“Happiness adds and multiplies as we divide and share it with others” jojo
The Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival in Titusville was, as usual, a huge success primarily due to the fun of seeing old friends and acquaintances, and making new ones along the way. Thanks to all who signed up for my In-The-Field-Workshops, my slide presentations, and who visited my booth. The workshops are particularly gratifying to me as I get a chance to do what I love to do the most---photograph the wildlife and share my knowledge and experience in the hope of improving your love and passion for wildlife photography. There was lot of talent demonstrated among my group, and I’m excited to see your growth and improvement, which hopefully, I had a little something to do with. I encourage everyone to go to my website www.natureandwildlife.com or www.joannewilliamsphoto.com and view some of the fine images of my workshop participants, read their questions and comments and become part of this “on-line photo community”. This is a great, FREE, opportunity for participants to post their work to my very active forums. We all learn from each others’ successes and mistakes, which is one reason my teaching slide presentation, “The Error of My Ways”, is so well received by so many.
Due to conflicts in schedules, the birding festival and the opening of duck hunting season arrived at the same time! I nervously wore my orange hat, fearing I might be shot or worse, that there would be nothing left for me to shoot (photo-lingo). Happily along came this family of Black-bellied Whistling ducks wearing their own orange garb, and prison stripes!
I’m excited to announce that I’ve been invited to exhibit at the “Annual Invitational Tournament of Art” sponsored by the prestigious International Game Fish Association located in Dania Beach, Florida on February 25th thru the 27th. This is a huge honor, and wonderful opportunity for both wildlife artists and wildlife enthusiasts alike. Mark your calendar and come to support wildlife conservation and the arts while having fun for the whole family. I look forward to seeing you there.
Like most wildlife and nature photographers, I’ve spent most of my career trying to ethically and safely get closer to the varied critters who are my subjects: buying larger and more expensive lenses, faster cameras, flashes & beamers, along with climbing ladders and trees, hiring professional guides, and generally putting my life and limb in jeopardy. This problem becomes especially hazardous in and around water, until now…..Watch for the next newsletter to see my solution---and possibly yours!
In keeping with my continued quest to bring the optimum photo experiences to my clients, I’m off to the Panamanian jungle the end of January to ‘recon’ a couple of areas that promise to provide incredible, once-in-a-lifetime images and experiences. There are over 280 species of bird, such as the Harpy Eagle, Crested Guan, Crested Owl and numerous mammals like Mantled Howler and White-faced Capuchin monkeys, along with the Three-toed Sloth and many other photo possibilities. The months of research I’ve already done have proven so exciting to me that I am incurring the ‘recon’ expense with great haste and no hesitation in order to put together an early Spring 2005 photo safari. However, I will not have a package/price until mid-February. The opportunities for reasonable pricing and exceptional photo-ops is the prime reason for my interest in this little-known area and thus my hasty trip down to this tropical paradise. There is absolutely NO OBLIGATION, but if this trip even “tweaks” your adventuresome soul, let me know, as I keep my groups very small.
As a reminder, the photo safari to Kenya, Africa dates are firming up to be in and around August 1st thru August 22nd, 23rd. Final dates and pricing will be sent very soon. As always, I promise no more than two people per van giving all the photographers the luxury of shooting with their biggest lenses and equipment without being obstructed by their peers.
