I Knew He Looked Familiar

Last night I went to a lecture on nature photography.  The speaker was Dave Zosel.  I saw the name and thought it sounded familiar.  I couldn't think of where I heard it before.  I saw the speaker and he looked familiar.  He spoke about cameras and lenses.  He gave us tips on how to save money on photography equipment.  He stressed the importance of using a tripod or beanbag to stabilize the camera.  He talked about lighting and aperture and shutter speed.  He talked about composition, the beauty of diagonal lines, and how you want birds flying into a photo instead of flying out.  He said it was important to catch the glint or the light in the eye of a bird or any creature you photograph.  He talked about using the histogram on your camera so the whites and blacks show detail. He showed us photos he had taken of geese, ducks, herons, flowers, warblers, a black bear, a red fox, trumpeter swans, a waterfall, and woodland scenes. His photos were beautiful.  He explained how to set up a photo blind in your back yard next to your bird feeder.  If you sprinkle bird seed and snow covers the seed, the birds know the seed is there and your photo will look more natural.  He talked about the Minnesota Nature Photography Club.  If you are interested, you can look at their website at www.minnesotanature.org.   They have a "salon" at each meeting where photos are critiqued.  Finally he talked about education.  He taught science.  Finally I remembered where I knew him.  He taught both of my offspring at the local middle school.  That was a relief to finally pin that down.  He said education hanged in the 1990's.  In the 1980's the classroom was full of nature items and the school sponsored outdoor camping events for the entire grade.  In the 1990's the nature items were removed from the classroom because of potential allergies.  Kids were spending more time on computers and weren't bringing science items into school.  Camping trips were cancelled because of lack of interest.  Some teachers were worried about being sued.  Right now Mr. Zosel is working with the DNR on a photography and nature project. Kids are given digital cameras to use outdoors.  Hopefully this will inspire the children to enjoy and study nature.  The time flew by and I really enjoyed listening to such an engaging speaker.