Wild Wonder – Photographer finds healing in nature

• Photog Sees Wildlife With Wide-Eyed Wonder

This is an updated version of a feature about five-time SPJ-award-winning photographer Wendy Rosenberg that first appeared as a cover story in our monthly Today Magazine — her true tale is timeless and relevant today

By Bruce Deckert

Today Magazine Editor-in-Chief

• Editor's Note

If a picture paints a thousand words, does a photograph render a hundred dreams — or perhaps a photo reveals "A Million Dreams" in light of the classic hit song from "The Greatest Showman" — and such a comparison is highly appropriate given the subject of our story.

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But in the case of this multi-award-winning photographer, Wendy Rosenberg is clearly a Great Show-Woman — she has displayed her amazing nature snapshots across the Farmington Valley and beyond.

Whether she has figuratively captured a thousand creatures with her lens is unlikely — yet with each photographic close-up of a furry or feathered friend, she surely draws closer to that elusive number.

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THE SAGES AGREE that perseverance and patience in the face of adversity are worthy traits — and nature has an inherent grandeur that can mend and motivate a soul weary of persevering.

Wendy Rosenberg can attest to both realities. A love and appreciation of nature has given her vital inspiration as she has battled acute medical issues for many years, and she in turn has inspired numerous people in the Farmington Valley and beyond with her stunning wildlife photography.

A self-taught photographer, Rosenberg began taking photos with a Kodak Brownie camera as a teen in the 1960s, in an ironic locale for a nature lover — she was born and raised in the Bronx. What began as an avocation has become a calling.

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“I photograph wildlife by observing and waiting patiently, sometimes for several hours to capture the right moment,” Rosenberg says. “Spending time in nature sates my soul and spirit. I find it extremely healing both mentally and physically.”

She has showcased her photos at exhibits across the Farmington Valley:

• Avon — The Investors Center

• Canton — Roaring Brook Nature Center • LaSalle Market

• Cherry Brook Health Care Center • Canton Library

• Farmington — UConn Health Center (CT Collection) • Farmington Library

• Simsbury — McLean senior living community • Simsbury Library

Rosenberg has been the featured contributing photographer for Today Magazine since January 2019. She has received five awards for her Today work from the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ Connecticut chapter) — see details and links to her award-winning photos below. Further, she has won first-place awards from the Simsbury Camera Club.

Her photos have also been featured by the Portland (Maine) Water District in annual calendars and at the district’s Sebago Lake Ecology Center.

“My first exhibit was years ago at Roaring Brook when friends encouraged me to share my photographs after a yearlong hospitalization from a life-threatening illness,” Rosenberg says. “Friends had to convince me to share my work because I couldn’t imagine anyone would be interested other than me.”

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Her photo celebrity has been an unexpected development.

“I still cannot believe this is all happening,” says Rosenberg, a retired RN (registered nurse) who served in the operating room, psychiatric ward and hospice care. “Way out of my exclusive reclusive zone, but that’s a good thing. Everyone needs to get out of their zone every once in a while.”

A Canton resident, Rosenberg has written a book documenting her ordeal with an elusive gastrointestinal condition: "Getting Threw: A Story of Survival" — available at Amazon.com, the memoir is a brutal chronicle of her evasive illness, which has been a confounding and painful maze of surgeries, doctors and often-futile treatments.

Yet "Getting Threw" is also a moving and triumphant clarion call to persevere and never give up when circumstances seem hopeless — “to fight with tireless determination and tenacity,” she writes. “Against all odds and medical predictions, I am still here!”

The 74-year-old has found solace in her visual pursuit of wildlife. Rosenberg's photography is a jubilant celebration of the natural world. Close-up photos of an array of animals — hummingbirds, dolphins, deer, bears and many more — give viewers the apparent opportunity to saunter up to these creatures and say hello.

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“Wendy is often called Dr. Dolittle because of her relationship with nature and wildlife,” says her husband.

Wendy and Jeffrey Rosenberg moved from West Hartford to Canton in 2002. The couple met in 1971 at a summer camp in Monroe, N.Y., where she was the head counselor and he was the lifeguard. They married in July 1972.

