Long story short- I am reliving my youth again, but now with an entry level DSLR camera!!! My early youth had a misdirected page with a BB gun which I literally wore out. Anything that moved or didn’t move was a potential target. Advanced to duck and pheasant hunting in high school along Sumas Creek in the State of Washington on the Canadian Border but haven’t hunted with a gun since college. Always wanted to hunt deer with a camera but didn’t have proper photo equipment nor courage to brave the elements; the elements are still an issue.

Thanks to all the Flickr members for sharing great photographs for others to view and I also find stories regarding the pictures to be most educational. Birding has always been part of my life and we have fed and watched birds for over fifty years both in Minnesota and now in Kentucky.

Photography for me started with a Brownie box camera in high school. In college obtained a B&W 128 (something) as I remember and my sweetheart gave me a 35mm Olympus for college graduation which we later used for many years to record our family and other adventures. 36 picture rolls and a couple months later had them developed, which for us was expensive, with some okay and others miserable so it was set aside. We then purchased a Nikon point and shoot before traveling to England and Germany but it never lite our fire.

In 2018, I started taking pictures with an iPhone and learned many photography and editing skills via the computer. Digital photography is phenomenal! I rigged up a flexible wraparound tripod so I could capture birds at one feeder with a remote. Not bad pictures for starters but mostly body parts - wing, tail, feet, maybe a head. Our middle son said, “Dad you need more pixels.” He convinced me to get a Nikon 3400 kit so I could better select my shots with the 70-300 mm lens that provided much more flexibility. He is a great coach as well and suggested I expand to Flickr to observe and learn from what others are doing.

I surely need to acknowledge and thank the Kentucky Ornithology Society - Flickr group which is dedicated to bird images taken in Kentucky. One can find a great selection of species that live and migrate through the state. This group has also led to acquaintances I value for birding experiences. Adding my photos to the KOS group has been a honor and encourages me to improve my photography and editing skills.

One side note: This has been my best Christmas (2020) since I was ten years old when I received my first BB gun. My wonderful wife presented me with a Tamron 150-600 mm G2 lens. In April 2025 made a big jump to a Nikon D7500. Yep I am truly reliving my youth again but hopefully with a much more productive page this time, by simply documenting my shots. With some luck, a few may be worthy of uploading to Flickr.

Thanks to each of you for sharing your pictures; your faves and comments are truly appreciated.