Is Randy Johnson's dead bird the most morbid photography logo ever?

Randy Johnson photography logo
Randy Johnson and the logo he now uses for his photography business (Image credit: Randy Johnson / Future)

You may or may not see the funny side in Randy Johnson's photography logo, but at least he remains somewhat on-brand in paying tribute to a famous past pitch that saw him accidentally launch a ball 100 miles per hour into the flight path of a dove.

Things may not have ended well for the white-feathered fowl, pretty much exploding into thin air during a Spring training game, but at least the 22 year old memory of the iconic moment is being kept alive through a questionable photography business logo that has the internet either in hysterics or a little bewildered.

• Take a look at some other unexpected famous photographers: 30 celebrities who also take pictures

In case you didn't already know, we reported last year that Major League Baseball (MLB) legend Randy Johnson in fact has a double life as photographer. Following his retirement from professional baseball pitching, Johnson says he always had a passion for photography, and now has a very different career as a wildlife, travel, and concert photographer – with his own studio too. 

(Image credit: Gene Lower / Getty Images)

In more recent news, however, it seems social media has latched on to the humor in Johnson's photography logo in what any MLB fans would instantly recognize as a direct reference to one of his earlier (and most famous) pitches in March 2001 which unexpectedly resulted in the death of a white dove bird. 

The video below shows the incident taking place, as well as depicted in slow motion, and you can see the puff of feathers as the poor dove is decimated by a 100-mile-an-hour speedball pitched by Johnson at an unexpectedly coincidental time. 

The logo for Johnson's photography business is very clearly a reference to this 2001 event - although we would be super concerned if it wasn't - but the irony of Johnson now being a wildlife photographer with a deceased animal as his logo might not be the best idea for attracting any clients to his business. 

With that said, Johnson has been sporting this obscure dead bird logo for his business from as early as 2015 (maybe even earlier) after he retired from the MLB in 2010, so at least eight years have gone by without any uproars or animal activist giving Johnson a hard time over the logo, so maybe it's more socially acceptable than we give him credit for. 

What do you think of Johnson's photography business logo? It's certainly a standout. Is there any formula as to what actually works best in a photography logo: text or icons? Or maybe both? Your guess is as good as ours. 


You might also be interested in our guides to the best camera for sports photography, as well as the best telephoto lenses, plus the best budget telephoto lenses, and not forgetting the best cameras for wildlife photography.

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Beth Nicholls
Staff Writer

A staff writer for Digital Camera World, Beth has an extensive background in various elements of technology with five years of experience working as a tester and sales assistant for CeX. After completing a degree in Music Journalism, followed by obtaining a Master's degree in Photography awarded by the University of Brighton, she spends her time outside of DCW as a freelance photographer specialising in live music events and band press shots under the alias 'bethshootsbands'.