Liz says it perfectly. I only use a camera with a telephoto lens and sometimes because of bad light, the only way I can identify the bird is when I upload it into Lightroom and remove some of the shadows. I keep a list of what I see each month but I don't keep count of how many of each species I have seen on a given day.
I just spent over an hour in Veteran's Memorial Park in Richfield where I took over a hundred pictures of an American Redstart flitting over the water eating bugs. I also looked for lifer birds such as Soras and Rails and I was fortunate enough to see a Sora for the first time! So, no binoculars and definitely a birder. Janet Brown ----- Original Message ----- From: "Liz Stanley" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2014 12:31:59 PM Subject: Re: [mou-net] using a camera instead of binoculars I tend to carry my binoculars more nowadays than my camera, but when I do have my camera I always have my binoculars too. However one thing I've always liked about bird photography is that it usually requires more patience and time spent observing a bird, rather than simply looking at it from afar with binoculars or a spotting scope, checking it off a list and moving on to the next one. If you want to get a good photo of a bird you have to learn to approach it closely, sit quietly for long periods in one spot and to me that is a more intimate experience. I've learned a lot about birds that way and I find it very enjoyable. While there might be fewer birds seen on that type of outing, you really get to know the ones you do see. I certainly think that qualifies as birding, just in a different way. On Tue, May 13, 2014 12:08, Jim wrote: > Let’s get more specific: anyone care to comment on what I see as a > growing number of birders — people interested in birds — who use cameras > instead of binoculars. Some don’t even carry binoculars. Are these folks > birders? Does the equipment define them or limit the definition? I’m > exploring this as possible subject of a Tribune article. > > Thanks. > Jim Williams > birding blog at > http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/homegarden/blogs/Wingnut.html > > > ---- > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > -- Liz Stanley Bloomington, MN [email protected] Backyard weather and feedercam: http://www.overlookcircle.org/ Photo gallery: http://www.pbase.com/gymell/liz_favorites Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lizmstanley ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
