Photography
- The Swanson Media Image Collection
- On-Demand Photo Prints
- Curated Fine Art Photo Prints
- Note Cards
- Image Licensing
The Swanson Media Image Collection
Swanson Media maintains a collection of thousands of images of a variety of subjects, with an emphasis on nature/wildlife and social documentary (including hundreds of "Americana" images dating back to the 1940s). Most of the photographs were made by Mark Swanson (owner of Swanson Media) or his late father Richard C. "Dick" Swanson, an award-winning photographer whose work has appeared in numerous publications and juried exhibitions and is held in the collections of several museums and other institutions.
You can browse the collection by subject using the "lightbox" links below or the images to the right. You also can search the collection by keywords using the Google search box below.
Most images are available for licensing and as "on-demand" prints. Select images are also available as curated fine art prints and note cards. Photo prints and note cards make great gifts!
More information about prints, cards, and licensing is below.
As a young freelance photographer in Vassar, Michigan, Dick Swanson took hundreds of pictures for local newspapers, businesses, schools and individuals. Now digitally archived, this collection of vintage black & white
images captures virtually every aspect of a typical small midwestern U.S. town shortly after World War II. 
The subjects include everything from school cooks to football players; from power plants to old hotel rooms. Several images document post-war events such as memorial ceremonies and the immigration of European refugees.
Many of the photographs come from Swanson's coverage of Vassar's centennial celebration in 1949. Over several days, as residents donned vintage 19th-century clothing and participated in activities of a bygone era, Swanson created dozens of striking (and often humorous) images in which time and place are ambiguous, and whose subjects appear at once familiar and strange.
The collection, which numbers over 400 images, also includes photographs from other Michigan towns and cities: Gera, Mayville, Millington, Newberry, Richville and Saginaw.
- Kids & Animals (39 images)
- People & Portraits (33)
- High School Life (53)
- Sports & Recreation (42)
- Work, Agriculture & Industry (78)
- City, Ceremony & Civic Activities (49)
- Centennial Parade 1949 (46)
- Other Centennial Events (81)
- Aerial Photography (21)
These lightboxes include the contemporary work of both Dick and Mark Swanson, as well as many of the vintage images from the Vassar collection. The lightboxes include over 7,000 different images.
- Abstract Images, Close-Ups & Textures (20+ images)
- Astronomy
- Conceptual Images (10+)
- Nature/Wildlife (5,700+)
- Birds (2,300+ images of over 250 species)
- Centipedes & Millipedes (25+)
- Crustaceans (5+)
- Ecosystems & Geological Formations (15+)
- Fish & Other Aquatic Animals (10+)
- Flatworms
- Fungi (100+)
- Mollusks (35+)
- Plants (90+)
- Protozoa
- Spiders & Kin (400+)
- Springtails & Kin (25+)
- Two-pronged Bristletails
- Social Documentary/Photojournalism (700+)
- Agriculture
- Animals and Human Culture
- Architecture & Structures
- Art, Music & Theater
- Business & Marketplace
- Candid & Street Photography
- Car Crashes
- Cars, Boats, Planes & Trains
- Children & Teenagers
- City & Suburbs
- Civic Life, Politics & Government
- Costumes, Parades & Pageants
- Environment, Resources & Responsibility
- Fairs, Festivals & Other Events
- Home, Family & Relationships
- Humor
- Industry
- Military, Weapons & War
- Portraits
- Recreation
- Scenic or Historic Places
- School
- Science & Medicine
- Sports
- Tourism and Roadside Attractions
- Weather & Seasons
On-Demand Photo Prints
All photographs in the collection are available for purchase as high-quality digital prints suitable for matting and framing. After Swanson Media receives your order, a commercial photo printing service will print the photos on archival photo paper and ship them directly to you. Note that the prints do not come with Certificates of Authenticity (COAs). Prints are sold for private display use only (home or office).
Browse the collection by clicking the subject categories to the right or the links above in the All Subjects section. For information about print pricing, sizes and framing tips, see About "On-Demand" Photo Prints.
Curated Fine Art Photo Prints
Several curated fine art photo prints by Dick Swanson and Mark Swanson also are available for purchase. The photographers selected these photographs from the best images in their portfolios. Dick Swanson's prints are original gelatin silver prints that he printed himself in his darkroom in the 1970s–1990s. Many are signed by the photographer. Mark Swanson's prints are archival digital prints, each accompanied by a signed and numbered Certificate of Authenticity (COA). Prints are sold for private display use only (home or office).
To see these prints and learn more about the photographers, visit:
Note Cards
Swanson Media's note cards feature some of the best nature images in our photography collection.
See the Note Cards page to view and purchase cards.
Image Licensing
Most of the images in the collection are available for licensing for editorial or commercial use. To request a license for an image, please complete the License Request Form.
