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Bird ID Challenge

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How many birds can you identify? Maybe you could use a little help?

A couple of years ago, the National Audubon Society made available the Audubon Bird Guide App, a mobile field guide for North America loaded with 821 species, photos, descriptions, and bird call recordings as well as migration maps and a bird locater.  Doesn’t matter what your birding skill level, this Bird Guide App is fun and a first-rate resource and learning tool.  Best of all–it’s FREE.  Thank you NAS!

Our On2In2™ friend and bird lover, Nancy (@nk03262) recommends these digital tools for birding beginners and beyond:

Merlin Bird ID app (it’s FREE) – helps in identifying birds you see in North America and Europe.  All you do is answer a few basic questions or take a photo of the bird, and it provides a list of possible matches.

eBird – a free online program and mobile app that allows birders to watch, search and record sightings in real time.  Read → How to Use eBird, by Noah Strycker (January 1, 2015)

Birdseye Finding Guide app (it’s FREE) – real-time info on what birds are nearby or in a specific location

Sibley eGuide to Birds app ($ fee to download) – a digital field guide for North American birds that allows you to compare two bird species images, maps, and sounds

Want to improve your Bird ID skills?  Nancy also recommends the Feeder Birds Course offered by Cornell Lab Bird Academy.  It’s a self-paced, online course to help you learn how to identify the birds in your backyard and understand their behavior at feeders, and includes custom practice tools, instructional videos, and quizzes (all available through your web browser, no downloads required and nothing is shipped, $59.99).

Interested in bird photography?  Paul Bannick, a professional photographer and Audubon Magazine photo award winner, says birds are “fascinating and challenging subjects” (i.e., there’s no app for that), and he offers advice and a few pointers in this article “10 Tips for Photographing Birds“.

 

If you want to see birds, you must have birds in your heart.John Burroughs (1837-1921)

 

Bird migration in the fall and spring is a perfect time to get out the binoculars* and explore, and with more than 700 bird species, US national parks are prime birding locations.  Check out the National Parks Conservation Association recommended best spots for fall bird watching HERE, and have some fun with your bird guide app.  From December 14 through January 5 each year, tens of thousands of volunteers throughout the Americas brave snow, wind, and rain to take part in the Audubon Christmas Bird Count.  You can join the fun or follow the bird count results (check it out → here)  Starting in January, listen for the mockingbirds as they begin to sing throughout your neighborhood.

Birding Festivals – There are birding festivals at National Wildlife Refuge areas (home to more than 700 species of birds) around the US and throughout the calendar year.  It’s the perfect place to see and learn more about your favorite birds, or get a first look introduction to a species you don’t know.

🎅🏻 Christmas Bird Count – Every year from mid-December to early January, thousands of bird lovers  head outside to tally bird species.  Led by the National Audubon Society, it’s one of the longest running bird monitoring projects in the world, and the data collected helps researchers gauge how bird species will adapt to climate change and highlights shifting bird population trends. The best part is you don’t need to be an experienced birder or even have binoculars to join the fun.

Noah Strycker traveled across 41 countries and all 7 continents in 365 days with a backpack and binoculars, eventually spotting 6,042 species (the biggest birding year on record), and he wrote about his many adventures in the book Birding Without Borders: An Obsession, a Quest, and the Biggest Year in the World.  Recommended as a “wonderful” read by On2In2™ friend @nk03262

 

 

Submit your bird identifications via a comment to this article (see below ‘Leave a comment’). Sorry, there are no prizes available for this bird ID challenge (no answers either), only the joy of eBirding.  And, please share your birding adventures and photos with us!  [To comment on any On2In2™ article, you must first sign up as an “Engage” member.  No worries, it’s easy…Click this link]

 

Give your backyard birds a cozy winter home and ‘Nancy’s Bird Butter’ for extra nutrition

 

 

 

 

John Audubon illustration of Ruff Necked Hummingbirds from his book, The Birds of America.

During the mid 19th century, John Audubon spent more than 10 years observing and painting birds, then years more creating and publishing his legendary series of illustrations The Birds of America.  You can view and download all the works of art from the original publication here at ⇒ Birds of America 

 

 

 

 

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*If you purchase binoculars or a book via an Amazon link within this page, Zeester Media LLC may receive a small commission. This in no way affects the price you pay for the purchase.

All bird photos in this “Bird ID Challenge” article were sourced from Unsplash, CC0
Feature photo is courtesy of Ray Hennessy/Unsplash, CC0

Art Transforming Trash

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The opposite of beauty is not ugly… it’s indifference.Richard Lang

 

There are many complex issues involved in the elimination of pollutants from the environment, but there’s at least one problem easy to identify and understand — trash.  Take just one walk on a beach, and you’ll quickly see the ugly truth.

