Russell F. Hanson

To join Russell's family for his Celebration of Life Service please click on the Livestream Link below his obituary on this page.

Photographer Russ Hanson, who captured unforgettable images that defined North Dakota in its seminal tourism campaigns, passed away at Lilac Homes in Moorhead on Aug. 18, 2025.

Hanson, who was born in Mandan, N.D., spent his entire career behind a camera. After gaining experience with the Mandan Pioneer and his hometown’s Lee Mohr Studio, the 1966 Mandan High School graduate went on to earn a degree in photography and cinematography from Southern Illinois University in 1970. He worked for a Paducah, Kentucky, portrait studio and for the state of South Dakota before accepting a job in the North Dakota Travel Division in 1971. In addition to illustrating North Dakota travel marketing publications and ads, his photos were frequently featured in the Greater North Dakota Association's Horizons magazine and national travel publications.

In 1976 he joined Bismarck Junior College as chairman of its commercial art department. He and wife Nancy Edmonds Hanson moved to Moorhead in 1984, where his work appeared in Howard Binford's Guide. He later was employed by Hetland Ltd., a Fargo advertising agency, until establishing his own commercial photography and videography business in 1991, which he operated until retiring (more or less) in 2019. He primarily shot commercial assignments for firms throughout the Upper Midwest, ranging from heavy equipment and pharmaceuticals to hospitals and high-end hotels. Along the way, he occasionally created portraits and chronicled weddings in imagery and video. Under the name Faith Family Directories, the Hansons also photographed and published church directories for some 100 congregations throughout the region.

Russ was a long-time member of the Moorhead Rotary Club and Moorhead Police Volunteers. He served on the Moorhead charter commission and was a member of the board of directors of the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County. He was past president of Professional Photographers of North Dakota and the Northern Light Region of Professional Photographers of America, where he won countless print awards over the years. PPA awarded him its Master of Photography degree; he was also inducted into its elite American Society of Photography.

He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Nancy; his daughter, Patricia Vetter and her husband, Chris; his granddaughter, Evelyn; and two sisters, Carla Nolan and Diane (Ervin) Binstock and their families. His parents, James R. and Inez Ohm Hanson, preceded him in death.

A Memorial Service will be at 2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 28, at Grace United Methodist Church, 1120 17th St S, Moorhead. Inurnment will be at Evergreen Memorial Cemetery. 

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations to the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County.