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Preface

The digital revolution in photography didn't begin until long after I had begun seriously watching birdsnearly 15 years, to be precise. When I think back on all those intimate encounters with wild birds that could have been preserved on digital medianow just faded memories in a foggy 38-year-old brainI sorely wish the technology had become available much sooner. Even now the technology continues to advance, and today bird photography remains difficult even with state-of-the-art equipment.
    Many of my early difficulties resulted, however, not from limitations due to the current state of digital imaging technology, but from a lack of experience both in photography in general, and bird photography in particular.  My goal in writing this book has been to help you, the reader, to learn from my mistakes
without having to waste time making the same mistakes yourself.  As both a professional computer scientist and a longtime bird watcher, I felt fairly qualified to write this book on the effective use of digital technology for capturing aesthetically pleasing images of birds in their natural habitat.  As the technology continues to advance (and as I, myself, continue to learn new techniques), I plan to keep this online version of the book up-to-date, so please check back regularly.

Acknowledgements


Few books are 100% free of errors, whether factual, conceptual, or typographical.  To help make this free resource more useful for other readers, please inform the author of any errors you encounter in the text, so they can be promptly fixedwhether factual errors or simple typos.  Anyone who reports a previously-unreported error (other than a simple typo or formatting glitch) will have their name included in these Acknowedgements.

I am deeply indebted to the following individuals for their suggestions, corrections, contributions, support, and/or inspiration, whether specific to this book or to my photographic activities in general:
George Sydlowski, Greg Dodge, Tom Driscoll, Fred Hurteau, Mark Daniels, Tom Henneman, Ginger Travis, Dale Buchner, Ed Keenan, Walt Anderson, Alan McDonley,Juan Pons, Linda Huber, Donna McCarty, Page McCullough, Barbara Jablonski, Jeff Lewis, Keith Carver, Donald Mullaney, Alan Lenk, Ian Henderson, Todd Arcos, Rollin White, Norm Bateman, Bill Campbell, Louis & Cindy Womble, Lorrie Earley, Chris Brennan, Denny Hills, Peter Goudswaard, Syd Phillips, Rhett Gibson, Calvin Barchus, Peter Munks, Bruce Johnson,  Paula Harrington, Robert Barron, Don Casavecchia, Sinclair Slakk, Brad Martsberger, Ron Collins, Sam Upchurch, Dale Robinson, Stephen Feingold, Ed Stewart, Rick Bennett, Dorris Sharrock, Frank Colwicz, Pierre-Alexandre Fortin, Caroline Gilmore, Mike Moynihan, Ann N., and Kelsey the Amazing Dog.

I am also extremely grateful for all the wonderful comments and warm wishes I’ve received from readers all over the world
thank you!