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from the issue of February 7, 2008
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Hobby draws Hansen to lonely stretches of state roadways
Capturing rural Nebraska
BY TROY FEDDERSON, UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
Small town Nebraska calls to Thomas Hansen.
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| | | PHOTO HOBBY - Tom Hansen, UNL's coordinator of computer sales and LAN support, has shown his photographs in 11 local and national exhibitions. His most recent series features black and white photos from rural Nebraska communities (pictured at top). Photo by Troy Fedderson/University Communications.
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With two classic cameras in tow - one a wooden field camera that folds up for easy travel - UNL's coordinator of computer sales and LAN support spends his off hours traversing lonely stretches of Nebraska highways, searching for small town images.
"Taking these photos is like stepping back in time for me," Hansen said. "I don't know why it's important to me, yet. It just feels like something I need to do."
Hansen picked up his photography hobby from his father. Always intrigued with "capturing images" Hansen said he spent a lot of years focused on typical snapshots - shooting birthdays and other family occasions. He has over 40 years of photography experience, but has "gotten serious" with the hobby in the last five years.
Since 2005, Hansen's photos have been included in 11 local and national exhibitions. The most recent - a juried competition organized by the Nebraska Arts Council - is on exhibit at the Nebraska Governor's Mansion through Feb. 7 (open Thursdays, 1 to 4 p.m.).
He does shoot digital pictures on occasion, but is more interested in using old-style cameras, manually setting aperture and shutter speed to obtain an image on film, which in turn needs to be developed. From negatives, the images go digital, scanned into a computer and adjusted for exhibition.
"I tend to be a process person," Hansen said. "I'm somewhat less concerned with the end result, but love the process to get there. The large and medium format cameras I work with are process oriented. Point and shoot just isn't for me."
Finding locations has also become a part of the process. Whenever Hansen and his wife plan trips, he is sure to take an old highway and even gravel roads to find photo subject matter.
"My poor wife has to sit through my trips, which take four times as long as anyone else," Hansen said. "I like to plan out my trips. But, I'm also known for taking detours into every town I can find on small roads. I stop for whatever catches my eye."
Hansen takes 20 to 30 minutes to set up his camera for each shot.
"My wife is very tolerant," Hansen said. "She just brings books and other things to do when we travel."
Often, while Hansen is setting up the camera, community residents will stop and ask questions or offer history on his subject matter.
"I get these great oral histories from people," Hansen said. "When I was in Gandy to shoot an old IOOF building and the bench, a guy came out and spent an hour and a half talking. He told me all about what life used to be like in Gandy, and how things had changed."
He finds each town has a certain vitality left, despite dwindling populations as young residents move away.
"Each of the towns I visit is trying to do something to better the local economy," Hansen said. "They are not giving up."
Hansen doesn't have precise plans for his small town photo series. He may turn them into a book (though he believes the world does not need another photography book), or simply continue to hang them in exhibitions. He does plan on return trips to take similar photos, showing how the towns change over time.
"I'm interested in how towns evolve and how structures and nature coexist, or in some cases, don't coexist," said Hansen, who has completed graduate courses in community and regional planning. "Often, man-made environments, like buildings, eventually get reclaimed by nature. That process interests me."
And, the series gives Hansen a reason to take photos.
"My photography is an excuse to go to these towns, to take pictures of things people don't usually get off the Interstate to see," Hansen said.
GO TO: ISSUE OF FEBRUARY 7
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Bust search dead ends in Bessey photo
Capturing rural Nebraska
'Winning the Oil Endgame' lecture Feb. 12
Admissions opens online community
Dinosaurs & Disasters
Event aids students' major search
UNL engineer outlines potential of nano-Velcro
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