The National Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) Chapter 1191 held its monthly meeting at the Grand Ennis Buffet in Ennis on Tues., 10 Sept 2019. The guest speaker was Sue Frary, Texas Master Natualist with the Indian Trail Chapter. She is a retired bio chemist who now lives in Waxahachie.
The speaker provided a slide presentation highlighting some key factors in bird photography. As to why photograph birds, some of the reasons given were because birds are with us, they are beautiful, funny and are a good excuse to travel. Equipment needed for bird photography includes binoculars, camera, notebook, a bird guide and a comfortable seat. She discussed some of the ideal features of cameras such as autofocus, zoom, and burst capability, shutter spead and sensitivity to light, but noted that the best camera is the one you have. Suggestions included getting close to the subject, ensuring proper lighting, composition and luck. You are the hands behind the camera and though you have eyes, your eyes are under the direction of the Director of the show. What does this mean to you as a photographer? It means that you can be an awesome photographer and yet still produce bad shots if you are acting under someone’s direction who is not a photographer. In the studio, while doing television shows, the Director who is in the control room calls all the shots. Some Directors take full charge and the camera operator is not allowed to use his mind or eyes to change the shots or do any experimentation and instead act like an end zone camera capturing what’s available in the focus. On some shows, the Director can and does use the talents of a professional photographer who is operating the camera and the Director will instruct the photographer, ahead of time, to get the best shots he can get (while that particular camera is not on program). So, if you are a fussy photographer who wants to control all of your own shots, do not work as a camera operator inside a television studio.
She noted that there were some 10,000 species of birds worldwide, 1,000 in the United States, and over 600 in Texas. The speaker discussed the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology which sponsers a website: https://ebird.org/home which collects and provides information on birds. The site collects information on birds from citizen scientists worldwide. It was noted that “science” in large measure is a collection of observations.
NARFE Chap. 1191 covers Ellis, Navarro and adjacent parts of the surrounding counties. Membership in NARFE is open to all active and retired federal employees and their spouses, former federal employees, and former spouses who are entitled to a federal survivor annuity. For more information, please call Midlothian at 972-268-5793 or 972-775-2463, Waxahachie – 469-552-6649, Ennis – 214-949-6197, Red Oak – 412-722-6307, or Corsicana – 903-874-3092. You may also go to www.narfe.org or see NARFE Chapter 1191 on Facebook.
