My name is Matt Tucker and I live in northwest Illinois about 15 miles from the Mississippi River.
I recently completed a 365 day photo project, taking a photo every day from May 1, 2011 to April 30, 2012. It was a fun project but the daily grind didn't always allow time to make a high quality image. I enjoyed having a project to focus on and decided to create another one for the next 12 months. This time I am going to go for quality over quantity. My goal is to produce a portfolio of 10 bird images by May 15, 2013. I'm shooting with an original Canon EOS 1d and a 400mm/5.6. I know I'm going to need a lot of advice to reach my goal and I am excited to have found a place where I know that advice is readily available.
If you're still reading, I thought I would share the story of how I came to birdphotograhers.net and this project. I have always been interested in birds but have never really pursued photographing them.
A bit south of me along the Mississippi River is LeClaire, IA and Lock and Dam 14. It is known as a hot spot for bald eagle photography in the winter. I stopped in one Saturday and there were about 30 photographers there. A guy I was talking to pointed out a particular photographer and noted that he was a professional leading a workshop. That professional turned out to be Matthew Studebaker. When I got home, I checked out his website and was blown away by quantity and quality in his taxonomic catalog. Links on his site led me to Arthur Morris, Alan Murphy and BirdPhotographers.net
I have been reading through those three sites for about four months and I am finally ready to take the plunge into bird photography.
Hi Matt, welcome to BPN. Lots of luck on your new project, hope we can be of help for you. Lots of info to sift through so browse around and make yourself at home!