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Preface
The digital revolution
in
photography didn't begin until long after I had begun seriously
watching birds—nearly 15 years, to be precise.
When I think back on all those intimate encounters with wild birds that
could have been
preserved on digital media—now just faded memories in a foggy
38-year-old brain—I sorely wish the technology had
become available much sooner. Even now the technology continues to
advance, and today bird photography remains difficult
even with state-of-the-art equipment.
Many of my early difficulties resulted, however, not
from limitations due to the current state of digital imaging
technology, but from a lack of experience both in photography in
general, and bird photography
in particular. My goal in writing this book has been to help you,
the
reader, to learn from my mistakes—without having to waste time
making the same mistakes yourself. As both a professional
computer scientist
and a longtime bird watcher, I felt fairly qualified to write this book
on the effective use of digital technology for capturing
aesthetically pleasing images of birds in their natural habitat.
As the
technology continues to advance (and as I, myself, continue to learn
new techniques), I plan to keep this online version of
the book up-to-date, so please check back regularly.
Acknowledgements
| Few books are 100% free of errors,
whether factual, conceptual, or typographical. To help make this
free resource more useful for
other readers, please inform the author of any
errors you encounter in the text, so they can be
promptly fixed—whether factual errors or simple
typos. Anyone who reports a previously-unreported error
(other than a simple typo or formatting glitch) will have their name
included in these Acknowedgements. |
I am deeply indebted to the following
individuals for their suggestions, corrections, contributions, support,
and/or inspiration, whether specific to this book or to my photographic
activities in general: George Sydlowski, Greg
Dodge, Tom Driscoll, Fred Hurteau, Mark Daniels, Tom Henneman, Ginger Travis, Dale
Buchner, Ed Keenan, Walt
Anderson, Alan McDonley,Juan Pons, Linda Huber, Donna McCarty, Page
McCullough, Barbara
Jablonski, Jeff Lewis, Keith Carver, Donald Mullaney, Alan
Lenk, Ian
Henderson, Todd Arcos, Rollin White, Norm Bateman, Bill Campbell, Louis
& Cindy Womble, Lorrie Earley, Chris
Brennan, Denny Hills, Peter Goudswaard, Syd Phillips, Rhett Gibson,
Calvin
Barchus, Peter Munks, Bruce Johnson, Paula Harrington, Robert
Barron, Don Casavecchia, Sinclair Slakk, Brad Martsberger, Ron Collins, Sam Upchurch,
Dale Robinson, Stephen Feingold, Ed Stewart, Rick Bennett, Dorris
Sharrock, Frank Colwicz, Pierre-Alexandre Fortin, Caroline Gilmore,
Mike Moynihan, Ann N., and Kelsey
the
Amazing Dog.
I am also extremely grateful for all the wonderful comments
and warm wishes I’ve received from readers all
over the world—thank
you!
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