Free Nikon Backyard Birds Webinar

hark

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Next Wednesday, March 24th from 7-8:30pm Eastern Daylight Savings Time, Allen's Camera is sponsoring a free Nikon Backyard Birds Webinar.

From their Facebook page:

From a small pond in Stony Brook Long Island to his own backyard, Michael Corrado has found his peace, tranquility and passion for photographing birds. Join him as the talks about many of the tricks and tips he has learned along the way photographing the beauty and behaviors of these amazing winged creatures. He’ll cover the most important things to consider such as camera and lens selection, understanding specific autofocus modes and various camera settings that work best in his bird photography. You’ll learn about his intense, yet patient approach to making bird photos in flight and within their natural environment and delve into the power of remote photography and embracing state of the art technologies that will up the impact the images you create immediately. The last 30 minutes will be a live demonstration of the Z Series Autofocus and the best settings for bird photography.

Michael Corrado has been a photographer and visual artist for over 40 years and has recently celebrated his 36th anniversary with Nikon. He is the Sr Manager of Content Marketing and Professional Photographer Relations and the host of Nikon’s Creator’s Hour and Nikon LIVE Unscripted shows where he has interviewed many of the most talented photographers and filmmakers in the industry today. Michael runs the Nikon Ambassador Program that partners with Nikon’s elite influencers in the business today.

Michael’s extensive career has included time as a Nikon School instructor, Pro Markets Technical Representative and Sr. Product Manager for digital SLR cameras. Michael has had the great fortune of training, working with and shooting for some of the world’s greatest photographers including astronauts from NASA, while contributing his own still images and video capture globally for Nikon. He was a contributing writer and photographer for Nikon World Magazine and has content published regularly on Nikon’s Learn and Explore website. As a producer, director and photographer, Michael has supported many of Nikon productions including brochures, ad campaigns, TV commercials and educational DVDs.

Michael’s passion for photography includes portraits; wildlife and sports while his current personal projects on The Birds of Stony Brook, Drummer Love and Backyard Birds continue to grow. Michael has dedicated time over the last ten years working on his rock and roll portfolio as the house photographer for Live Nation at the Jones Beach Theater and music festivals across the country.

Giving back is what it’s all about and Michael has extended his hand and photography to donate his time to amazing charitable organizations that make a huge difference in the lives of those in need including the Ronald McDonald House New York Metro, The Zoefia Alexandria Foundation and the Sunrise Summer Camp of Long Island where he helped design and build the “My Picture Place” photo cabin for campers to learn photography.

Registration is Free!

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/reg...6RxF0sn_w9vp9lBempbEXLGSK_mNS8XPwoGiFU6kjmedk
 

hark

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Here is a replay of the Backyard Birds webinar for those who are interested.

 

BackdoorArts

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At least I have the right hat!!

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BackdoorArts

Senior Member
An hour and a half is pretty long for my short attention span. :) I'll give it a go, though.

I'm 40 minutes in and waiting for something substantial in case you want to jump. Not to mention that "backyard birds" seem to include more birds you find when you go somewhere else.
 

Woodyg3

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I'm 40 minutes in and waiting for something substantial in case you want to jump. Not to mention that "backyard birds" seem to include more birds you find when you go somewhere else.

Yeah, I was beginning to wonder if he was ever going to get to the backyard stuff. His early shots were interesting, but certainly not my style or preference. Once he got to the backyard his remote setup was kind of interesting, but other than that I didn't really get much new info. I might try the gnarly old log on the ground trick.
 

BackdoorArts

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Yeah, I was beginning to wonder if he was ever going to get to the backyard stuff. His early shots were interesting, but certainly not my style or preference. Once he got to the backyard his remote setup was kind of interesting, but other than that I didn't really get much new info. I might try the gnarly old log on the ground trick.

Let's just say that if "Backyard Birding" starts with buying Nikon software at $150+, .... Nah I'm not saying it.

Leaving it at that. For now.
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Where does one get a gnarly old log?

Have you seen my yard?! Where does one not?! LOL Seriously, though, if you've got dead or old trees around you'll get a branch like this every time there are winds (I had 4 I had to clear yesterday. With dead trees you'll get bigger chunks when they topple.
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
There's some stuff in here that's useful and interesting - like buying $150 software so you can "bird" from inside. But I have to say that at the heart of his technique here is something I take great issue with, because he's essentially baiting so that the birds come to him.

Now for backyard songbirds this isn't an issue, particularly if you continue to feed them throughout the year. Heck, I spread seed in places outside of feeders so I can get the bird somewhere more "natural". But the truth is that photographers have been doing this with other types of birds and wildlife with alarming frequency to the detriment of the very thing they're photographing. It's the ethics of putting the value of the photograph above that of the subject, and while this guy doesn't really go there the fact that he is using the very technique in question without speaking to its danger in other areas has bothered me enough that I plan on writing to him about it.

There was an excellent discussion on this topic at Steve Perry's forum. It starts around whether or not photographs of animals in zoos or other areas designed to attract them is actually "wildlife photography" (I have no strong opinion on that unless the image is used a manner that is deceiving or breaks the rules of a contest), but there is a lot of great information in there about how wildlife protection organizations, like Audubon, have demonstrated that the actions of photographers have caused real damage to various species of owls and other wildlife.

Again, I'm not saying that what he's doing in these image is that. Just that it's "just like that".
 

Dawg Pics

Senior Member
@BackdoorArts

Ha. Kinda kidding. ;) When I lived in south Louisiana, there was no problem finding fallen trees, limbs and stumps.
I no longer live in a wooded area. It is a 'hot summer-mediterranean' climate, and I am next to the Elsinore mountains and foothills. I have no problem finding rocks. There are lots and lots of rocks here. Maybe I should put some large boulders in the back yard. I would think the birds are kind of used to that here.
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
So to dot i's and cross t's, I reached out to Mike and suggested he add an aside about baiting and he said he appreciated the email and was by no means taken aback by it. Turns out he's known my brother for years going back to when Nikon was the only game in town for digital while he was at News Photo NJ and Mike was their rep.
 

Woodyg3

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So to dot i's and cross t's, I reached out to Mike and suggested he add an aside about baiting and he said he appreciated the email and was by no means taken aback by it. Turns out he's known my brother for years going back to when Nikon was the only game in town for digital while he was at News Photo NJ and Mike was their rep.

Good to hear. He admits that he's relatively new to bird photography, so I'm glad he is open minded about suggestions.
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Good to hear. He admits that he's relatively new to bird photography, so I'm glad he is open minded about suggestions.

Which was obvious to me having been married to a bird nerd for 20 years longer than I've been shooting them. I asked him to take a peak and my Instagram since it's 90% shots from my backyard, but so far nothing. LOL
 
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