Leica Stories: Keith Hansen
As Steve Howell notes, one of the nice things about living in the small town on Bolinas is that it is also home to birder and bird artist extraordinaire Keith Hansen, whose gallery-studio downtown is the hub of the local birding scene. Keith has a well-worn Lecia scope, and has self-built a wonderful rig on which he mounts a video camera to capture any and all ornithological moments. Visitors to his gallery can view real-time video of birds outside the window, as the video-scope setup is linked to a large screen. This also means that if a rare bird pops in (and they do a lot!), Keith can switch to record mode and “nail that puppy” as he says. For example, he has documented 3 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds at his feeder, of about only 14 recorded in the state of California. The rest of us would still be fumbling for a camera and the bird would have got away! At Keith’s gallery the other day I asked him about his Leica scope.
In 2013 you followed the trials and tribulations of a pair of Leica Trinovid 8x42 binoculars passed from hand to hand across the Americas on a “big year” quest to see as many bird species as possible!
In 2014 we have a sleek 7x42 Ultravid HD binocular traveling the globe and soaking in many spectacular sights! Follow along with us vicariously here.
