Tom Brennan

photographer

Collecting Feathers
Hummingbird Tree, courtesy of American Museum of Natural History
Collecting Feathers
Hummingbirds, courtesy of Redpath Museum, McGill University
Collecting Feathers
American Bittern_Botaurus lentiginosus, courtesy of Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University
Collecting Feathers
Blue bird of Paradise_Paradisaea rudolphi, courtesy of National Museums, Liverpool
Collecting Feathers
Black-throated Diver_Caira artica linnaeus, courtesy of National Museums, Liverpool
Collecting Feathers
Parrots, Amazona aestiva, Amazona auropalliata, courtesy of American Museum of Natural History
Collecting Feathers
Eider, Arctonetta fischeri, courtesy of American Museum of Natural History
Collecting Feathers
Great Blue Herons_Ardea herodias, courtesy of American Museum of Natural History
Collecting Feathers
Flamingoes_P. ruber, P. chilensis, courtesy of Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates
Collecting Feathers
Bird of Paradise_P. apoda, courtesy of American Museum of Natural History
Collecting Feathers
Bird of Paradise_P. apoda, courtesy of American Museum of Natural History
Collecting Feathers
Bird of Paradise_P. apoda.male and female pair, courtesy of American Museum of Natural History
Collecting Feathers
Xantu's Hummingbirds (courtesy of Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University)
Collecting Feathers
Pine Siskin_Carduelis pinus, courtesy of Redpath Museum, McGill University
Collecting Feathers
Senegal Parrot_Poicephalus senegalus, courtesy of Redpath Museum, McGill University
Collecting Feathers
Mountain Quail_Oreortyx pictus, courtesy of Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University
Collecting Feathers
Great Blue Heron_Ardea herodias, courtesy of Redpath Museum, McGill University
Collecting Feathers
Virginia Rail_Rallus limicola, courtesy of Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University
Collecting Feathers
King Rail _ Rallus Elegans (courtesy of Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University)
Collecting Feathers
Scarlet Ibis_Eudocimus ruber, courtesy of Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University
Collecting Feathers
White-tailed Tropicbird_Phaethon lepterus, courtesy of Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University
Collecting Feathers
Black Rosy Finch_Leucosticte atrata, courtesy of American Museum of Natural History
Collecting Feathers
Resplendent Quetzal_Pharomachrus mocinno, courtesy of National Museums, Liverpool
Collecting Feathers
Superb Lyrebird_Menura superba, courtesy of Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University
Collecting Feathers
Superb Lyrebird_Menura superba, courtesy of California Academy of Sciences
Collecting Feathers
BellJar, courtesy of California Academy of Sciences
Collecting Feathers
Collecting Feathers (installation view) Usdan Gallery, Bennington College 2014
Collecting Feathers
Collecting Feathers (installation view) Usdan Gallery, Bennington College 2014
Collecting Feathers
Collecting Feathers (installation view) Burlington City Arts, Vermont 2015
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Collecting Feathers

Photogenic Drawings of Birds from Natural History Collections

Photogenic drawing is the term William Henry Fox-Talbot used in the 1830’s to describe his approach of placing an object directly onto paper coated with a light-sensitive solution to record the object’s shadow when exposed to light.

Contemporaneous with Fox-Talbot’s development of a negative-positive photographic process was a dramatic increase in interest for collecting and displaying birds in natural history collections.

The images in Collecting Feathers are photograms with 19th Century “display” birds exposed onto photographic paper while on-site at natural history museums. Single sheets of paper were used for smaller displays with multiple sheets for larger displays as needed, at times affecting image rendering due to paper shifts.