Ramblings

At the craft shows I attended recently I was often asked, "What camera do you use?" As if cameras take photos by themselves. It would make more sense to ask what lens I'm using. While it's true that a certain focal lens is necessary for bird photography, I can take good travel photos with an advanced digital camera. A person who always cuts off his subject's feet or shoots trees growing out of people's heads can't take a good photo even if he owns the most expensive pro camera. It's the photographer, not the camera, who takes the picture.
Many people think that digital photograph is automatically manipulated. The only time I "manipulate" a photo is when I decide that cropping will enhance the photo or I'll remove a disturbing branch or flare in the background. Sometimes, the background itself is the problem. Most often, though, I decide beforehand which background will work best and move around my subject to get the best possible photo. For me, digital photography is a great way to organize and distribute my photos and saving big bucks along the way. Happy shooting!

Successes

After attending some craft shows with dismal results I was pretty disappointed. An art show at Sweetwater Center for the Arts in Sewickley proved to be more successful. I sold three out of the five images I was allowed to submit. That alone would have been great news, but it got better. I had offered my images at two stock photo agencies in England without any sales so far when I checked my account and found that I had made a sale. Before I recovered from the excitement, I checked again a few days later and learned that I had made another sale! This time, my image will be on the cover and the inside of the publication. I just wish I knew the names of these publications so I could brag about it. Naturally, I submitted more images to this agency.
I also wanted to have a presence in an agency here in the U.S. that specializes in outdoor activities and am happy to report that they accepted me. Such good news brighten up the gray, dreary days of December. I can't wait to get out there again and take more bird photos, but I'm using the indoor time wisely to get my images out into the public.

Taking Stock

I recently put together a selection of images for a stock agency to consider for their library. When going over the images, I realized that this wasn't a very good year for adding new species to my bird stock photo list. However, it was a good year for frogs. Everytime I went to the nature center to photograph birds I ended up taking photo after photo of the countless bullfrogs that populate the pond in the summer. I'm hoping that next year will be better for my bird photography.
Our bird feeders are very busy this time of year. This is the first time that some robins are staying here well into December. They are joined by the usual suspects, such as diverse woodpeckers, cardinals, tufted titmice, chickadees, goldfinches, and juncos. Occasionally, a flock of starlings or red-winged blackbirds will decend on our trees. The squirrels, of course, take great advantage of our generosity. Oh well, they are darn cute.