As the Osprey swoops in for its prey, the trout instantaneously becomes its prisoner; firmly gripped in the talons of the hawk’s right foot, he flies with his catch directly towards photographer Ted Grussing. The moment couldn’t have been orchestrated more perfectly.
Grussing knew he had a fraction of a second to catch the image. With his adrenaline pumping, he pressed the button of his mirrorless Canon R5, capturing 20 frames a second. He said he had no idea if he got the shot — and he wouldn’t know for sure until he reviewed the images. “Not only do you have to be at the right place at the right time, but you have a fraction of a second to record that photograph,” Grussing said. “The frame before, he [the osprey] wasn’t looking at me. The frame after that, he wasn’t looking at me. So, in 1/20 of a second, he was looking directly at me but moving his head back and forth — looking for a path out.”
Grussing is a photographic storyteller who uses his camera and lens as his brush and canvas. “You’re capturing a small fraction of a second with a photograph and preserving it. You tell the story based on what is seen in an image — what probably happened before, what will happen after, and what’s happening at that very moment. And you bring it to life for people,” he said.
For Grussing, doing the research is an important part of the storytelling process. “I continually study the subject matter,” he said. “Like a blue heron — I know a lot about them, their weight, their wingspan, their diet, their range, and how they hunt, and while I am out there photographing them, I get to see them hunt. You just stay quiet, hang back a little bit. A 500-millimeter lens will get you in pretty close, and I’ve got an 800-millimeter lens for a closer look.”
Grussing takes lots of photos — he says, on the average, he takes close to 50,000 to 60,000 photographs a year. His repertoire emphasizes wildlife photography, his collaboration with nature and birds of all species. Out of that number, he keeps about 3,000. “The ability to capture the moment, to see something beautiful and preserve it so I could share with others, and say, ‘Look what I saw — it’s still about sharing in the beauty.’” “Photography has taught me a lot about life and the appreciation of this beautiful world that we live in. And that we should be more connected to what’s outside … and share the beauty.”
Grussing’s work encompasses much of the Arizona terrain, featuring Grand Falls at the Grand Canyon, the Little Colorado River, Coal Mine Canyon, the Navajo Nation, Granite Dells in Prescott, Sunset Crater and the San Francisco Peaks at Sunset — to name a few. On any given day, you will find him at Lake Pleasant, perched in his boat during the wee hours of the morning with camera in hand, capturing the osprey or the blue heron as they hunt for their daily cuisine.
Grussing’s photography graces the pages of many publications across the country. The latest, a two-page spread of Sedona, is featured in the September issue of Arizona Highways Magazine. He joked that he had to pay seven bucks to purchase a copy, just so that he could see it. The Arizona Department of Transportation and the Arizona Geological Survey have full access to his entire portfolio to use whenever they need a photograph, free of charge. Grussing says this gives him the opportunity to get his work out there for everyone to enjoy.
Since the moment he picked up a camera at the age of 8, Grussing said he knew photography was his passion. By 14, he was a professional photographer doing product shots and commercial work for his father, who worked in advertising. Throughout his life, no matter what Grussing decided to put his mind to, he achieved it. He is a risktaker who has experienced many professions and the list is exhausting. “I’ve done so many things that it gives me a headache,” he said. “I got kicked out of college because I majored in things that weren’t offered in the curriculum,” Grussing said. “After the Dean kicked me out at the end of the first semester, I didn’t like the option of going home, so I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force.”
After the Air Force, Grussing returned to the same college that kicked him out. “I started with nine negative honor points. It cost me cum laude by two one-hundredths of a point,” he laughed.
Grussing’s photographic work also includes aerial landscapes. As a pilot, Grussing says he averaged about 150 hours a year flying his glider. He never allowed fear to enter his domain, working the air currents as he traveled. “Your altitude is your fuel and thermals, dust devils, and stuff like that are what you ride up to get. And I absolutely loved it,” he said.
Curious by nature, he says that he is always willing to try something new. He is certain that there are still things that he wants to do — whatever they may turn out to be: “I don’t know what they are, but when they come up, I will do them.”
Grussing begins his day on a positive note. “I always choose to have a good day. Because we choose how we view the world and how we view other people. And I always choose to have a good day — every day.”
Four days a week, Grussing sends out a newsletter to his list of 5,000 recipients. Each issue includes a poem, a message regarding his work and a photograph. He also tries to make sure he responds to every email he receives. There is only one thing missing in Grussing’s life: His wife of 54 years, Corky, who was his greatest supporter and best friend. She died nine years ago in 2013. He has two daughters, Susan, in Half Moon Bay, Calif., and Michelle in New Canaan, Conn. On Sept. 27, Grussing celebrated his 85th birthday.
For 77 years, he has been sharing the beauty of what he sees through his photographs. When asked about his greatest accomplishments, he replied, “I don’t know. I don’t keep score in life.”
When speaking about his age, Grussing observes, “It’s just kind of wild. I don’t feel it. I hope to God that I never act it because there’s too much fun to still have. When it’s over, it’s over. And that’s the game, you know? In the interim, I will fill my life with fun.”
