Reached a personal milestone yesterday when I photographed my 100th species of bird. Although I have always been a keen photographer I had never concentrated on any particular theme. It really has been an eye opener for me as I never imagined that there were so many different types of birds in Australia let alone in my local area. I took my first bird photo on the 8th of May this year and all my photographs have been taken within a 30klm radius of where I live.
A big thank you to fellow members of the BIBY forum for all of your kind words, encouragement and your postings as it has been very helpful in making me a better photographer. Looking forward now to capturing the next 100.
#99 - Little Corella
#100 - Golden-Headed Cisticola
#101 - Lathams Snipe
Well done, Brian! And great shots, all new to me.
Great work Brian - the cisticola is a cute little bird to bring up your ton. As you say its remarkable the number of different species that can be found in a small range - and the great variety of them too.
And very well done getting the Lathams Snipe - one (of many) that eludes me.
I agree with WD well done getting your first 100 and you have some of the more difficult birds that are not usually the ones I would expect in the first 100. I struggled with the Golden-Headed Cisticola for some time, as some of our long term readers might remember. Another thing I found is that once you have photographed a species for the first time you start to see them more often and wonder why it took so long to get your first shot nailed.
I only count birds I have photographed and got my 322nd Australian bird this week-end, a Dark morph Arctic Jaeger. Having said that even though I have seen a Yellow-billed Spoonbill, I still haven't been able to photograph one, to this day.
I met a chap from Sri Lanka this week-end on holiday in Australia who has photographed over 2500 birds fromall over the world and while I was with him he got his first ever shot of a Black-Bellied Storm-Petrel and was quite over the moon. So look out it can become quite an obsession.
Samford Valley Qld.
Thanks Reflex, haven't known what to expect with the first 100 as it is all still very new to me. I guess I have been very fortunate to have a great forest and creek walk so close to where I live that has yielded almost half of all the birds I have photographed and the ocean only 20 minutes drive away. From now on though I will have to research and target specific species to help my tally grow.
Your tally of 322 is very impressive, no doubt alot of time and effort invested in acheiving that goal.I know what you mean about it becoming an obsession, I pretty much take my camera everywhere I go these days but it has taken me to places locally that I haven't visited in years.
Great achievement Brian. You may still get quite a bit more out of your local sites with the Summer migrants probably turning up around now. Now for 150 :)
Ryu
Canberra
Aiming for DSLR-quality shots with a bridge camera
Well done, Brian.
You have managed some interesting birds in a very short time and as suggested by Ryu, those summer migrants will help build the tally. Reflex is alo right as once you see a species you seem to find them more often. I also find that my first picture generally leaves room for improvement so I go out with high hopes of improving on it.
However, the fun is also in the walk, enjoying the fresh air, studying the behaviour, visiting new places and if lucky, finding something new or only seen once before.
Sue
Terrific stuff Brian! Like you I am new to this - although I have always had cameras and have always taken an interest in Australian birds. The other comments are right, it does become an obsession ... a good one I believe. Always enjoy you images, so look forward to you scoring your second ton! Cheers.
Nicely done Brian and some lovely birds there.
It is very addictive, and so much fun, with new experiences and understandings with each bird.
The more you see, the more you will see.
Well done Brian, its been great sharing in this journey with you through the forum. As the others have said, you have done well getting that many so close to youand not just your general backyard birds either. Look forward in sharing the next century with you as well. Grats again!
Thank you everyone for your kind comments, although I am still pretty much a "rookie" at this I am thoroughly enjoying the journey. I really enjoy coming here and sharing my pics and seeing everyone else's as well, so many good photographers and the enthusiasm of the BIBY community is so inspiring.
Good stuff Brian and as always a very enjoyable set to peruse
Dont take life too seriously, it never ends well
Well done.