Monday, July 03, 2006

Blogging and birds


Congratulations to Mike of I and the Bird
and all the contributors to this carnival
for a great first year!!

I was first introduced to I and the Bird by robin andrea of Dharma Bums, when she invited me to submit a post to the famous Birdstock edition #16. Since then, through this carnival, I’ve traveled around the world with birding bloggers, learning about the unfamiliar and more about the familiar. It’s been a treat!

For the first anniversary edition, Mike has posed three questions:

Why do you blog?

I'm trying to learn digital photography and began the blog in the hope that I would get some honest criticism of my photos, but people seem to want to be kind and complimentary, so that part hasn’t really worked. However, I’ve found superb photographers to emulate and many who are willing to share information and their own techniques with this beginner. I was very reluctant to make my blog public, but I'm glad I did. The rewards of sharing are enormous: new friendships worldwide, a huge (pretty much unmanageable) number of diverse and fascinating blogs to read and respond to, and a much greater awareness of and response to the world around me.

Why do you bird?

I started taking photos of birds in my back yard a few months ago to see if I could do it. I became fascinated with their behaviour and began to read about them. I don’t consider myself a birder – I don’t go out looking for birds. But when they come to our yard, I watch them. For the first time, we’ve put out feeders, and we’re enchanted by the antics of the regulars and honoured by the visits of rarer ones. I’ve become more and more aware of the presence of birds in places I go and, as a result, more and more in tune with their environment and what needs to be done to protect them.

Why do you blog about birds?

The underlying intent of my blog is to record my progress (and sometimes setbacks) learning digital photography. Birds are wonderful subjects. As Rob (Rob's Idaho Perspective) says: it’s a convergence of an interest in blogging and an interest in birds.

7 comments:

robin andrea said...

We took a very similar path, Pam. Interesting how learning about digital cameras took us to learning about birds. It is quite a wonderful intersection of passions now for both of us!

Cyn Bagley said...

Hi Pam,

I am not a photographic guru, but I do love bird pictures. And, it was fun learning about you too.
What a great year.

LauraHinNJ said...

I'm enjoying your progress! Birds are a great "excuse" to be outdoors. I'm finding the same to be true for picture-taking.

Pam in Tucson said...

robin andrea - The more photography I do, the more I discover about our world. The camera is a third (and often much more powerful) eye. I've thoroughly enjoyed observing how the Bums have developed along this line, too.

cynthia - I know you love birds. I was drawn to your blog when you wrote about feeding them on your balcony. It has been a great year!

laura - Thanks! I enjoy coming to your blog and seeing how you work with "our" camera. And, of course, for the bunny fixes :)

Anonymous said...

well if photography got you interested in birds, then you chose the hardest of all subjects to shoot.. and that's not a bad thing. They provide so much color, diversity and entertainment that I often forget I have a camera in my hands while watching them.
I saw a comment you left on another blog (forget which) how you dress for your role.. I didn't realize there was a dress code for bird watching.. LOL (but I do dress to blend in with the environs.. the birds will accept you better that way)
I've enjoyed watching your photographic journey, and may it bring you many more moments of joy :)

Pam in Tucson said...

cindy - Thanks for your nice comment. I've learned from you in the past few months - both on birding protocols and photography. I do appreciate it. -- I think you got me mixed up with Pamela of Thomasburg Walks. She was commenting on Clare's blog about Miss Hathaway and how she dressed. I've certainly never thought about how to dress to take a photo of the bird, although I do take care to try not to be obtrusive or frighten them in any way. Our backyard birds seem to be okay with me in jeans and a t-shirt :)

Anonymous said...

I enjoy your bird pictures -I think your digital photos are wonderful-we have just started digital bird photography also and I hope to learn it eventually. Cheers and Happy New Years!!