Bruce Bennett is the world's most prolific hockey photographer and head of Getty Images' hockey imagery division, with more than 50 years of work, over 5,300 NHL games, six Winter Olympics and over 40 Stanley Cup Finals photographed. After the season he decompresses by cutting off texts, emails, and phone calls and seeking solitude. He pursues bird and wildlife photography around Long Island, visiting places such as Lido Beach, Centerport and Massapequa to photograph oystercatchers, terns, black skimmers, egrets and bald eagles. He posts those images on the Getty Images wire and takes special pleasure when dramatic wildlife photos are used. Bennett was born in Brooklyn and his family later moved to Levittown on Long Island.
"No texts, no emails, no phone calls. I just want to be in my own head for a bit," Bennett says.
"It gets me some fresh air and some warmth," he says, "which I don't get during the hockey season."
"You can get American oystercatchers and terns and black skimmers," he says. "You also get egrets on the north side, mostly by the marshland, and they're diving for fish. There's enough varieties to keep me busy."
"When a hockey photo of mine gets used now, it's no big deal," he says. "But when a photo of mine of a bird swallowing a fish gets used, I'm like, 'Ohhh, this is awesome!'"
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