Princeton photographer Ted Sumers is showing a selection of bird photographs he has taken recently at a comfortable location for him, his neighborhood café.
Sumers and his growing family visit Small World Coffee on Nassau Street quite frequently. His wife, Yuchen, who is a product manager for a San Francisco-based tech company, and their two-year-old son, Kai, also enjoy the café. Sumers asked if he would be able to exhibit his photos at some time, and his first-time show is the result.
Sumers will exhibit more than a dozen pieces, with an opening reception where you can meet the artist on Friday, March 10, at 3 p.m.
“I’m planning on nine to 12 photos. Sizes range from 8×8 woodblock prints up to those 19×26 inches. This is my first-time showing prints, so I’m still not sure exactly what I’m going to do.”
Providing a brief biography, Sumers says, “I grew up in Bergen County, New Jersey, and moved to Westchester, New York, when I was in high school. I left the East Coast after college and lived in San Francisco, but decided to go back to grad school to get a PhD in 2019. My family is still in Westchester, and my wife’s family is in Highland Park, New Jersey, so we were very happy to be able to move back to the area. We had our first child in May, 2021, so it has been wonderful to be back around family!”
Moving back around family meant moving back in with his radiologist father and ophthalmologist mother in Westchester for a period of time during the pandemic. Sumers realized his mother’s passion for feeding birds in the backyard from feeders was still alive and thriving.
“My mom had a pair of very active birdfeeders, and I found a favored reading spot next to one. I eventually dug up a bird guide and started identifying them. Then I dug out my old camera from high school, and one thing led to another… now I’m pretty into birds!
“Actually, bird photography is a lot like sports photography: it helps to understand different species’ behaviors so you know how to position yourself; it’s technically challenging because birds move fast and tend to be at a distance. But it’s also very rewarding because you can get really aesthetically nice images that capture the essence of these dynamic animals.”
Sumers takes most of his photos in his own yard in Princeton, and not out in the “wild.” He observes birds in their natural habitat without the pressure of having to get the perfect photograph.
“I have a nice pair of binoculars I like to bring on walks and have been known to stop and observe birds for extended periods of time.
“Birding is just a really nice way to connect with your surroundings: it’s like playing a little game anytime you’re out and about. I love hearing a particular bird call, scanning for the bird, and spotting it. It helps keep me in touch with the environment and appreciate where we live.
“Princeton is indeed great — we have a lot of colorful feathered friends around town; cardinals, blue jays, woodpeckers among others. On and around Lake Carnegie we have herons, red-tailed hawks, and bald eagles. A little further out, Mercer Meadows and Mercer Lake have tons of great birds.”
Before the birth of their first child, Sumers was more of an active outdoorsman. With a passion for rock climbing that had to take a back seat to family time, birding is a lot more suitable and closer to home. Sumers and his wife are expecting their second child in June.
Photography was an art he learned at a young age growing up in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.
“I got interested in photography in high school. It gave me a new perspective on my surroundings: I liked finding interesting vantage points on everyday things, reframing and focusing attention on overlooked aspects of the environment.
“I was lucky that our school newspaper played a major role on campus. It was weekly and people actually read it. I was a photographer and then photo editor and particularly enjoyed sports photography, which presented a major technical and artistic challenge. However, I moved on from photography in college.”
Sumers finds that learning and observing the local Princeton birds are a wonderful way to get in touch with your surroundings. He says that with a tiny bit of knowledge, you can really add enjoyment to walks in this area.
“The winter months are my favorite. When the leaves are down, spotting birds is easier, and they tend to visit birdfeeders more. Snowy days can also make for dramatic backdrops like the cardinal and woodpecker photos I’m planning to show.
Sumers also speaks of how the natural world balances his tech career and further academic studies.
“My PhD is in cognitive science, and in particular social cognition, basically developing math that explains how information flows between people. I’m a very visual thinker, so I tend to try to come up with geometric or spatial intuitions for the math. And I spend a lot of time on data visualization, I think that visually conveying the key insight helps the idea spread to others.
“On the other hand, having a background in modeling and systems thinking actually lends itself nicely to appreciating nature. For example, one of the things I love about birds is their incredible diversity of evolutionary strategies, ‘endless forms most beautiful’ adapted to their ecological niches.”
Sumers uses a 15-year-old Canon 40D with a 70-200 f/4L lens. Last year, he stared with a zoom Sigma 150-600 f/5-6.3 lens.
He is excited to show his work to friends in the friendly environment of his local café. With this being his first exhibition Sumers did not know what to expect, but feels he has already learned from the experience.
Most of the photos are of singular birds, as it is easier to capture a solo bird in focus with no movement, says Sumers. “I have hundreds if not thousands of photos of two birds where one looks nice and the other is blurry or facing the wrong direction or just poorly lit.
“The one major exception are mourning doves, which spend a lot of time hanging out with each other. One of my favorite photographs, which will be in the show, is of a mourning dove couple grooming each other. Mourning doves are really relaxed birds; they’re very happy to share birdfeeders even with other species.
Sumers wishes for others to take time out for a relaxed coffee or to take a walk. “In this busy world, we should all take the time to appreciate our surroundings. Wherever we live there are things to appreciate.”
Ted Sumers, Small World Coffee, 254 Nassau Street, Princeton. Opening reception, Friday, March 10, 3 to 5 p.m. On view through April 4. smallworldcoffee.com/art-shows.
