Articles

Mar 05 2017

New website changes, including new “Favorites” section

Author: DakotaBirder • Discussion: No Comments
Elegant Trogon - Trogon elegans

This isn’t one of my best photos from a technical or artistic standpoint, but it definitely is one of my favorites! It’s an Elegant Trogon, a find from a November 2015 trip south of Tucson. One of my most memorable experiences as a birder, so it’s high-time I update my “favorite photos” section to include photos a little newer than just those from 2000 to 2010!!

I’ve been working on my main website a lot lately (sdakotabirds.com), trying to fix some technical issues, as well as address content issues. On the technical side, note my site is now completely “secure”.  When you try to access the site, no matter what you type in (“sdakotabirds.com”, “http://sdakotabirds.com”, “www.sdakotabirds.com”, etc), you should be rerouted to the safe, SSL “secured” pages with the https:// prefix.  Given that Google search rankings are now said to be affected by whether a site uses https or not, I figured it was about time to make the switch.  It should also help people feel more comfortable on my blog should they want to register on my blog or comment on a post.

I’ve also been working on streamlining my website.  When I first started making my website 15 years ago, I had a “species photo” page that showed all the photos I had for that species. You’d then click on a little image chip that would take you to a separate web page for each individual photo.  My photo collection on my website is now around 5,000 individual photos.  That means I actually have (or had) 5,000 individual pages.  It DOES help me to provide more information about an individual photo, such as details about when and where it was taken, or other anecdotal information that I may want to convey with a photo.  It’s not very efficient though!  It’s made my website massive and unwieldy, and given so many similar pages (for example, ~40 different individual pages for each of the ~40 or so Ruby-throated Hummingbird photos I have), it’s also resulted in “penalties” for how Google ranks my website.  I’m greatly simplifying the structure of my website for displaying photos.  I’m working on having each species have only one web page for the display of photos.  All photos of that species are provided on the one page, as smaller image “chips”.  Clicking on the image chip brings up the photo itself, instead of directing you to another web page that contains the photo. In progress, but it should cut down the number of individual web pages on my website by ~75%, and will make it much easier to navigate around my photo collection.

I’m also working on updating material in other parts of my website. One focus right now is my “Favorite Photos” section. It’s been a long time since I’ve updated that page, so most of my “favorites” were photos from 2000 to around 2010.  I’m updating that page right, making it 1) more “selective” in what I deem to be a “favorite”, and 2) more current, with favorite photos from 2000 all the way through the present day.  Clicking on each “favorite” will bring you to a new webpage with a large version of the photo, and a story about what makes the photo special to me. Given how out-of-date my old favorite photo section was, I hope this provides a better impression of my photography, my favorites, and what makes me “tick” as a birder and a photographer!

More website updates are coming this spring as well, including 1) new Bird Quizzes to go with the ones I already have, and completion of the individual species pages for all ~980 or so species that have been seen in North America.  If there are any other things you’d like to see on my main website, let me know and I’ll see what I can do!

Aug 09 2015

Macro Quiz #1 – What am I?

Author: DakotaBirder • Discussion: No Comments
Macro Quiz #1 - What am I?

What am I? Think small!  Click on the image if you want a closer view.

I haven’t posted in a few days as I’ve been struggling with a dry eye thing (I have Sjogren’s Syndrome, of which dry eye is one “feature”).  Makes it awfully hard to go out and shoot photos, given how blurry my vision can be, especially as the day goes on.  No photography, and I lose my motivation to post much on the blog. I’m starting to feel better, and hopefully it keeps trending this way, given that symptoms seem to wax and wane.

I did get out and shoot some this weekend.  Again, I’m playing with the new macro lens (Canon 100mm 2.8L IS). Hey, what can I say!!  I’ve got photos now of practically every bird I’m likely to see in South Dakota, and I admit it’s hard to get excited to shoot photos of a species for the 161st and 162nd time!  The macro thing came along at a good moment, as I can still go out and go birding, still get out and walk and enjoy nature, yet have new and exciting subjects.  I’m still mostly shooting insects, but when you start thinking “small”, there are SO many other things you can shoot.  Seeing and shooting patterns in the macro world is almost as fun as shooting lil’ critters.

With my entry into the macro world, I thought I’d start a new blog category…macro quizzes!  Challenge number 1…what is this a photo of?  At first glance to me, it could be siding on a house, but….we’re talking macro!  Think small!

May 03 2015

Walking around in a crooked world

Author: DakotaBirder • Discussion: No Comments
Crooked Sandpiper - Rotated Photo

Crooked Upland Sandpiper photo, rotated clockwise like most of my original shots.

I’m broken.  I’m talking a serious medical condition. That’s the only logical explanation.  Somewhere in the last 47 years, my internal gyroscope has broken, and I’m walking around crooked.  Or perhaps it’s just my head that’s walking around crooked.

The evidence? My photography.  I hate tripods with a passion, so pretty much every shot you see by me is taken by hand-holding my camera.  My Canon 70D does have a little sensor that can tell whether the image your framing is level.  There’s a little icon that shows up on the bottom when you look through the viewscreen, that shows whether you’re level, and what direction the camera may be tilted.  The problem is that in bird photography, it’s usually pretty fast action, and I rarely have time to pay much attention to whether the camera is level or not.

When I download my photos and start to process them, it’s obvious that I’m crooked, because most of my photos have a slight clock-wise rotation to them.  You can tell from this photo, where you have a tilted horizon and fence post, when both should be straight.

It’s no big deal from a photography standpoint, as I can simply rotate my photos a smidge once I start processing them.  What I’m really worried about is whether my crookedness is hereditary.  What if my poor son inherits my crooked gene?  Will this automatically disqualify him from many careers?  It’s hard to be an architect if you’re always crooked.  I don’t think I’d want a crooked surgeon operating on me…god knows what he/she may accidentally do.  I can only pray he chooses a career such as photography, where your inherent crookedness can be digitally fixed.

Apr 30 2015

New – Major update to Bird Photography Tips pages

Author: DakotaBirder • Discussion: 2 Comments

I admit I had been letting some pages on my main website languish for far too long.  I always upload new photos when I get them, and I’ve slowly been completing species account pages for every species seen in North America (over 820 done, “only” ~130 to go!).  Some of my other content has been static for, well…too long. One of the sections that desperately needed an update was a page I had on Bird Photography.  The page was meant to provide tips for taking photos of birds.

How long had it been since I updated that page?  Well, one section of the Bird Photography tips page discussed the advantages and disadvantages of using film vs. using digital cameras!  Yeah, it was time to update that section of the website.  I’ve extensively modified the material that was on the old page, and have added a lot of new material as well. The new Bird Photography pages can be accessed here.  The content is now broken into three sections:

  • Equipment Advice – This section provides advice on the necessary equipment to shoot photos of birds, including camera bodies, lenses, flash, tripods, etc.
  • Shooting Birds – This section provides advice on how to get close enough to birds in order to take photos, and also tips on camera settings that ensure you’ll be prepared to get the shot.
  • Photo Stories – Experience is the best teacher. This section provides stories of how individual photos were achieved, including how I got close enough to the bird, and how I used my tools to get the shot.

I hope the vast improvement in this section is useful for those just starting out in bird photography!  When I first started I was feeling my own way around and it took a while to become proficient.  I hope this information shortens the learning cycle for new photographers!!!

 

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