A Winter Walk

We are currently in the midst of a cold wave and therefore don't get out much. My only exposure to winter weather is walking from the car to a store and back. When I had to attend to some business at the Audubon nature reserve this weekend, my husband tagged along and we headed to a trail. It was the first day in almost two weeks that the temperature climbed above freezing and we wanted to take advantage of it to get some fresh air.
The trails were covered with snow and we detected more animal tracks than footprints from people. We played detective and tried to figure out who the tracks belonged to. We guessed correctly which tracks were made by squirrels and which ones by deer. In fact, we even flushed out four deer on our lonely walk through the winter woods. These deer showed us that the woods aren't deserted after all. There are the usual winter birds such as red-bellied woodpecker, black-capped chickadees, and tufted titmice. Later in the thickets, we observed numerous white-throated sparrows and northern cardinals. In other words, we saw the same birds that visit our feeders every day.
My bird photography is currently on hiatus because of the low temperatures. I keep busy preparing photographs for a craft show I'll be attending on Saturday. And I cannot wait for spring to get out there again with my camera and photograph the species that have eluded me so far. Last year has been a great one for my stock photo list. I'm now offering my photos at www.photographersdirect.com.

Planning ahead

As I've stated in my last post, I have lots of goals for the new year. I am happy to report that I have not only set myself goals, but I have taken steps to achieve them. I signed up for my first craft show where I'll be selling my photographs as prints and notecards. So I am busy getting supplies, prints, and putting everything together. I didn't stop there, though. I just registered with www.photographersdirect.com, a stock photo agency/portal in England. They act as a middleman between photobuyers and sellers and send out want lists every day. I am busy uploading my photos and may even dust off my transparencies soon.
My bird photography is on hiatus right now. The weather (first rain and now cold) and the fact that I already have photos of the usual backyard birds keep me from shooting too much. I can't wait for spring now, as I have some "dream birds" that have eluded me so far. I'm using my time now to market the photos I already have.
I haven't had too much time for writing this month, but I have submitted entries to two contests and plan on attending Pennwriters Conference this coming May. Once the craft show is over, I'll have more time to write. My plan is to sell at least one article a year. Not a very lofty goal, but my photography takes up quite a bit of time, too.
So, there you have it. In good weather, I'm a bird photographer, and in bad weather, I'm a writer and marketing specialist.

Setting goals

At the beginning of the year, many people make resolutions. I am no exception, but I like to call them goals.
Setting goals and deadlines is essential when you are a freelancer. Some deadlines are determined by outside events such as a contest, a show, or conference. Others are more vague and it helps if I set myself a deadline to get that article written or to get my photographs in front of the public. Some projects are seasonal (articles have to be submitted two or three seasons in advance). In any case, I write down my goals for the month - and am lucky if I achieve half of them. Yet, that is better than not having any goals in the first place.
While the year is still young, I am happy to report that not only do I have some lofty goals for this year, I already took steps to achieve them. I have decided to sell my photographs at a craft show, so I am currently looking into suppliers and the necessary paperwork involved with such an endeavor.
I hope to add some new birds to my stock photo list this year, but because of the warm weather there aren't too many birds at our feeders or at Beechwood right now. So, yesterday I took advantage of our membership card and went to the Aviary. The lighting is not the best (naturally, the tropical rainforest is too dark to take any decent photos in it). It is a great advantage that the birds at the Aviary are completely fearless. One of them actually walked under my tripod. The photo above shows one of my best efforts. Too bad the bird didn't wear a name tag as I have no idea what it is. Whatever its name, it is a beauty.