Nature lover shares passion online 

Nu-Sun Cinema a labour of love for retired cabinet maker

 By: Sheldon Birnie  Posted: 01/31/2019

SUPPLIED PHOTO BY NU-SUN CINEMA     Nu-Sun Cinema use recycled Christmas trees to help eliminate light from the city of Winnipeg.

          Do what you love, and do it well. Those are words that Rick Onskie takes to heart. "I always had a thing for nature," Onskie said. "From when I was knee high to a grasshopper,                    my parents and I spent a lot of time in nature, out  in the bush."

                  Fifteen years ago Onskie, who is now retired from a lifetime of work in  construction, picked up a camera and started documenting the natural  world he and his wife,                                               Kim Bisson, were so fond of.

SUPPLIED PHOTO BY NU-SUN CINEMA  

Nu-Sun Cinema  maintains a high definition livestream of a nesting American kestrel  falcon family each spring and summer for the American Kestrel  Partnership.

"We both love nature, period," Onskie said. "So I started doing this  casually, more with photos. I did sell prints in stores, but I got away  from that. I took more interest in capturing video."

The result is Nu-Sun Cinema, a non-profit wildlife-based production company."This is more than a hobby," Onskie said. "This is a passion. I do it because I love it, not because I have to."

Early Nu-Sun videos capture animals in the wild, from deer, fox and coyotes  in Manitoba, to sea birds and jellyfish off the coast of New Brunswick.  Recently, though, Onskie has been capturing candid footage of the  abundance of local wildlife that make their way between Kilcona Park and Birds Hill Provincial Park. 

"I got thinking about all the wonderful animals that come through here,"  he said, referring to his back acre. "I’ve had bucks duelling here,  during the rut. The stuff I’am getting just right here, it€’s amazing! I  position cameras in different places, different angles. I learn as I  go."

SUPPLIED PHOTO BY NU-SUN CINEMA

Rick Onskie (left)  and his wife Kim Bisson are outdoor enthusiasts who have channeled their love of nature into Nu-Sun Cinema, a non-profit wildlife based  production company..

"I got thinking about all the wonderful animals that come through here,"  he said, referring to his back acre. "I’ve had bucks duelling here,  during the rut. The stuff I’m getting just right here, it’s amazing! I  position cameras in different places, different angles. I learn as I  go."

To cut down on light pollution from the city, Onskie began repurposing old Christmas trees as a backdrop for his videos following the holiday  season. With 1800 watts of remote lighting, Nu-Sun Cinema has captured  and released plenty of footage of deer, foxes, and coyotes in their  natural habitat. The videos are posted for free online.

"After a while, I learned how to beat the glass to set up my cameras in here," he said. "It’s all about learning how to use your equipment, and your  limitations."

Each spring, Nu-Sun Cinema also hosts a high definition live stream of a  family of nesting American kestrel falcons for American Kestrel  Partnership and Boise State University in Idaho.

"What I’m all about is learning, and sharing," Onskie said.

Onskie added that he has no fear of getting up close and personal with his subjects.

"I have no fear of animals of any kind, but I have a great deal of  respect," he said. "I learn about what I’m filming, to learn how those  animals react.

"If they give me signals to back off, I leave," he added. "But you know  what? I’d rather have some animal rip the living daylights out of me.  That would be a good death for me. It’s better than me going out on the  street somewhere and having some idiot drive into and kill me."

Visit www.nu-sun.com for more information and to view Nu-Sun Cinema’s video library.

Thank you very much Sheldon Birnie ( coummunity journalist The Herald news paper ) for the great article.

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