Συλλογή 003: Bird Photography Lesson 06.09.2019
Rachel surprised me with an awesome birthday gift: a bird photography class. Since my arrival on the East Coast I have been fascinated by the different kinds of birds. Growing up in Chios, Greece we mostly saw sparrows... In LA, it was pigeons...
I have randomly, since moving to DC, been taking pictures of different birds. Cardinals are quite entertaining and bluejays are cool. Robbins are everywhere. One Sunday morning I decided to seriously go and look for birds at Rock Creek. I jog regularly through the park, I hear these weird bird calls but never see birds. As I am walking, I see the usual ones until I come across one I have never seen.
After I was done, went back to the apartment and excitedly pointed out to Rachel the "exotic bird". Her response: "It's a woodpecker love. Nice picture!". I think this was a clue for the birthday gift.
The class was held at the Baltimore Zoo, by Capital Photography Center (https://capitalphotographycenter.com), The instructor Emily Carter Mitchell (https://bellaremyphotography.com/) was great. Many details and pointers. Everything made sense; why I did not see any birds... It takes time and patience. I also learned that there are Birding Ethics which thankfully I followed even though I was not aware of them. Emily took us through the Zoo and guided us in terms of light, settings, from easy to challenging bird shots. Here is a sample of some of the best ones.
All I can say is that birds are incredibly fascinating animals. There will be more bird posts in the future. Now enjoy!
The lesson ended with a final stop by a bunch a Prairie Dogs. This one just cracked me up...
