Wild about photography

By Robin Bolson, Communications Manager

You may already have seen Brian Meltzner’s striking photos from his postings on NextDoor, which draw hundreds of comments and likes: A bald eagle at Mayberry Park, wood ducks at Idlewild Park, and blue herons at Cottonwood Park. What makes his images special – besides their quality – is Brian’s intention to take photos that “tell a story,’’ such as a Cooper’s hawk with its feathers puffed up against the cold on a fencepost behind his home in Sierra Canyon, or a robin holding a berry “snack’’ in its mouth.

One of his photos – the Cooper’s hawk – took first prize in a contest sponsored by the Lahontan Audubon Society. Seeing his images, you might think that Brian has been a professional photographer all his life, but it’s something he loved when he was younger and rediscovered about four years ago.

When Brian was in high school, he was inspired by the oceanographer and filmmaker Jacques Cousteau. He lived in Southern California at the time and had access to great spots to scuba dive. So, he earned his scuba certification and took photos during his dives with an Instamatic camera protected by an underwater housing. For his senior year project, he put together a presentation about scuba diving off Santa Catalina Island complete with a slide presentation of his photographs.

This was combined with a lesson on how to prepare abalone, using abalone he collected while scuba diving. “This was the first time I recall doing something rather unusual and my fellow classmates and other faculty in attendance really loved it” he explains.

After high school, Brian put photography aside other than vacation photos and trips to photography galleries where “I would just sit there and just go ‘wow’.’’ He would move from Southern California to the Bay Area to attend university and enjoy a long career working for a manufacturing company associated with the medical device industry. He also met his wife Carol there where they would raise a family. His wife Carol’s parents lived in Reno and when they visited the area, Brian found the trip over the Donner Pass to be cathartic. “When you start seeing trees around Auburn, to me, it just flipped a switch,’’ he says.

One day while driving to Reno on Route 80 he noticed the Del Webb sign on the monument on the west side of Somersett. He and Carol soon visited and fell in love with Sierra Canyon. “It is unlike any other (community) I ever experienced,’’ Brian says. Instead of leveling the land to construct houses in flat tracts, the Meltzners loved how Somersett has homes on different elevations surrounded by natural beauty. “I pinch myself every time I walk outside and see the beauty that surrounds me,’’ he says.

Brian and Carol bought their home in Sierra Canyon in 2015, and he intended to retire and play golf all the time. But his sore back had other ideas, and he had to abandon this plan. Then, about four years ago, he and Carol took a photography workshop in the Great Smoky Mountains. “That began my reconnection with my love and passion for photography,’’ Brian says. “It changed the way I see things, the way I experience things.’’

Now he is on a path of discovery and learning about photography. He loves taking photos of birds and other wildlife, but his biggest passion is dragonflies. “It’s not just that they are so magical,’’ he says, “they are also so unfamiliar to most people and to be able to capture images of them with a close-up lens and share these images is special.’’

But they are also challenging to capture. “They don’t stay still,’’ he says. First, you must locate them in your lens, which is difficult because it’s a close-up lens and the insect is constantly moving. Then you must track it and get it in clear focus until you finally capture the image. This happens in the space of 3 or 4 seconds.

“The one thing you have to learn if you’re doing wildlife photography is patience, patience, patience,’’ he says.

For Brian, photography is a way to share his love of the natural world with others. “I always thought to myself, if I ever got to the point where I could create an image that somebody liked and would want to print and display, I would be very happy and joyful,” he says.

Brian has a website, Beautiful Noise Photography (www. beautifulnoisephotography.com), where he offers images for sale. His goal from the picture sales is to cover his expenses and donate much of the rest to charity, namely the American Diabetes Association. Brian has had Type 2 diabetes for several decades.