Osprey and New Contest
First the osprey... Here is a shot of the bird coming in with a fish to the nest perched atop a 50' cell phone tower. (They don't call them "fish hawks" for nothing.)
And a better look...
As best I can tell, that's a very unlucky catfish in the claws. Ouch.
Anyway, lunchtime...
Now on to the contest... Here's the deal... Do you remember back when we had our eBirdseed.com photo contest?
Here's the idea... We use your homemade "YouTube" videos as contest content... We're talking backyard bird videos. (Though if your backyard is a field, we'll take that into consideration...) Features such as subject, lighting, focus, video quality, audio, etc. will weigh heavily on the final decision.
Here are the rules:
- Each entry must be your own original material. Piracy is strictly forbidden! If you didn't create the video from scratch in its entirety, you're disqualified!!!
- Each entry must be one minute or less in length.
- Submissions will be YouTube links.
- Capturing, holding, or harassing of birds is not allowed.
- eBirdseed.com employees and their relatives cannot enter.
- eBirdseed.com reserves the right to embed the winning video code in our Web site.
- Only entries from the continental U.S. will be valid. eBirdseed.com will pay for prize shipping.
- All decisions by the eBirdseed.com judges will be final.
For all this "Cecil B. originality", what do you get??? How about a $60 "Squirrel Buster Plus" feeder?
Not bad... Not bad... Can't wait to see the entries...
See you by the feeders,
CapeCodAlan
Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding
Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding
Comments
Hi CCA,
The contest really sounds interesting. However, I didn't buy that Flip Video and I don't know if my cell phone even takes movies. If it does, I don't know how to put it on the internet. So, I'm going to be standing by with anticipation to see who wins the contest. BTW, thanks to eBirdseed for donating the prize. I would have been tickled just by the recognition of winning. Until Aug. 8th,
Cheers,
Harry "Gipper" Morris
Posted by: Harry "Gipper" Morris | July 26, 2010 12:17 PM
Hi Harry,
Thoughts...
* Bummer about lack of video... I strongly recommend buying something like the Flip. (Ever go to the hardware store and try to explain how you need this doo-hickee which turns that thing-a-ma-bob under the sink? A small portable video recorder/player goes a long way.) I just checked Amazon, and the latest Flip is selling in the $150 - $180 range. Used units are below $50. If at all possible, I'd recommend picking one up. The quality is stunning (see: http://hsst.wordpress.com/2010/05/13/pro-wind-words-silenced-and-political-hypocrisy/).
* Editing video is fairly easy. Between the software that ships with the hardware and Windows Movie Maker, it takes an honest weekend to learn the stuff. But it is doable. Beyond that, I'm not crazy about the YouTube interface, but again it is doable. The absolute explosion in popularity of YouTube speaks volumes.
Anyway, we hope you find a way to contribute, or at least get a kick out of the contest...
Thanks for your thoughts!
CCA
Posted by: CapeCodAlan
|
July 26, 2010 3:34 PM
I hope this is where I'm supposed to submit my vid for the contest....if not...opps....where do you want me to send it?
Posted by: Kat Knapp | July 30, 2010 11:36 AM
Hi Kat,
Thanks for the interest. Once you've edited the piece to the appropriate length (one minute or less in length), just upload it to YouTube and either send me the link (capecodalan@ebirdseed.com) or just include the link in a comment.
Thanks again,
CCA
Posted by: CapeCodAlan
|
July 30, 2010 4:22 PM
Hey Alan! Wow!! Excellent photos of the osprey and catch! Did you take those yourself? Must have gotten a new camera ....?
kathryn
Posted by: kathryn | August 6, 2010 5:46 PM
Thanks Kathryn!
We ended up buying another Canon Eos Rebel XL 10 MP to replace the one that went for a salt-water swim. We also have two lenses: The EFS 55-250 and the EFS 18-55. My favorite gadget though is still the remote switch... Just put the camera on a tripod, step back and squeeze the button. If the camera is focused properly, it's just beautiful.
Thanks again and stay in touch.
CCA
P.S. I'm surprised you didn't enter the video contest (http://www.ebirdseed.com/blog/2010/07/osprey_and_new_contest.html)... It ends Sunday August 8th just before midnight.
Posted by: CapeCodAlan
|
August 8, 2010 12:00 AM