Great idea. Most Saturday or Sunday mornings and evenings are fine with me. May 12 is the exception: I'm traveling to Portland OR that day. Jay Sent from my iPhone On Apr 24, 2012, at 11:00, "Dance, Gayla" <dancegf@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > Oh, dear. That’s graduation for us. You know, when we sit outside with > solar panels on our heads. > > gayla > > From: missbirdphotos-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > [mailto:missbirdphotos-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of djohns110@xxxxxxx > Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2012 10:50 AM > To: missbirdphotos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > Subject: [missbirdphotos] Re: [missbirdphotos] Re: A Group Suggestion > > May 12 is the only open Saturday I have open until June 16. > > Sent from my HTC Inspire™ 4G on AT&T > > ----- Reply message ----- > From: "Frank Hensley" <dr_frank_hensley@xxxxxxxxx> > To: "missbirdphotos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <missbirdphotos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Subject: [missbirdphotos] Re: A Group Suggestion > Date: Tue, Apr 24, 2012 9:49 am > > > Danny and Everyone, > > I love this idea! In fact, field trips specifically for photography were > part of the original motivation for starting this group. I agree that > schedules and distances will always be limiting factors. It seems that > several of our small group are Jackson/Vicksburg area people, and several are > coastal, so those two regions might make sense for field trips. I know that > Gayla and I are both ending our spring semesters and thus likely to have more > schedule flexibility soon. I was going to suggest a field trip once I get > through grading final exams. > > Perhaps a Trace/Jackson/Vicksburg area outing would be a good start. I'd > suggest LeFleur's Bluff, or Pearl River WMA. Birding starts before sunrise > but photography certainly doesn't, so we could begin later. I also have > access to private land owned by my employer, just south of Clinton. It has 3 > ponds and some low-quality woods, but is really marginal as a bird > photography site. It does have the advantage of few other humans... One other > factor is that the Trace is closed north of Clinton which might make some > roadside areas low traffic areas right now... > > I'm guessing that a Saturday morning or evening would be a good choice. > Anyone up for May 12 or May 19? > > -Frank > > From: "djohns110@xxxxxxx" <djohns110@xxxxxxx> > To: missbirdphotos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2012 9:24 AM > Subject: [missbirdphotos] A Group Suggestion > > Hi Everyone, > > Several years ago, I was a member of Mississippi Outdoor Photographers, a > small, tightly knit, often spontaneous group of area Wildlife and Nature > Photographers based in Jackson. > > Due to a bone-crushing work schedule with increased responsiblities, I wasn't > able to make many meetings and I haven't kept up with many of the members. > However, I've been told that the group has pretty much disbanded. > > Much of what I learned and experienced with respect to nature and wildlife > photography, I learned from this group. The discussions, field trips and > simple interaction during meetings was invaluable. We had several members > who are prominent in the area of wildlife and nature photography, and they > were always willing to share techniques and provide their insight and help > with tough technical issues and questions that other less experienced members > would raise. > > As I've read the posts from many of the list members, it occurred to me that > we could all benefit in some respect from a group gathering, possibly a field > trip of sorts, to a local Wildlife Management Area or National Wildlife > Refuge to do some shooting. I've also found that photographers that like to > shoot birds, also like to shoot anything to do with nature. Having > personally attended photography field trips to the Muesum of Natural Science > and LeFleur's Bluff Park, I believe such a trip would benefit the group. In > every instance, I learned as much from other photographers as I was able to > contribute to others. > > On a personal note, I've photographed birds at St. Catherine's Creek NWR > (Natchez, MS), Black Bayou NWR (Monroe, LA), Tensas River NWR (Tallulah, LA), > Grand Gulf Military Park (Port Gibson, MS), Vicksburg Military Park > (Vicksburg, MS), Mahannah WMA (Redwood, MS) as well as several spots along > the Natchez Trace between Clinton and Port Gibson. I've found each location > to have unique shooting opportunities. I would also like to shoot in other > areas for some species that I currently don't have in my portfolio, and I > would suspect that some of you would like to experience shooting in other > areas. > > So, having said all of this, I'd like to suggest to the group that we > consider some field trips. They don't have to be extravagant or huge > productions. A simple gathering where we can shoot would work for most > purposes. Even if we don't want to try a field trip, we should consider > periodically getting together to share notes, techniques, experiences and so > forth. While I like the list immensely, there's nothing like meeting other > photographers and shooting together, whether we're shooting birds or shooting > the bull. > > I'd be interested in what y'all think. It may be difficult to work out the > arrangements due to everyone's personal schedules. I know that due to a very > demanding work schedule, I won't be available to attend any type of gathering > for another month or so, but after that, I should be able to find some time > to attend. > > I'll be eager to see if there's any interest in this idea. > > Danny Johnson > Vicksburg, MS > >