More than 8 million tons of plastic makes its way into the Ocean each year, and the stuff doesn’t go-away or disappear.  Just one plastic bag takes 1,000 years to decompose.  Much of this garbage can be seen floating on top of the ocean surface.  Between California and Hawaii, the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” is more than double the size of Texas, and it’s just one of many similar floating debris patches.

Ray Ives, a retired Royal Marine and commercial diver, saw even more during his 40+ years of deep sea diving,……“You can’t believe some of the things people dump in the sea.  It’s like the biggest rubbish dump in the world”.

Artists are using their creative talents in amazing ways to help make positive change as their works of art bring attention to the plastic pollution problem the world faces and inspire all of us to “rethink plastic”.

Gyrecraft is a short film about crafting objects at sea, in the past with whale’s teeth and in the future with plastics collected from Ocean waters.

Studio Swine went on a 1,000 nautical mile journey through the North Atlantic Gyre, from the Azores to the Canaries, collecting plastics as they sailed.  (The North Atlantic Gyre is one of five large systems of circulating ocean currents.  The vortex of currents traps man-made marine debris into a large, dense floating debris zone called  the ‘North Atlantic Garbage Patch’.)  Using a specially designed ‘Solar Extruder’ machine, the plastic pieces collected during the trip were melted on board ship with heat from the Sun, creating a ‘sea plastic’ material used to create art works.

 

In the short video, Sea Chair, watch as a stool is built on a boat from the plastic collected in a fisherman’s nets.

 

Since 1999, Richard and Judith Selby Lang have been visiting a special spot at Kehoe Beach at the Point Reyes National Seashore in Northern California, collecting plastics that have washed up on shore. The Lang’s then take their treasures home, wash and sort the items, and create works of art.  Over the years, they’ve collected tons of the stuff, learned a lot about ocean pollution, and discovered each little bit of found plastic has an interesting story to tell and provides an insight into human culture.

 

Aurora Robson is a multi-media artist known for her work with waste materials, and the founding artist of Project Vortex a collective of creatives who work with plastic debris as a medium and support organizational efforts to reduce the amount of plastic littering the oceans and shorelines of the world. She has said the intention of her art is “to take something negative, try to change the direction it’s going, and turn it into something positive”.

 

Inspired to create your own “environmental art”, but not sure how to start?  David Edgar creates marine life art forms from plastic bottles, and his instructional fish project video is a how-to guide for beginners. In the demonstration, you’ll learn that creating a sculpture requires scissors and a couple of simple tools, and reshaping plastic can be accomplish with heat from a hair dryer.  Really, the possibilities are endless because unfortunately, so is the trash.

 

Information/Resources:

Point Reyes National Seashore  Point Reyes is a peninsula surrounded on three sides by the Pacific Ocean, supporting a large diversity of species throughout the food chain and ecosystem.

One Plastic Beach  The Lang’s offer workshops, presentations, art sales, commercial and residential artwork commissions

Aurora Robson  See more art and media

Project Vortex is an international collective of artists, designers and architects creating art works with plastic debris in support of projects that intercept plastic waste in innovative ways and help water cleanup efforts.

Healthy Seas – a joint venture of non-government organizations and businesses dedicated to cleaning ocean of litter and recycling it into new products such as socks, swimwear, textiles and carpets.

International Coastal Cleanup Day is celebrated annually the third Saturday in September.
(Save the Date:  September 21, 2019)

Plastic Oceans Foundation – a non-profit organization with a mission to engage people through education and media projects, campaigns and global partnerships

Underwater sculpture museums contain breathtaking works of art that seek to encourage environmental awareness and appreciate the breathtaking natural beauty of the underwater world.You’ll be surprised to see what lies
beneath the waves – Art Underwater 

 

 

The Ocean is an essential life force, and we must stop its destructionOur Oceans are suffering from many decades of
abuse and neglect, but each of us
has the power to help heal it 

 

 

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Feature photo is courtesy of Free Stock Pro/Pexels CC0

Pro Photo Tips

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Ever look at a photo and wonder –‘why can’t I do that!?!’  Well, absolutely you can.  Here’s an opportunity to learn from professional photographers and improve your camera skills.

This FREE To WATCH live stream program series, Pro Photo Tips, is filled with ‘how-to’ information and helpful advice for the amateur photographer.  If you miss a live stream broadcast or want to watch a program again, just click/tap the “Watch Again” button located on the media player.

