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This story has been updated to add a quote from the Jackson Hole Community School, where Flo McCall recently taught a photography class.
When Ansel Adams said you don’t just take a photo with a camera, but with all the “people you’ve loved,” he might as well have been talking about Florence “Flo” McCall-Phillips.
McCall died Saturday after a driver hit her while she was on a bike ride south of town, near her Melody Ranch home.
The reach she had within Jackson communities by way of her camera makes the inverse of the old adage true as well. The well-known portrait photographer’s portfolio documenting Jackson and Teton Valley residents, built across three decades, is, in many ways, an archive of all who loved her back.
Through her craft, McCall captured life milestones from graduation pictures and weddings to maternity shoots, often documenting families for a whole generation.
“She just really reached so many different demographics in our community,” said Garth Gillespie, a close friend since she first moved to Victor in 1995.
When she took on the challenge to document all the characters that make up Jackson, for instance, her craft took her to several pockets of Jackson, including some that others pursuing a similar task may have missed.
“Whether you are driving around the valley and you see its vibrant Latino community and all that they bring to the area, or the river rats hanging down by the landing, the cowboys who have been here long before most, the business community, the fresh-faced 20-somethings just embarking on their journeys of self-discovery in the mountains, or the J-1s [visa holders] and the perspectives they bring to Jackson coming from so many different countries, it all adds up to making this place so unique,” McCall told the Jackson Hole Chamber when describing her ongoing project in 2022.
The project was emblematic of a life led by the care she had for her community.
“She was always inclusive and she really loved everybody. She loved everybody’s stories, loved talking to people and would help anybody at the drop of a dime, no matter who it was,” her former husband Wayne Phillips said.
Garth remembered how McCall had a special way of making her subjects at ease behind the camera.
“She was able to capture people in a different light where people were really proud of the photo she took. You couldn’t wait to show people your picture and not everyone can do that.”
Garth’s wife Christy, another close friend, recalled riding up the gondola at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort behind McCall one day in the 1990s and knew right away that she wanted to become friends, a common occurrence for those who met Flo or did a shoot with her.
“[McCall] was known here, but she was also known in other places around the United States for being an incredible photographer. We were lucky to have her,” Christy said.
“And she made everybody feel really comfortable in front of the camera, which is a talent. It’s tough to do.”
Giving back
But her photography is not the only way those who knew her will remember the esteemed artist and beloved Jacksonite.
Originally from Philadelphia, McCall found her way to Jackson, first by way of Victor in 1995, after graduating from the University of Colorado at Boulder and leaving a photography job in San Francisco.
In her three decades between Jackson and Teton Valley, she was quick to use her craft to the benefit of others, whether that be donating her time to help launch her friends’ business ventures with photoshoots or doing the same for local organizations.
This tendency to use her skills in service of others extended to mentoring budding photographers. This past spring, she taught a photography class at the Jackson Hole Community School, which quickly became a hit among students.
“In her brief time teaching at JHCS, Flo McCall left a huge impression on our community. Her warmth and generosity of spirit drew her students to her, and she had a big impact on all of us fortunate enough to spend time with Flo,” the Community School shared in a statement to KHOL.
That spirit carried through in the mentoring relationships McCall fostered with the many photography assistants she worked with over the years. She often welcomed up-and-coming photographers to tag along and learn from her craft.
Emma Detrick was one such assistant, working with McCall over the course of several summers and full-time one year.
“Flo was a wonderful person to work for because she was a wonderful person to begin with,” Detrick said.“She had a great sense of humor and an eye for social dynamics, which directed her instincts while capturing family portraits, headshots and her editorial-style passion projects.”
Hanna Austin was another assistant and had worked a few gigs with McCall since 2018. She remembers McCall for her fun and lively banter.
“She was just always so cool and funny and grounded,” Austin said. “The way that she would get the people to smile was awesome.”
Up to good fun
McCall was constantly seeking to up her game as a photographer or taking on a new sport.
Dubbed the “energizer bunny” and “unproclaimed president and CEO” of her social circles, her former husband Wayne Phillips said McCall was quick to rally a crew for just about any outdoor adventure, be it on bikes, skis or on the water.
Just recently, she added golf to her repertoire and in no time became a champion at the Teton Pines course.
Her ski partner A.J. Cargill reminisced about the big lines they skied together, from long days of touring “the skillet” off Mount Moran, “the arch” in Jackson Hole Mountain Resort side country and a trip to the French Alps.
Even an injured hand this winter couldn’t slow McCall down.
“She was [still] hiking up the boot pack of Snow King — the hard way,” Cargill said.
“She looked at risk with a good lens, like ‘I’ll give it a try. ‘Why not?’” Cargill said. “She was a pretty carefree spirit in a lot of ways and was able to just say yes to more things than most of us would do.”
Her adventurous spirit was apparent in her photography too. Both Gillespies recalled that once, when returning from a trip, the couple, with McCall in tow, left all their belongings inside the Jackson Hole airport terminal as they rushed outside for a photo-op under the then-new bucking bronco statue.
“We were all excited and we’re taking these pictures outdoors and [when] we came back, there was the TSA surrounding all her gear,” Garth said.
Though it didn’t sit well with airport security, it soon turned into a fond memory and an iconic photoshoot.
‘Larger than life’
Though small in stature, she exuded energy far surpassing her petite frame.
“To me, she was thousands, hundreds of feet tall,” said Phillips, also the father of her two kids, Tanner, 21, and Anabel, 18. “She was larger than life.”
Phillips said she was the pillar of their family and her friend groups.
McCall shared the joys of navigating motherhood with Michelle Melehes, another friend who met her early on when she first moved to Victor. The two later became next door neighbors and, in time, Melehes’ daughter would become one of McCall’s first photography assistants.
“She had boundless joy for life. There was no down day,” Melehes said. “If you went in and said, ‘Well, okay, I’m not having the best day or this or that,’ she could flip it around on you in two seconds. There was always something positive.”
“No one could ever say Flo’s name without having a smile,” Melehes added. She called her “Fearless Flo” for the charge she took to launching her photography business.
McCall’s partner Brian Nystrom said she spread so much love and light into the world.
“I was blessed beyond measure to have her in my life,” Nystrom said.
One more ‘Flo party’
Many remember McCall for her keen ability to throw memorable parties, which were “legendary,” according to Phillips.
Garth recalled how once when planning a birthday party for her son, McCall had the idea to hold a parade through the Melody Ranch neighborhood.
“She knew so many people that she was able to get the fire department and search and rescue,” Garth said. “And, Tanner was the leader of the parade.”
A celebration of life service will take place Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at St. John’s Episcopal Church with a reception, or “Flo party,” to follow.
The family is accepting financial donations by check made payable to Florence McCall Revocable Trust. Checks can be dropped off or mailed to:
First Interstate Bank
Attn: Sarah Beninga
PO Box 11095
Jackson, WY 83002.
