BALDWINSVILLE — Last week, the Messenger presented readers with photos of bluebirds in Roger Dahlin’s backyard. This week, we have a more exotic array of avians: hornbills, lilac-breasted rollers, and shoebills (oh my!).
Throughout July, the Baldwinsville Public Library will display an exhibit called “Wings Over Africa,” which showcases the work of Bob Graham, who lives in Radisson.
Since his retirement in 2001, Graham has devoted himself to his passions of traveling and photography. Africa might be famous for its lions and elephants, but Graham is particularly fond of photographing birds.
“They certainly are not like the little twee birds that we think of. … They really can be quite aggressive,” Graham said of vultures, herons and other predatory birds.
A native of Jersey City, New Jersey, Graham moved to the Syracuse area in 1969 to take a job as a research chemist for Bristol Laboratories. Mid-career, he transitioned to Bristol’s manufacturing safety division, which required him to inspect labs all over the world.
“On one of my trips I ended up in South Africa. On the weekend they invited me to go to Kruger Park and — wow, I had never seen anything like it in my life. The park is the size of the state of New Jersey,” Graham said.
Located in northeastern South Africa, Kruger National Park is a 4.9 million-acre game preserve. New Jersey is about 6 million acres, for reference.
Graham fell in love with the bright plumage and fascinating behavior of the winged wildlife there. Since that first visit to Africa, Graham has returned to the continent several times. When he retired, he spent weeks and sometimes months in countries such as Zambia, Tanzania and Uganda. His favorite location to photograph birds is Botswana.
“Botswana has a lot of land set aside for conservation and a fairly small population as compared with other countries,” Graham said.
Graham grew up learning the ropes of photography with his father and brother. The family had a darkroom in their home.
“In the old days you’d have to wait a week or more to see how it turned out,” he said of developing photos. “Now with digital it’s almost unlimited. You can take photos from really far away and then zoom in after you get it. You can look at the viewfinder and have an idea of how it’s going to look.”
While the technology of photography has come a long way since Graham’s youth, the thrill of the hunt for the perfect shot remains the same.
“If a mother is feeding a young bird, you try to capture the moment when the seed is moving from beak to beak,” he said. “You’re really trying to capture an exciting moment and freeze it — and, of course, share it with others.”
The pandemic has greatly curtailed Graham’s travel plans. Instead of snapping shots of ostriches, vultures and penguins, he’s been watching finches, chickadees and cardinals on his deck in Radisson.
“I went out to Arizona to visit my son a couple times and got some desert photos,” he said. “I’m hoping to start up again soon. Maybe by next spring I can get back out there for a real adventure.”
“Wings Over Africa” is on display at the Baldwinsville Public Library through July 30. The library is located at 33 E. Genesee St. in the village of Baldwinsville. Library hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Follow “Safari Bob” on Facebook to see more of Bob Graham’s photography.