But, First Things First — If you are a beginner, or don’t remember how to work that expensive camera you bought a few years ago, start with some basics.

Lighting Basics Made Easy is a great beginner talk that takes some of the mystery out of lighting with a discussion of the different types of light and their properties, including color temperature, specularity and intensity.  If you missed the live stream broadcast, there’s still time to watch.  Click/tap the “Watch Again’ button on the media player below ↓

WATCH LIVE & FREE On2In2™

Want to come home with vacation photos you can be proud of?   Whether your interests are a casual record of a family holiday, or a serious visual exploration of a place far from home, these practical tips and visual inspiration will help you maximize the quality and quantity of your photographs as well as add to the fun of a travel experience.  If you missed the live stream broadcast of Travel Photographing:  Pre-Trip Planning and Preparation there’s still time to watch a video recording of the presentation.  Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button located on the media player below ↓

 

At the Photography Workshop:  Sports 102, photographer Marc Farb gives us the inside scoop on how to make images more impactful from capture to final print, whether shooting a professional sports event or the local little league.  If you missed the live stream broadcast, there’s still time to watch a video recording.  Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button on the media player below ↓

 

We all enjoy capturing a special moment with a photo to share while exploring new places, and travel photography has been popular since the invention of hand-held cameras in the late 19th century because it combines two passions — travel and photography.  David H. Wells, an award-winning internationally travelled publication photographer and veteran photo educator, brings four decades of experience in photography around the globe in this 90 minute presentation, Tools of Travel Photography.

If you missed the live stream broadcast of Tools of Travel Photography, there’s still time to watch a video recording.  Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button located on the media player below ↓

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can expertly mat and mount your photos — saving time and money while having fun, too!  If you missed the live stream broadcast of DIY Matting and Mounting for Photographers, there’s still time to watch a video recording.  Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button  on the media player below to learn valuable mat cutting techniques, including how to properly measure and calculate border sizes, cut single and double mats, and t-hinge mount photos into finished mats.

 

MORE TO WATCH – FREE & On-Demand 

Watch this how-to seminar on astrophotography techniques and equipment, and take better photos of the night skyPros give advice on how to take great photos of the night sky in a FREE To WATCH, info-video series → Shooting Stars

 

 

A photographer shares technique and processes for taking the best photographs.Professional photographers share their work, inspiration and creative ideas in a series of free-to-watch live stream broadcasts and video presentations → Inspired Photography

 

 

Photographers tell their stories and share their work and inspiration in this On2In2™ collection of videos.Photographers tell their inspiring stories in this On2In2™ collection of short video documentaries → → Watch: Photography

 

 

 

 

 

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Feature photo courtesy of Pixabay/Pexels CC0

Beautiful & Fascinating

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The memory of my grandmother, an avid ‘up-cycler’, carefully cutting off buttons from the family’s time-worn clothes and saving both the buttons and fabric for future use, is what probably inspired me to hold onto buttons.  Kept in a zip storage bag, my eclectic assortment has grown slowly over the years — It isn’t a large or valuable collection.  In fact, many of the buttons are quite ordinary, but they are uniquely mine, taken from my wardrobe, and they’ve become a collection of memories as well as a personal style timeline.  I’ve also used some of the buttons for arts and crafts projects, and they’ve often come in handy for button replacement.

Le bouton est non seulement indispensable, mais capable d’enjoliver un vêtement, de le personnaliser et de lui apporter la touche finale.* Herbert de Givenchy, Introduction to Boutons by Loïc Allio (2001)
 *The button is not only indispensable, but capable of beautifying a piece of clothing, of personalizing it and giving it the final touch. (Translation by Caroline Baumann, Director of Cooper Hewitt Museum)

Buttons have been placed on clothing as ornamentation for thousands of years, and crafted in a variety of ways by artisans and artists or manufactured in low and high-tech factories from every imaginable material, making these small objects significant in fields of decorative arts and design, fashion, visual art, and arts and crafts as well as archeology and materials technology.

Beautiful and Fascinating!  Long admired for the artistry as well as historical value, button collecting began centuries ago and is still a popular hobby today.  The photo gallery below includes just a few examples from extraordinary button collections.