Jeffrey (also 74) was born in Brooklyn but grew up in rural Monroe, reminiscent of small-town Canton.

“Wendy’s photography success is no surprise to me as she has so many creative and artistic skills and talents,” he says.

“However, the ‘celebrity status’ is surprising but well-deserved and long overdue. It’s quite enjoyable to watch from arm’s length. … Neither of us ever expected the fame, as Wendy is usually a very private person and never thought anyone would enjoy her work. This has been truly wonderful for her in so many ways.”

Their son Jason — a Brooklyn resident and 1992 graduate of West Hartford’s Conard High School — is an artist and painter. While Wendy’s artistic eye has been applied to the photographic enterprise, she doesn’t tinker with her photos via Photoshop or otherwise.

“I am often criticized for not altering my photos because they are not perfect, but I do not believe in perfect,” she says. “I believe in real and genuine. I like the real thing and being authentic. … I do not believe in enhancing my photographs via software or apps. In other words, there is nothing like the real thing — what I see is what you get.”

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“Capturing the sights of nature fills my spirit — nature was always calling to me as my focus” — Canton photographer Wendy Rosenberg

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Wendy witnesses a diverse assortment of animals in the vicinity of her Canton home and yard, which she has registered as a Certified Wildlife Habitat with the National Wildlife Federation.

“One of the best places for me to photograph,” she says, “is in my own yard. … Capturing the sights of nature fills my spirit. Nature was always calling to me as my focus. In my childhood, I started bringing home stray animals that I could help, and this continues to this very day.”

Wendy’s volunteer work over the years has dovetailed with her career as a nurse. She has spent time with nursing-home residents and patients enduring difficult medical situations as well as youth facing tough emotional challenges.

“I was bullied as a child,” she observes, “so I feel I can relate to many youngsters. I also lost several friends in the Vietnam War, so I volunteered spending time with veterans at VA hospitals in New York City after they returned. … I have had a passion for helping people since I was a young child. People have to have passions to keep them going.”

Her nursing stops coincided with Jeffrey’s human resources career, which took the couple to Florida (Jacksonville), Indiana (Indianapolis) and Illinois (Chicago) before they settled in Connecticut.

“I retired from nursing when we moved here, mostly because of my serious health issues,” she says — Jeffrey retired in 2006 as UnitedHealthcare’s vice president of human resources.

Besides Wendy’s own backyard and her ample gardens — “they bring me joy” — her favorite spots in Canton are the Farmington River and Nepaug Reservoir. Her favorite aspects of town are “overall community spirit, natural scenery and beauty.” Oh, she has also been a UConn Master Gardener since the early 1990s.

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“Spending time in nature sates my soul and spirit — I find it extremely healing both mentally and physically” — Wendy Rosenberg

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Meanwhile, Jeffrey appreciates that Canton is “remote yet close to civilization.” Wendy and Jeffrey have relished exploring this picturesque area by biking and hiking.

By the way, Canton has approximately 10,100 citizens. The town hall in the village of Collinsville sits about 15 miles west of Hartford city hall — for the uninitiated, Hartford is Connecticut's capital.

As for constructive change in town? Wendy cites “haphazard zoning and development” and Jeffrey concurs.

“Canton could be more thoughtful about development, especially along Route 44,” he says. “Zoning in general seems improperly administered. … When we lived in West Hartford, we were always attracted by the drive west over Avon Mountain, especially loving the golf course when entering Canton. Soon after we moved here the golf course was sold and another shopping mall was built.”

Rome wasn’t built in a day, the saying goes, and Farmington Valley residents can hope that local officials make wise development choices. Another popular adage has guided Wendy.

“One of my favorite sayings is: One day at a time,” she notes. “With all of my ongoing health issues, for me every single day is a gift, and I plan to enjoy that gift as much as I can every day — also focusing on the positive, rather than the negative, is a main goal of mine every single day.” +

This feature was first published as the cover story in the July 2020 edition of Today Magazine, our monthly publication — editor-in-chief Bruce Deckert is a multi-award-winning journalist who believes all mere human beings merit awards when we leverage our God-given gifts for good

Wild Wonder – Photographer finds healing in nature

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