Photography has been a life-long hobby for Roman Gena Culbertson Flanigen. Her passion for photography was ignited when her parents bought her an old-fashioned point-and-shoot camera when she was about 12 years old. “I just started getting little better cameras as time went on and when I became assistant principal at Clear Creek (Elementary School in Bartow County) I needed some stress relief and so that’s when I bought my first Digital Single Lens Reflex camera,” Flanigen said.
Fast-forward almost a decade to the time the eagle nest was discovered behind the Cage Center on the Berry College campus. That was right about the time Flanigen made the decision to retire, and the eagles quickly became the focus of, well, her focus.
Over the past 13 years, Gena has probably spent as much time ‘with’ the pair of eagles who nest behind the Cage Center as anyone. During that time, her skills and knowledge of photography grew exponentially, and a few years ago, she was asked to provide photos for an exhibit at the Martha Berry Museum. The 2018 exhibit was titled “Sanctuary at Berry.”
Many of the images in the show were critters aside from the bald eagles. Her subject matter can range from hummingbirds to hawks or warblers to whooping cranes. If it flies, it’s liable to make its way into one of Flanigen’s viewfinders; she has plenty of them. Gena currently has five cameras and about seven lenses. She was quick to add that one of her lenses is more expensive than the first car she and her husband Rick purchased (a Volkswagen Rabbit) after they were married.
Many of the images in the show were critters aside from the bald eagles. Her subject matter can range from hummingbirds to hawks or warblers to whooping cranes. If it flies, it’s liable to make its way into one of Flanigen’s viewfinders; she has plenty of them. Gena currently has five cameras and about seven lenses. She was quick to add that one of her lenses is more expensive than the first car she and her husband Rick purchased (a Volkswagen Rabbit) after they were married.
Her parents and grandparents both instilled a love of nature in Gena, and she has become one of the most proficient at photographing just about any kind of wildlife. Protecting the wildlife that she photographs is also very important to Gena. A few years ago, she got some beautiful pictures of rare and endangered Whooping cranes migrating with Sandhill cranes, but she won’t say where she took the pictures to protect the birds.
Along with the name change, fans will notice changes at the ballpark. At the very front of the stadium, the former souvenir shop has been replaced by a season-ticket holder’s lounge. The gift shop has been moved into the area that formerly housed the restaurant. The bar section of the former restaurant is still in place, but the restaurant itself is no longer part of the venue. A new children’s play area on the hill just beyond the right field wall has been added.
She has transitioned from the traditional DSLR cameras to the newer mirrorless ones. “The animal eye and bird eye detection is amazing (in the mirrorless cameras). Do you know how there is that digital noise level? There is less of that in the mirrorless cameras,” Flanigen. And the mirrorless cameras are much lighter, which is handy when she’s often toting two of them around on an outing. She’s sold most of her older gear to her many photographer friends. “I need to get rid of a few more,” Gena said.
Flanigen is a self-taught, trial-and-error photographer whose skills developed so quickly that she has published a pair of books featuring her photographs of the Berry Eagles. One is titled Majestic, published in 2015, and the other is titled Strength and Beauty, published in 2016. The newer cameras and lenses make good photography easy, and the intricate knowledge of camera settings that Flanigen has mastered helps make a lot of her work National Geographic caliber.
Recently, the retired educator has developed a passion for more common, smaller “yard birds,” particularly warblers and others that are more migratory and not always seen in the Rome area. “They’re not as common,” Flanigen said. Her ability to capture a perfect still shot of hummingbirds whose wings beat at a rate of 70 per second without distortion is a true testament to her working knowledge of the camera and lens.
Owlet Rescue
An old dead snag at the Flanigen farm had become a nesting spot for a pair of Barred Owls. It wasn’t the best choice for the owls. An owlet was found on the ground at the base of the dead snag on three consecutive days. Thanks to the heroic efforts of Kim Kilgore, a friend and licensed wildlife rehabilitation specialist, her husband Jimmy, and crew, the owls were relocated to the nesting box, which Jimmy built and installed. A few restless nights were spent worrying the owlet due to the recent storms, wind, and cold temperatures until the new nesting box was placed beside the old dead snag. Kilgore took the first two babies with her for observation and care until they were ready for relocation. The last owlet was with the mother all morning until the nest box was installed. Gena will be forever thankful for Kim’s knowledge and efforts to save the owls. The relocation was a complete success and all three babies have fledged. Undoubtedly, the new residents of the farm will soon be captured by Gena’s viewfinder as she views the wildlife on her farm.
