the complexity and beauty of the natural world that quickly grew into a desire for life-long study. I think I was always a scientifically minded person; inquisitive, engaged, asking questions and that led to studying biology in college. I have been a professional biologist with the FRESC Herpetological Research Team and the USGS for 24 years. I am passionate about doing work and living a life that contributes to our understanding of the ecological systems around us.

I started taking pictures when I was young with an old Brownie Hawkeye camera. I have always been particularly drawn to macro photography, unique angles, unusual textures, or any combination of the three. Photographing amphibians was a natural result of working with this group of critters for so many years, observing them on my own, surveying for them as an AmeriCorps service member, then with the USFS, and eventually with the USGS. Amphibians are excellent subjects as they are slow moving (it seems like they are patient with me as I take time to get what I think is the perfect shot) and visually appealing. I am drawn to taking photos that capture the natural beauty and details of subjects in mostly their true form, with little to not post processing of the image.

Reporter: Has your photography been a hobby or has it contributed to your scientific work?

BROME: Both. I take a lot of photos on my own time, but we use photography as a tool in our lab’s research to document vegetation and water changes at sites over time using photo points, and I typically lead the placement of those at our study sites, with the goal to try and capture the most informative angle and/or expanse. I have also used photos to document individual color patterns in amphibians for identification purposes. I am fortunate that I can photograph amphibians at work, but I love critters in general and photography so I spend a lot of my personal time photographing them, as well.

Reporter: Have you always lived in the same neighborhood as Rough-skinned Newts?

BROME: For the most part. Rough-skinned Newts are relatively common in the Pacific Northwest and I spent my childhood exploring and engrossed in the woods, streams and meadows on and around the small mountain farm where I grew up in Southern Oregon. Interestingly enough I don’t recall every actually seeing a newt on our family farm, but when we traveled to the coast, and stopped at any pond or backwater on the way, I would often find them. I remember attempting to fill a 5 gallon bucket with newts once as a child, at a pond in the Oregon coast range. When I lived on the east side of the Cascades in Washington, newts were not as common locally, but often encountered them during my work and travels in SW Washington and NW Oregon. Once I moved to the Willamette Valley, I started seeing them much more frequently, again.

Reporter: Do you photograph a lot of amphibians? Where else has your photographic work appeared?

BROME: Sort of, they are one of my favorite subjects, but I take a lot of natural history related photos, overall. As I mentioned, I come into contact with amphibians often, both during “work” hours as well as my personal time. I don’t typically set out with the goal to locate and photograph a particular subject, including amphibians, but more to notice the critters and the environment around me, whether for work, or on my own time. Fortunately, I often encounter interesting subjects in appealing settings and then do my best to capture that. I have accumulated a moderate portfolio of amphibian related images. I have had the honor of having my photographs published in several USGS reports from our lab, as well as various fact sheets, fliers, and web pages for the USGS and other agencies. Probably most notable is that some of my photographs were selected for inclusion in the book Frogs of the United States and Canada, by C. Kenneth Dodd Jr. Several of my images were also featured in the beautiful 2009/2010 Northwest Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC) Northwest Herpetofauna Calendar.

Reporter: Where were you when you noticed the amazing abilities of the Rough-skinned Newt’s “unken reflex”?

BROME: I was sampling for invertebrates at some local ponds when I inadvertently captured this Rough-skinned Newt (they can be hard to avoid when dip netting). As I was gently handling it, it promptly began to exhibit the predator deterrent behavior (the famous unken reflex) you see in the photograph. Rough-skinned Newts are an interesting species. In addition to occasionally exhibiting the behavior captured in the photo, they are the only newt we have in the Pacific Northwest. Their vibrant color also informs all that encounter one that they are one of the most toxic animals in this area. When male newts return to lakes and ponds in the early spring for the breeding season, their morphology changes slightly to help them swim and their tails increasing in height. Due to their skin being tougher and less permeable than most other amphibians, newts can handle a wide range of moisture conditions, including much dryer landscapes, pavement, even snow, and of course just about any freshwater in their range, often in large numbers where they may create “newt balls” during breeding.

Reporter: How did you have the presence of mind to capture those great shots?

BROME: I knew this behavior is well known, but not a common thing to witness, and I had my camera, so naturally couldn’t pass the opportunity up. I have witnessed this behavior in only two other situations.

Reporter: What is the most unusual position that you’ve found yourself in when photographing amphibians?

BROME: Great question! I can’t think of a stunning answer right off, but the way I like to take photos of amphibians involves a lot of lying on the ground, crouching, slow movement. Good positions often induce muscle cramps, and often standing in water, sometimes deep water. Once I was trying to sneak up on a toad on a log in a lake, and the water kept getting deeper and deeper. I was trying to keep my gear dry and avoid tripping over sticks and rocks on the substrate, and all the while move quietly. As often happens, the toad got impatient and left before I could get in a good position to get the picture I wanted. Oh, well, it was fun, and I made it safely back to shore mostly dry.

Reporter: Do you think that there a link to caring about the conservation of something that we have seen as opposed to something we’ve just heard about?

BROME: For sure. I think most folks are visual processors, but even more than that. Spending time in the presence of a critter can be a full sensory experience. That is much more stimulating than reading or hearing about (even if the author or speaker is amazing with descriptive language). And seeing a well-crafted photograph can have a similar effect. I enjoy sharing my appreciation of the natural world with others and photography gives me one more avenue to facilitate connection between others and that world. And I hope to not only take appealing photos of amphibians, but perhaps help give them more of a voice…

Reporter: What is your best tip for photographing celebrities (or at least celebrity amphibians)?

BROME: I don’t know about best, but I can share a few suggestions that might help. Alwa