Wildlife Photography

Ashamed to be an American

2011-07-28T08:14:00.000-04:00

With the budget crisis looming, House Republicans have taken the opportunity to load their budget bill with amendments that would gut environmental protection. Not only are these clowns in Congress ruining the economy, they are hell bent on taking the environment down with it. How cynical can you get? It makes me ashamed to be an American. July 27, 2011 New York TimesRepublicans Seek Big Cuts

Help Support My Kickstarter Book Project

2011-05-30T16:21:00.000-04:00

I am writing a book about High Dynamic Range Imaging and am attempting to finance the publication of a limited addition of the book by using kickstarter.com. If you are interested in supporting my book please visit my kickstarter page; http://kck.st/lQq50k In addition to a signed and numbered copy of the book (only 250 will be printed) I am also offering signed prints and other items as premiums

Start Your Own Conservancy and Make a Million Bucks

2011-05-30T16:16:00.000-04:00

I was really shocked when I stumbled across this article from the Post today. And to think that New York City Audubon had the nerve to honor Biederman at a fund raiser a couple of years ago. Pretty sleazy if you ask me. Fat cats turn park-keeper groups into their 'shady' money treesBy JAMES FANELLILast Updated: 5:45 AM, September 13, 2009Posted: 3:50 AM, September 13, 2009 Green acres is

from the don't-sit-and-whine dept

2011-04-27T08:52:00.002-04:00

Joe McNally, has some interesting views expressed in this post on techdirt via Slate: Professional Photographers Find Massively Successful New Careers Helping Amateurs Be Better Photographers One of the most vocal groups of folks we've seen, when it comes to resisting the changing market dynamics brought about by digital technologies and the internet, is not the music or movie industries...

Lower Manhattan at Dusk

2011-03-04T18:48:00.002-05:00

Lower Manhattan at Dusk a photo by calvorn on Flickr.I love this shot. It was taken from Liberty State Park at sunset and is an HDR composite of 7 different exposures

Grand Central Hustle

2011-02-25T14:30:00.000-05:00

I put this together in After Effects from some stop motion sequences I created last week at Grand Central

Amherst Island Owl and Raptor Workshop 2011

2011-02-16T06:04:00.000-05:00

Northern Hawk Owl Taking Flight with Prey The Owl and Raptor Workshop on Amherst Island this year was a great success despite the fact the Owl Woods was impossible to visit because of deep snow drifts. One hearty cross country skier we met said he ventured in but only saw one owl---a Barred Owl. This is rather ominous since Barred Owls are know to eat smaller species of owls. To compensate we

Tribute in Light Traps Birds

2010-09-15T10:46:00.002-04:00

I went to shoot the Tribute in Light on 9/11/2010 and was shocked to see all the birds trapped by the lights. Below is a video of the phenomena. The video was taken around 10pm. They first turned the lights off at 11pm to allow the birds to escape. They did it four more times after that. (I'm not the one doing the whistling.)

Geese Reduced to Second Class Citizenship

2010-08-19T09:12:00.002-04:00

“When I groan about the Canada geese,” Mr. Phillips said, “it’s because this is way more of an important story about conservation than the geese.”In it's ongoing struggle to distance itself from the Canada Geese controversy, New York City Audubon has decided the best way to deflect its lack of commitment to saving the area's geese is to focus on another problem, bird collisions with buildings.

Workshop at JBay

2010-08-14T12:33:00.000-04:00

Our workshop at Jamaica Bay (Wednesday after a rain-out on Tuesday) provided all the usual suspects but every one got some nice shots and (hopefully) learned a few things. Steve, one of the participants, had never been to JBay before and was pretty psyched. He wrote to me on Thursday: I woke up at 4:30am and found myself trying to decide whether or not to double down at Jamaica Bay this am or

170,000 Canada Gees to Die

2010-07-23T12:43:00.004-04:00

Courtesy NYCPhotoNews.com Apparently the 400 Canada Geese that were captured in Prospect Park and then euthanized were only the tip of the iceberg. Now officials are planning on going after more than 170,000 Canada Geese in our area. New York City Audubon's Executive Director Glenn Phillips calls the plan"a little extreme." Indeed. July 23, 2010 New York TimesAgencies Plan to Reduce Canada

Geese Gassed

2010-07-12T17:25:00.002-04:00

The Human Society is strongly opposed to the killing of Canada Geese. They say on their Web site: Over the last 30 years, however, the migration of Canada geese has been disrupted—perhaps even irrevocably changed—by humans. In some places, Canada geese have come to be regarded by a few vocal people as nuisances or pests. The result has been an alarming trend toward rounding up

For Photo Geeks Only!

2010-06-16T09:32:00.000-04:00

I have just launched a site called PhotoGeekNews.com. On the site I review photo accessories only geeks would love--wireless remotes, ring flashes, diffusers, etc. Most of the stuff I buy on ebay direct from China. The reason I started the site was because of the uneven quality of photo accessories coming out of the Far East. Some stuff is real crap but other stuff is well made and offered at a

Brewster's Warbler

2010-05-16T08:27:00.004-04:00

I recently photographed a Brewster's Warbler in Orange County, NY. It may be a backcross between a Brewster's and a Golden-winged as it has a white breast only slightly tinged with yellow. Then again, it may just be a first-year Brewster's. It's hard to tell with these hybrids. Photos begin here. According to the Cornell Ornithology Lab: Scientists have identified dozens of hybrid crosses between