 

 

See More Glass Buttons (1700–1951, American or European) from the Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
→ Gallery 1
→ Gallery 2
→ Gallery 3

See More Wood Buttons (1900-20, American or European) from the Hanna S. Kohn Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
→ Gallery 4

The Cooper Hewitt button collection is amazing, and available to view online → HERE

Inspired Button Art – “I hold the button to my ear and it whispers to me, “I want to be…..” Augusto Esquivel creates sculptures from buttons, and he shares his work and creative process → Augusto Mucho Gusto website

Button Jacket by Kenneth D. King

Kenneth D. King created this stunning jacket using some of the 75 pounds of antique uniform buttons he inherited. [Pinterest pin “Using Buttons As Embellishment” by Threads Magazine]

 

 

 

 

   

Information/Resources:
Button Society Websites & Contacts – List of button society websites and contacts by country and US states
Button, Button, We’ve Got the Button(s)! by Margery Masinter (Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, Buttons: In the Collection of the Cooper Hewitt Museum by Carl Christian Dauterman (The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Design, 1982)
Hammond-Turner & Sons – Button Galleries – an online museum displaying buttons manufactured by Hammond Turner & Sons (and related companies), button makers of Birmingham (and Manchester), England.  Created by Lesley Close, a descendant of one of the owners of the company.
The Waterbury Button Museum – More than 3,000 buttons are on permanent display in the Button Gallery of the Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury, Connecticut
Déboutonner la mode (Unbutton Fashion), Les Arts Décoratifs exhibit presentation
Boutons, Decorative Arts Museum (Les Arts Décoratifs), Paris, France
Lucie Rie: Ceramics & Buttons Exhibit (22 June 2018 – 12 May 2019, Centre of Ceramic Art at York Art Gallery, UK
European Fashion Project – Buttons, Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Keep Homestead Museum – Button Collection, Monson, Massachusetts – The vast collection is exhibited on a rotating basis, but on permanent display is a wonderful collection of mosaic buttons.

 

Button Button: Identification and Price Guide* is a well-organized guide recommended by the Button Society as a book that every button collector and dealer should own.

 

 

 

Buttons: The Collector’s Guide to Selecting, Restoring, and Enjoying New and Vintage Buttons* shows and describes fabric, metal, glass, ceramic, enamel, plastic, and uniform buttons along with the history of buttons.

 

 

 

Buttons by Diana Epstein and Millicent Safro* looks at the authors’ collections of buttons, describing their history and value as art.

 

 

 

 

Creating art with buttons is a fun arts and crafts project.
ⓒ Button Art by Zola Zeester

FREE To WATCH: Collector Confessions – A diverse group of engaging collectors tell their stories about lifelong passions for objects. [Videos on Demand]

 

 

 

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*Zeester Media LLC may receive a small commission for a book purchase you make via a link within this page.  This in no way affects the price you pay for the purchase.
Feature photo “My Button Collection” © Zeester Media LLC, 2015-18

Artisan

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My father was an ardent hobbyist. You might also call him a “generalist” because he didn’t focus on a specific hobby or category of interest.  He was a music lover and amateur musician (trumpet), gardener (vegetables), BBQ master (with a killer secret sauce), meister mechanic, weekend golfer, and smooth social dancer (the waltz).  While he didn’t have a creative arts background or formal training and never thought of himself as “talented”, a few hobby classes taken while serving in the US Air Force sparked a passion for the creative process, and he spent many happy hours in his private studio (the garage), exploring his varied interests and testing his handcrafting skills while working on a variety of arts and crafts projects.

Arts and Crafts: Find your passion and the joy of creating a work of art here at On2In2™
Stan Reinshagen, inspirational artisan

Dad made really beautiful things in ceramic, wood, metal, and leather.
All are treasured pieces.  Most importantly, he found joy in creating, and inspired our family to love ‘making things’.
Let his story inspire you — Make your soul grow.

To help you get started on the search for your passion and the joy of creating a work of art, below is a list of arts and crafts hobby categories for inspiration (including a few links to topical articles) as well as Zola’s arts & craft photo gallery, and there’s a collection of video documentaries on the Art Works and Creative Perspectives channels that include insightful stories from artisans about their work, motivations, and approach to the creative process.

But, please….before buying a bunch of hobby supplies, do a little research and consider the things required for the crafting (time, money, work space, tools, supplies, basic skills and physical abilities) and what you’d like to try. Then, start small.  For example, it doesn’t take much to start coloring, and many find the creative process of ‘coloring within the lines’ to be relaxing and therapeutic.  Find FREE adult coloring books → HERE.  Also, look for arts & crafts instructional classes offered in your community by colleges, museums, art galleries, recreation centers, and local artisans.  If that doesn’t work for you, search libraries and book stores for crafting books, and do some googling.  You’ll be amazed at the variety of instructional books, online courses and ‘how to’ videos available.

