Dick Henry - Nature Photographer
By Denis Mudderman

From Summer 2007 Tamarac Highlights

Dick Henry, from Bemidji, has been entering photos in the Tamarac photo contest and winning for three years. In March, his fame became national by winning first place in the National Wildlife Refuge Association annual contest.

Dick has been doing more serious photography for about five years. He takes many of his photos in the Bemidji area where he lives. Each year he makes six to seven trips to Tamarac. Starting out with a Sony DSC-S75 camera, he now uses a Canon EOS 20D with a macro lens (for close-up photography) and a telephoto lens. Dick enjoys close-up photos of insects, birds, and reptiles more than landscapes or other subjects. He first entered photos in the Tamarac NWR photo contest in 2004, and all together he has won 3 first prizes, 2 second prizes, and 1 third prize. Last year he entered photos into the National Wildlife Refuge Association annual contest and none of his photos won or was included in the 200 photos selected each year for the NWRA refuge photo library. Last March it was announced that his “Darner Dragonfly” photo (page one) won first prize out of 2,200 photos submitted. Five other photos were selected for the photo library. (See all six on our TIA website.) His prizes included 8x24 Merlin binoculars, a bird feeder, and Houghton Mifflin field guides.

Dick Henry’s winning “Darner Dragonfly” photo was taken last July hiking around the field north of Pine Lake along the auto tour. The dragonfly was rather lethargic and wasn’t disturbed by multiple photos with a macro lens. The photo of the fox cub on guard duty (page 12) was taken with a telephoto lens off County Road 126 near the south end of the refuge.

Frogs have been a favorite subject for the photos submitted to the Tamarac NWR photo contest. Dick Henry won first and third place in 2005 with two frog photos. Last year his green frog photo won second place. That frog was sitting in a day lily soaking up the sun near the parking area for the ski trails.

Dick recommends getting out to Tamarac with your camera in the early morning or late in the day. Besides being better times for viewing wildlife, the lighting for photography is also better. Certainly, nature photography involves luck, but Dick Henry says that you have to create your own luck by getting out frequently, looking, and trying different things.