In our first photographer feature, Gordon Dimmig talks about the inspiration behind his birding and photography. You can purchase the photos featured below as well as view more of his excellent work at gwd-photography.com.Â
I first want to thank Drew Weber for giving me the opportunity to do a guest post here on Nemesis Bird. I always enjoy reading the adventures of the Nemesis Bird bloggers, and I’m here to share just a little bit of my story as well.
I have been photographing the outdoors for 4 years now. It started when I picked up my parent’s camera and began to take snapshots around my house. Now, after some camera upgrades and hours of shooting, editing and learning, this activity had transformed into a serious passion. My main focus was landscapes, especially streams and waterfalls, and I never really imagined that this focus would change.
Then in my sophomore year, I began studying birds and mammals in FFA with Justine Weber. At first I was reluctant to learn the birds, but soon an interest began to spark. Around this time, I purchased a Canon 100-400mm lens which allowed me to photograph the birds that I was learning. At first I just explored around my house, which was located along a stream in a large forested lot, and I was able to find lots of new species. Soon I began biking to nearby locations to find more birds.
I don’t really remember when I realized that I was addicted to this sport. Maybe it was when I started to use eBird, which allowed me to discover the ridiculous amount of places to bird around Lancaster County (and all over the world). Now I bird as much as I possibly can, and I love it. When the birding is slow, I continue my landscape work, which I still enjoy a lot. I spend a majority of my time in Lancaster County, although I linger farther out for some nemesis birds. During the summer I travel to the Adirondacks in up-state New York often. It’s my favorite place to be, and the birding is great. We get breeding Common Loon, Common Goldeneye, and many warblers, along with American Bitterns and several boreal species. Even without the birds, the untouched lakes and mountains are unreal.
Here is just a sample of some of my photography work below. You can also visit my website for more photography: http://gwd-photography.com/
all photography © 2012 GWD Photography