NYC Photo News

2010-05-08T09:10:00.001-04:00

I have created a new Web site for those of use who would like to share our newsworthy photographs with bloggers, news sites, and Web builders. The name of the site is NYCPhotoNews.com. The concept is that photos on Web sites do not need to be high-resolution like those sold by stock agencies. All photos on my site are 1024 pixels at 72 dpi. I sell all the photos on my site for $5.00 each. I

Rabies Epidemic in Central Park

2010-05-06T15:24:00.004-04:00

Not many people know about the rabies epidemic in Central Park. I believe he Central Park Conservancy and the Parks Dept. have tried to keep it out of the newspapers for fear of scaring people from coming into the park but a major health emergency of this magnitude should be made public. I don't know why the Times or the Post haven't picked-up the story. With more than 100 rabid raccoons

Wild Turkey on Lower Broadway

2010-04-20T12:43:00.000-04:00

I was down in Lower Manhattan on Sunday morning shooting for my new Web site NYCPhotoNews.com. After shooting the tourists at the Charging Bull statue (the second most photographed monument in NYC) I headed towards the entrance to Battery Park at Bowling Green Station. Before I could enter the park a Wild Turkey came strolling down the sidewalk past me and headed up Broadway. Needless to say I

Park's Commissioner Wants to Increase Unemployment in NYC

2010-04-17T09:03:00.015-04:00

Street Vendor photo courtesy NYCPhotonews.com Isn't the economy bad enough in New York City? Now New York City Park's Commissioner Adrian Benepe wants to throw more than 75% of street vendors out of work because they "create hazards." He also believes many of these vendors are not protected by his interpretation of the First Amendment. When a park's commissioner gets to decide what is art and

If Amateur Photographers Are As Good As Professionals, Then We Can All Be Professional Photographers

2010-03-31T21:44:00.001-04:00

from Techdirt Only a few decades ago, photography was dominated by film cameras, where each and every photograph you took cost money and time to develop. To accumulate 10,000 hours of shooting experience under one's belt was prohibitively expensive, so only those truly dedicated to the craft were able to excel. The divide between the quality of amateur and professional was fairly

This blog has moved

2010-03-07T13:01:00.001-05:00

This blog is now located at http://calvorn.blogspot.com/. You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here. For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to http://www.calvorn.com/blogger/atom.xml.

2010-01-30T12:57:00.001-05:00

A very cooperative Dovekie has been swimming around the West Marina at Timberpoint on Lond Island for the past week. The bird seems unafraid of people and swims right up to the edge of the dock--too close to focus on with a large lens. This article from last week's Newsday describes a recent "fallout" of Dovekies on Long Island: If you've seen a dovekie, chances are something's wrong. The

Livery Cab Up in Smoke on West End Ave.

2010-01-26T16:40:00.003-05:00

No sooner had I returned from my Owl Workshop on Amherst Island in Lake Ontario than a livery cab burst into flames in front of my apartment building. I rushed out of the building with my new Canon G11 and captured some nice shots of New York's Bravest in action. A slightly different type of "wild life."

Amherst Island Owl Workshop a Big Success

2010-01-25T16:31:00.001-05:00

My Owl Workshop on Amherst Island on March 22-24 was a big success. Although the Snowy Owls were not as cooperative as in years past, we had Barred, Boreal, and Northern Saw-whets that were very photographable. We also had nice weather and a great group of guys. The Lodge on Amherst Island was a perfect place to spend our down time and the company and converstation was livley and stimulation.

The Best $24 I've Spent in a Long Time

2009-09-30T17:49:00.004-04:00

Now that I am no longer employed at Katharine Gibbs (or elsewhere for that matter) I have to watch my bottom line more carefully. I could not resist, however, the "Frogs" exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History. Normally I shy away from that place. Like the New York Public Library, the AMNH pays its President an ungodly amount of money while, at the same time, laying off low paid

Gillibrand to the Rescue

2009-09-09T10:35:00.002-04:00

Maybe she's not as bad as I thought she was... we'll see Dear Mr. Vornberger, Thank you for contacting me regarding the reauthorization of the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act. This reauthorization would increase the funding level under this act from its current cap of $6 million to $20 million by 2015. I support this bill and look forward to supporting this legislation when it is

Canon announces 7D

2009-09-03T19:21:00.003-04:00

While many of my colleagues are switching to Nikon I remain dedicated to Canon and to my belief that all of these cameras take good pictures, it's the photographers and workflows that need tweaking. That said, I do believe there are differences between the two market leaders and I think competition is a good think. Hell, if I had the money I would probably switch to Nikon just to have a the new

Leaves of three...let it be

2009-08-30T23:05:00.001-04:00

I've noticed an alarming amount of Poison Ivy around the city from Central Park through Jamaica Bay and Nickerson Beach. I took this photo at the wildlife refuge across the road from Nickerson where the poison ivy was all over the place. The compound leaves of poison ivy consist of three pointed leaflets; the middle leaflet has a much longer stalk than the two side ones. The leaflet edges can be

The plane, the birds, and the camera

2009-07-11T20:39:00.005-04:00

I thought this shot looked sort of Daliesque.

Cats and Birds

2009-06-03T19:13:00.003-04:00

My newest cat, Bogey. I watched someone throw him out into the street (because she said he was spraying. I could not convince her to have him fixed). He's a great cat. He's called Bogey because I found him on Humphrey Bogart Place (1o3rd St.) Here's a gallery of my cats. They have all been rescued from somewhere.Interesting article in the Times today...New York TimesJune 2, 2009, 12:09 pm