Hi all, I'm a new BLP member, very excited to be part of this amazing gathering of people with some shared passions - birds and photography! I am a newbie to bird photography, having been a keen bird observer and having created some wonderful opportunities to visit several bird hides on my travels over the past few years. I'm a passionate amateur photographer, my usual genre is portraiture, photo-documentary and to a lesser extent some landscape. I've been dragged from the analogue world of darkrooms and celluloid film - to the digital world about 10 years ago. My 'kit' has been simple, my workhorse was an old Nikkon, with really just a few mostly old but beautiful prime lenses. So when I committed myself earlier this year to gift myself an upgraded camera/lens system for birding, I did not expect to move away from Nikon. Four months of researching (yes I enjoy thoroughly immersing in the camera reviews, tech specs and the final reality of handling the equipment to see if it fits my hand, and I like its weight etc...... Much to my surprise, I've crossed the line... and have got myself an Olympus system EM5III (which for those who may be unfamiliar is a Micro 4/3rds sensor system, and then purchased a 40-150mm F4 PRO lens. I am exceedingly happy with my camera combo, and have been learning how to use the complex menu - so different to my current Nikon D80 - and the delight of an auto-focus lens. I still prefer to shoot Manual mode. In the 2 months or so since commencing with the Olympus I've now taken thousands of images - and seeing improvement and learning heaps. I am also really interested in the Fine Art aspect of bird photography, also the joy of the natural world and habitat protection. I was impressed by the BLP guidance to work ethically as a bird photographer, and that is one of the conversations I'm keen to participate in within a future Forum post. Thank you for the warm welcome from BLP Organisers. Looking forward to meeting up, sharing ideas, etc. regards, Ruth

Hi Ruth,

Welcome to BirdLife Photography.

Your previous birding experience will be of great benefit to your bird photography. Already knowing your local birding spots and having an understanding of bird behaviour is excellent pre-existing knowledge to possess.

We have several members who have chosen Olympus/OM micro four thirds for their kit, so if you have any queries, feel free to post here in the forums.

You would have received our July e-news recently. There is some great member only content in there from our recent conference on the Gold Coast.

If you are able to attend, our next Zoom event will be an informative evening. Again, details can be found in the recent e-news.

You mentioned you are keen to promote ethical bird photography. You can find our code of ethics on the website.

Best regards,
Craig

Thank you Craig, that is so helpful. Yes I am making my way through the excellent conference presentation recordings, one of which particularly raised the ethics issues in a lovely way. Good to know there are other Olympus micro 4/3 users among members, to learn and share with. My knowledge of my local birding spots have exponentially grown since I've taken to bird photography, returning to the same local urban wetlands very regularly - more than ever. And it is so wet wet wet.

Hello Ruth,
Welcome to BirdLife Photography. I look forward to seeing some of your images on the website. You mentioned that you are interested in the Fine Art aspect of bird photography, so I thought might like to enter our current competition "Creating Artistic Images". The competition closes on 8th August, plenty of time to get those creative ideas going.
Cheers
Mary

Hi dear Mary, thanks so much. Oh I would love to enter the comp, including the Creative Arts. Looking forward to sharing images and meeting up. Wonderful to connect. Do you have any images in any of the BLP galleries? Are you planning to enter the comps? which categories? warm regards, Ruth