The Light Hunter

By Richard Schaan
Contributing Writer

Quietly trolling by electric motor in his fishing boat, the stealthy hunter tracks his prey in the Cormorant chain of lakes, once again returning to one of the isolated sweet spots he keeps secret from his fellow sportsmen. Well armed with a pair of high-powered Canons, he spots at the outer edge of his vision the unnatural bend of a reed. Not the wind. At that exact moment his ears pick up on what may be the skittering sound made by the Least Bittern, a long legged, robin sized bird that dashes in and out of the reeds so fast a single blink can cost the marksman a chance at a clean shot.

Shifting abruptly to his left, he takes aim with one of the Canons and puts the target in the viewfinder’s cross hairs. Click. Click. Click. Three shots ring out. He checks the viewfinder. Finally, after three years on the hunt, he shot the elusive prey point blank and in brilliant digital resolution.

Our hunter is local nature photographer Brad Berger and that was a dramatized version of how he captured his stunning photo of a Least Bittern inside a patch of reeds that are reflected upside down on the surface of the perfectly still water in the lower half of the shot. If it were a painting, the photo would be a marvel of realism, but as the representation of reality that it is, the viewer can hardly accept that it’s a photograph and not the product of a brilliant imagination.

Calling what he does “hunting on a miniature scale,” Berger admits that not all of his prey requires this combination of persistence, sharpened awareness and occasional luck. In fact, one of his best pieces is an extreme close up of a robber fly that is stuck on a leaf, covered in a frosty looking layer of wet morning dew.

“Being cold-blooded, until their metabolism can get going, they can’t do a thing,” Berger said. “It’s really something watching their eyes dart back and forth as they have this zoom lens half an inch away but are powerless to fly away.”

These pieces and several others will be featured in Berger’s first solo show, titled “Scarce as Hens’ Teeth,” opening at DK Custom Framing @ Gallery 14 on Wednesday, December 14 at 7 pm. Aside from featuring the works in large format, the opening night will also include music, home brew, wine and hors d’ oeuvres. Those still looking for gift ideas might find the show quite useful as well.

As for the artist himself, the upcoming show is both exciting and nerve wracking. Berger says he is entering the gallery world “kicking and screaming,” the same phrase he used to describe his reluctance to switch over to digital photography in 2006, a move he now admits was nothing but advantageous.

Not to be mistaken, the humble and ever grateful Berger is “tickled to finally get a show date” after being told at one point that the next opportunity might be two years out, but perhaps like a rugged explorer of the past being grilled about Everest, the heart of Africa or the North Pole at dinner parties in his honor, he feels much “happier out in a tree blind, all alone.”

Unfortunately for him—and to the benefit of those whom appreciate the beauty of the outdoors but lack the time, ambition and/or talent to visually catalog and illuminate the minutia of nature’s wonders—now and then the hunter must return to camp and share the meat accumulated from his heroic kills.

And while the dull hum of human chit-chat may not compare well with the transcendent hymns overheard on tranquil, isolated lakes, one noise may bring Berger a similar sense of peace on Wednesday night: that of enthusiastic applause by many of those partaking in the evening’s visual feast of expertly captured light.

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IF YOU GO

WHAT: Berger’s Photo Exhibit “Scarce as Hens’ Teeth,”
WHERE: DK Custom Framing @ Gallery 14; 14 Roberts St
WHEN: December 14 at 7 pm
Info: http://www.bradbergerphotography.com/