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Todd Forsgren

Todd Forsgren is a modern photographer who could be considered very unique in his area of expertise. A lover of not only photography, but of birding as well, he has found a way to combine these into something more than just scientific observation and discovery.

He was born and raised in Ohio, where much of his influence on birds began. His father was a veterinarian and a long time birder, so naturally, he picked up on it as well. He stated in an interview with The Birdest, “I was definitely a birder long before I was a photographer. I started birding early, maybe 4th or 5th grade. I was a total bird nerd in high school, heading out on VENT bird camps in Arizona and competing in birdathons for the ABA's Tropicbirds youth birding team.”

Photography didn’t become a large part of Forsgren’s life until he was a young adult, one that saw his future in birds, not photography. While achieving his bachelor’s in biology at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, he “started taking cameras seriously” for the first time. “It wasn't until my junior or senior year... [and] within a few years after school, I decided that's what I wanted to do with my life: make pictures. Photographing birds was just a matter of time.”

And photographing birds he did. If you look up “Todd R Forsgren photographer” in a Google search engine, the first 6 pages will show reviews and displays of his work in ornithology, some of which are from the UK and China. His educational experience includes more than enough qualifications to back this kind of representation; a post-baccalaureate certificate from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, an artist-in-residence at the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, a residence at the artist’s enclave at I-Park, and a Fulbright Fellow in Mongolia. He also achieved his master’s degree in photography from J.E. Purkyně University, a school in Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic.

Along with his success in Ornithology, he has also documented many other aspects of the world, from a series depicting gardens in five different countries, to a series depicting climate change through what he refers to as “photographic specimen.” He has also been published in several instances with his photography. One could find his work in National Geographic, Slate, Wired,  The Guardian,  Nature,  New Scientist, and TIME's Lightbox. He also has an assortment of his own books, five to be exact. These can be found on his website toddforsgren.com.

Along with his success, he has also been a professor at several different schools, from Semester At Sea to Saint Mary’s College in Maryland. He’s currently an art instructor at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana, where he lives happily with his wife and daughter. He continues to produce photography and according to his website, has two “ongoing observations” that he is still adding to.

Forsgren is remarked by the birdist as “The only bird photographer I know of who I would consider a great artist…” With his artistic capability and his love for the scientific world, Forsgren has adapted his style into something that will educate even the less sciency of us out there. He is the artistic light in the sometimes confusing world of science, and educational light in the deep world of art.

Sources

Glascock, T., 2020. (PHOTOS) These Bird's Aren't In Trouble–It's Just Science In Action. [online] Wired. Available at:  [Accessed 29 October 2020]. Todd R Forsgren. 2020. Home - Todd R Forsgren. [online] Available at:  [Accessed 29 October 2020]. Thebirdist.com. 2020. Interview With Todd Forsgren, Photographer. [online] Available at:  [Accessed 29 October 2020]. Semester At Sea. 2020. Through The Lens Of Todd Forsgren. [online] Available at:  [Accessed 29 October 2020]. Semester At Sea. 2020. Todd Forsgren | Semester At Sea. [online] Available at:  [Accessed 29 October 2020]. The Telegraph. 2020. Viewfinder: The Most Inspiring And Surprising Images You'll See This Week. [online] Available at:  [Accessed 29 October 2020].