{"id":10,"date":"2010-08-17T18:32:38","date_gmt":"2010-08-17T18:32:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/featheredphotography.wordpress.com\/?page_id=2"},"modified":"2020-02-17T11:34:07","modified_gmt":"2020-02-17T18:34:07","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About Me"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\"me-7124\"<\/a>\u00a0On a raptor quest in the foothills of Utah’s Stansbury Mountains<\/em><\/p>\n

When I retired from teaching high school Honors Biology and Zoology in 2003 I needed an outlet for my lifelong interest in\u00a0the natural sciences. I’ve always had a special interest in birds\u00a0but\u00a0have never been enthralled with all that goes with being a “birder”. I had dabbled in semi-serious photography\u00a0over the years so I eventually decided to give bird photography a\u00a0try and\u00a0just see where it took me. What\u00a0a life changer! Now I live, eat and\u00a0breathe birds – not from a birder’s perspective but from that of a photographer.<\/p>\n

I have strong feelings about the “ethics” of bird photography. For me avian photography is nature photography and it’s not\u00a0“nature” (or natural) when subjects are not their natural colors so I don’t oversaturate my images. I don’t do significant cloning or other types\u00a0of major\u00a0image alteration for the same reason. I don’t closely approach nesting birds and I\u00a0make every effort to avoid\u00a0unduly disturbing my subjects whether they’re nesting or not. I don’t use electronic devices to\u00a0call in birds.\u00a0 I love to photograph raptors but\u00a0will never\u00a0“bait” them in. I don’t shoot “setups”\u00a0except at my back yard feeders\u00a0for the\u00a0practice. I know, that’s a lot of “don’ts”….<\/p>\n

My gear is Canon including two Canon 7D Mark II’s, a Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM lens and a Canon EF 100-400mm f\/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens plus miscellaneous support gear (tripod, 1.4 teleconverter etc.). Most of my photography is done from a “mobile blind” – my pickup, a very effective strategy for my situation.<\/p>\n

I live in northern Utah and have convenient access to the many wetlands associated with the Great Salt Lake. Bird photography is usually the primary goal of\u00a0my\u00a0frequent camping trips throughout Utah and other western states. Because\u00a0I have\u00a0Montana roots and return there often, many of my avian images are taken in the western\u00a0part of\u00a0that state, Glacier, Beaverhead and Madison counties in particular.<\/p>\n

Thank you for visiting my blog.<\/p>\n

Ron<\/p>\n

February, 2020<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0On a raptor quest in the foothills of Utah’s Stansbury Mountains When I retired from teaching high school Honors Biology and Zoology in 2003 I needed an outlet for my lifelong interest in\u00a0the natural sciences. I’ve always had a special interest in birds\u00a0but\u00a0have never been enthralled with all that goes with being a “birder”. I had dabbled in semi-serious photography\u00a0over the years so I eventually decided to give bird photography a\u00a0try and\u00a0just see where it took me. What\u00a0a life changer! Now I live, eat and\u00a0breathe birds – not from a birder’s perspective but from that of a photographer. I have strong feelings about the “ethics” of bird photography. For me avian photography is nature photography and it’s not\u00a0“nature” (or natural) when subjects are not their natural colors so I don’t oversaturate my images. I don’t do significant cloning or other types\u00a0of major\u00a0image alteration for the same reason. I don’t closely approach nesting birds and I\u00a0make every effort to avoid\u00a0unduly disturbing my subjects whether they’re nesting or not. I don’t use electronic devices to\u00a0call in birds.\u00a0 I love to photograph raptors but\u00a0will never\u00a0“bait” them in. I don’t shoot “setups”\u00a0except at my back yard feeders\u00a0for the\u00a0practice. I know, that’s a lot of “don’ts”…. My gear is Canon including two Canon 7D Mark II’s, a Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM lens and a Canon EF 100-400mm f\/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens plus miscellaneous support gear (tripod, 1.4 teleconverter etc.). Most of my photography is done from a “mobile blind” – my pickup, a very effective strategy…<\/p>\n

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