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Birds in Flight
with Russ and Marty Hansen is devoted to photographing flying birds at
close range, typically within three feet of the camera. Using their
experience as "amateur bird psychologists" they have attracted birds to
the camera with a variety of seeds, fruit, nectar, mixtures of peanut butter
and cornmeal, water, meal worms etc.
As one might suspect, many strange and unexpected photographic events are not unusual. On one occasion a flying loggerhead shrike was photographed, undoubtedly pursuing a songbird which unwittingly found itself in an unsafe area. Another time our neighbor's cat, an astonished Tobey, was photographed. Included among their many photographs are a gray fox, several dogs, a peacock, and other creatures such as a yellow jacket, a mouse, a ground squirrel, and even an American robin, usually never seen near a bird feeder. Inspecting film for the first time, after its return from the photo lab, is not unlike opening Christmas presents. One person even called Russ the "Snowflake Bentley" of bird photographers - never with two photographs exactly alike.  Statistically, only a small percentage of photographs show the bird in a satisfying position, since at the instant that the beam is broken, the bird may be in any of an infinite number of positions flying in any of a multitude of directions, and one never knows what part of the bird is first to interrupt the beam. Needless to say, this is not an efficient form of photography! Indeed, it can be said that perseverance pays. When a rare and satisfying image appears on film, the wasted film is soon forgotten. Starting his project more than 27 years ago, it is likely that Russ has photographed more species of songbirds in flight at close range than any other photographer in the United States. Check the biography for further information About Russ. Go to the Galleries to see 27 images available as fine prints. Links to more fine prints can be seen at http://www.agpix.com/rmhansen. Click on Purchase Prints if interested in buying prints. More than 50 natural history and science museums have featured Russ's "Birds in Flight" traveling exhibit. For more information about the exhibit, how to schedule the exhibit and a recent calendar of venues, go to Traveling Exhibits. Two identical exhibits have been traveling the country since 1992. Russ's photographs have appeared in numerous magazines and books. Following is a brief list of more recent publications: HOW BIRDS FLY, A Bobbie Kalman Book, Crabtree Publishing Company, New York, NY, 1998. A FIELD GUIDE TO HUMMINGBIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA, The Peterson Field Guide Series, by Sheri L. Williamson, Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA, 2001. HUMMINGBIRDS OF THE AMERICAN WEST by Lynn Hassler Kaufman, Rio Nuevo Publishers, Tucson, AZ, 2001. NATIONAL WILDLIFE MAGAZINE RANGER RICK DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE BIRDER'S WORLD
Photo editors interested in stock should go to http://www.agpix.com/rmhansen
or contact Marty.
For further information on ordering
prints or
E-mail: marty@birdsinflight.net
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