Hi,
Thank you all of you for your generous help and very useful advise.
I am very encouraged to continue forward.
very good help,
thanx again,
pax,
joe d phillips
columbus, ohio
-----Original Message-----
From: Matthew Valencic [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Sunday, December 28, 2008 10:16 PM
To: 'Joe Phillips'
Subject: RE: [Ohio-birds] Ques. about Camera
Hi Joe:
Welcome to the fun and frustrating world of birding. I have been doing this
on-and-off since 1974 but only got serious three years ago.
Some good advice that came to me from 'varsity birders' is:
STUDY THE BIRD THROUGH BINOCULARS BEFORE TAKING PICTURES.
DESCRIBE IT TO YOURSELF 'OUT LOUD' so you get used to looking for features
that are diagnostic. Say something like this; "it is about the size of a
sparrow but is mostly dark gray, not brown like a sparrow. It's eye is
very dark. It has a white belly. The beak is like a sparrow but it is
light colored, sort of pinkish. It mostly eats seeds off the ground."
NOW TAKE YOUR PICTURE(S)! THEN MAKE A FEW NOTES (I carry a pen and 3 x 5
index cards in my shirt pocket).
Get out your field guide and find the sparrows and start looking for your
bird (It should be the Dark-eyed Junco - formerly the Slate-colored Junco).
You learn your birds one at a time! Enjoy studying them because the
identifications will stay with you longer (involving more of the senses in
learning makes learning go faster!). The field guides (I have collected
several over the years) often describe behaviors as well as physical
characteristics. A bird that 'habitually bobs its tail while perched' is
probably an American Kestrel and not a Mourning Dove (both like to perch on
telephone lines).
My last thought for now is to try to find a tripod for your camera, even an
inexpensive one. I looked at your new camera on-line and it seems like a
great camera. However, anti-shake (now called image stabilization in other
cameras) is only so effective, especially at slower shutter speeds. We have
a lot of cloudy days in Ohio and I have a lot of "Bigfoot" pictures from my
10MP Nikon that were taken off-hand at 1/60 second. The tripod will yield
much better pictures under those conditions.
Again, welcome to the wonderful world of birding. I would be happy to share
thoughts with you that others have imparted to me. I love the birds and
especially the habitats they take me to.
Oh, one more thing. Keep a list of what you positively identify. It gives
you a feeling of accomplishment. I would be happy to share my simple EXCEL
sheet if you don't already have a system.
Matt Valencic
Chagrin Falls, OH
-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio birds [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Joe
Phillips
Sent: Saturday, December 27, 2008 8:47 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [Ohio-birds] Ques. about Camera
Hi Bird Folks,
I appreciate very much being on this active and helpful chatline.
I am really struggling trying to learn how to be a Birder.
So far it has been mostly frustrating.
So I finally decided if I took a photo of the bird I was looking at I could
find it in the books when I got home.
I am really ignorant about birds but sincerely want to learn.
Please advise me if you have experience with the camera that I have
purchased and is coming soon.
It is:
a Konica Minolta Dimage Z6 6MP Digital Camera with 12x Anti-Shake Zoom
Hopefully, the 12X will be able to make close-up pics that I can improve my
identifications.
sincerely,
joe d phillips
columbus, ohio
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______________________________________________________________________
Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.
You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
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