I'm from Columbus in NE MS. I'm sure many of you have seen some of my photos on missbird postings. I've been photographing birds since 2005 when I got my Canon 100 - 400 mm lens. I was using a Canon 20D. Today I use a 7D. My photos since late 2009 are at my Zenfolio site in my signature. I also have many general resources for photography and for Lightroom, Photoshop and Elements. I teach photography classes for beginners locally and I created the site for my students and have been adding to it for many years. Here's a couple of good resources for bird photographers: <http://www.lightstalking.com/why-birds-are-a-photography-favourite> http://www.lightstalking.com/why-birds-are-a-photography-favourite <http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/index.php> http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/index.php is an invaluable resource for bird and nature photography with many forums with photography tips and techniques as well as post-processing, and critique forums where you can see amazing photography and have your images critiqued which is very helpful. You have to register which is free, but you don't have to be a paid member. I am a paid member as I believe in supporting the site and sometimes I like to post more images than registrants can post, mainly in the Out of the Box and Landscape forums. I don't do as much bird photography now as I used to, but I did some last Monday that are here: <http://southernexposure.zenfolio.com/birdswaterway> http://southernexposure.zenfolio.com/birdswaterway I suggest starting with the "eager to learn" critique forum unless you are really good! I don't have the high-end equipment that the guys on the avian forum have so I don't post there. The forum is co-owned by Arthur Morris, world-renowned avian photographer and Canon Explorer of Light contract photographer. His personal website is birdsasart.com and he has some books and ebooks on bird photography and processing that are outstanding. His blog <http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/> http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/ is very informative also. See his books: <https://store.birdsasart.com/shop/category.aspx?catid=32> https://store.birdsasart.com/shop/category.aspx?catid=32 Judy Howle Southern Exposures http://southernexposure.zenfolio.com Digital Photography Class; Resources for Photographers http://digitalphotographyclass.net From: missbirdphotos-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:missbirdphotos-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Kristen Eisbrenner Sent: Monday, March 05, 2012 7:06 PM To: missbirdphotos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [missbirdphotos] Re: Intro and hello! Hi everyone, I am likely the newest to birding/photography (binocs arriving this week) but have long been fascinated by birds and photography separately. I moved to the MS coast a little over a year ago but had no backyard birds. There were cats crawling all over the yard so I didn't put out any feeders. Prior to this, I was in Michigan my whole life--lots of birds, lots of nature, and lots of weather. After moving to another city less than 10 miles away, where they don't truck-spray for mosquitoes, I woke up one morning and heard bird songs. Hooray! The story goes, of course you all know, that birding is great here. Bought a field guide (o.k., 2 new ones), a used Judy Toupes book, and pulled out my old Cornell ornithology home study textbook. This weekend was my first trip out, albeit with videocam, to Ocean Springs Inner Harbor and Davis Bayou. Saw and filmed two firsts for me: an Eastern Bluebird and a Hooded Merganser couple. :) I work as a pathologist at a VA hospital and love working at the microscope. I am trying to learn Photoshop and have been playing with Lightroom. My better half is learning all kinds of photography techniques (we both have Nikon), and he just ordered a Nikon 300 mm/f4 to go birding with me. I've read the the Better Beamer flash attachment is useful in birding--not for light, but for enhancing the true color/reflection in the feathers. Does anyone have any experience with this? Do the birds mind? Do fellow non-camera birders mind? It's nice to meet you all so far! Kristen Vigne Ocean Springs, MS