Mike Haviland—Outdoor photographer

When Mike "Tater" Haviland, of rural Racine, was growing up in the Rocky Comfort area, he hurried home from school each day to spend time in the woods. As he matured and attended McDonald County High School, he continued to like "huntin', fishin', and trapping."

After high school, he moved on to Crowder College to study wildlife biology, but an experience he had in high school continued to nag him.

As a sophomore, he had been invited to go with a friend to Mississippi to help film a deer hunt. This was so enjoyable that Haviland decided to quit college and pursue a life videotaping wildlife.
After pounding the streets for nearly a half year, he got his break with Lohman Industries, an outdoor hunting and fishing company, in Neosho. Soon he was accompanying hunter and outdoorsman Brad Harris on hunts. On the very first hunt, Haviland earned his nickname "Tater."

Haviland explained, "That first night with Brad, he told me to cook the 'taters.' Apparently, I did such a good job that I earned my nickname."

Haviland has continued to hone his wild game cooking skills and one of his pet peeves is hearing someone say "I don't like venison."

"I do my best to prepare venison so that a person likes it," Haviland said.

Breaking in first with Lohman's, Haviland branched out and began filming the outdoors as a free lance videographer. Today, he works with Boss Outdoor Productions and is in the field with his cameras about 200 days each year.

When not in the field, he ranges over Southwest Missouri filming "support" material such as wintering eagles. Film shot locally has been shown on outdoor television programs all over the world. 

Two adventures in his life's profession stick out strongest in Haviland's mind. The first is his opportunity to film in Alaska. Most of his life he had dreamed of being in the Alaskan outdoors.
While there for three weeks, he filmed a Dall sheep and moose hunt in the Wrangell Mountains.

The second most memorable outing was a polar bear hunt out on the Arctic ice in the Northwest Territories of Canada. One night a polar bear came into camp, hoping to eat the group's sled dogs.

Haviland said, "When we climbed out of our tent, the bear was close and we were bow hunting.
We dropped him at about 18 yards."

The polar bear turned out to be a record setter, even larger than the one on display at Bass-Pro in
Springfield.

Being strong both mentally and physically are major requirements for an outdoor videographer.

"When you have been sleeping under a tarp, it's eight degrees outside, and you haven't seen any game, it is hard, mentally," Haviland said. "You have to be prepared to take it."

Haviland and his wife ride mountain bikes to help keep in physical shape.  "I really ride that old bike a couple weeks before a big hunt," he said.

Mike Haviland has filmed in 44 states and eight countries. He is living the dreams he had as a youngster in Rocky Comfort.

Today, "huntin', fishin', and trapping" are his means of making a living.