 

 

The Arts & Crafts Idea List

Candle and Soap Making

Ceramics/Pottery

Crafting

Digital Art

Glass:  Cutting and Blowing

Jewelry Making

Model Building (replicas of cars, planes, ships, railroads)

Leatherworking

Paint/Watercolor/Sketch  [Check out 2017 Yosemite Conservancy art workshop schedule → Yosemite Art Center  ]

Paper:  Papermaking;  Decoupage

Photography

Recycled Plastics Art 

Sand Sculpting

Textile:  Sew/Knit/Crochet/Embroidery/Weave

Welding and Metalworking

Wood: Woodworking;  Woodcarving/Whittling;  Woodburning

For more crafting inspiration, click/tap these links:
Watch: Art Works
Rubberband Art
Watch:  Photography
Watch:  Digital Arts 

 

 

 

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Zeester Media LLC may receive a small commission for a purchase you make via the Amazon link within this page. This in no way affects the price you pay for the purchase.

Feature photo is courtesy of Gratisography CC0

Rubber Band Art

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Noticing the jar of multi-colored rubber bands in the kitchen, a friend asked me, “What are you going to do with them?”

There really was no answer.  In fact, it’s not at all understandable why someone would save rubber bands, except they seem impossible to throw away and occasionally the odd one or two will come in handy for bundling up or repairing something.  And, really….they are everywhere. Even the broccoli and celery at the grocery are bundled together with a colorful rubber band, and all must be saved and collected, perhaps protecting the environment in some small way or (most likely) a kooky obsession.

People using rubber goes way back.  The Aztecs and Mayans used natural rubber products and mixed latex and other materials as early as 1600 B.C.;  however, the process of “vulcanization”, the chemical process of converting natural rubber into a more durable product, was not developed until the 19th century.  Stephen Perry, a British businessman and inventor, received a patent for the rubber band in England more than 170 years ago.

 

Rubber band balls are the simplest form of rubber band art

 

Today, rubber bands (aka elastic bands, laggy bands, gum bands, and elastics) are made of either synthetic rubber or natural rubber (latex) taken from the sap of rubber trees, and there are many types, sizes and versatile household, office and industrial uses as well as uniquely creative uses for the rubber band.

 

The biggest rubber band ball

For example, everybody likes making rubber band balls.  It takes patience and a lot of rubber bands to get things rolling, but not fine crafting skills, and it’s fun to have on your desk to bounce around the office.

A man named Joel Waul from Florida is credited by Guinness World Records as the builder of the largest rubber band ball (aka “Megaton”). Consisting of 700,000 rubber bands, it measured 6′ 7″ high, 25′ 4″ in diameter, and weighed 9,032 lb.

 

 

Creative rubber band chair is art you can use.

 

Megaton is certainly impressive as is Preston Moeller’s cool rubber band chair which earned him first place in 2011 at the Appalachian State University 6th Annual Chair Design competition.  A great example of functional “rubber band” art and creative design using unconventional materials.

 

 

 

Those achievements are inspiring, but also a bit beyond ordinary skills and require a huge supply of big rubber bands.   Thinking smaller scale, the idea for an art project began to develop—–create colorful vases by simply wrapping rubber bands around glassware, one at a time.  It was fun and easy (no glue or special tools required), and the pieces are fairly durable except the rubber bands will deteriorate when exposed to heat or sunlight, requiring repairs and replacements.

The rubber band art vases and jars are pretty as well as handy to have around the house and office, and they’ve been put to good use as flower vases and planters as well as holders for organizing pencils & pens, utensils, odds & ends, and…. more rubber bands!  People are always amazed when told the flower vase they are admiring is decorated with rubber bands, and the possibilities are endless as are the design variations. 

 

 

Finally, there’s an answer to that provocative question —“What are you going to do with them?”  Try it, and have some fun with your own project.

 

Creative collage made with recycled plastics: Find your passion and the joy of creating a work of art here at On2In2™
Controlled Chaos by Zola ©2018 Zeester Media LLC

There’s inspiration here — Art Transforming Trash shows you the many ways to create beautiful art from plastics discarded and found.   

 

 

 

 

It's easy and fun to join On2In2 social networkHave you created an art object with rubber bands or other recycled items?
Please share your ideas and creations with On2In2™, and join the conversation via “Engage“.  Would love to hear all about the fun you’re having.  

 

 

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Feature photo of rubber bands by Bill Ebbesen CC BY-SA 3.0
Rubber band ball and art images from the Zeester photo studio CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Information Resource:  Wikipedia (Vulcanization, Rubber Band)

Cookie Crunch

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Traditions of cookie decorating can be traced back to the Middle Ages, and got a start in North America during the 17th century with the introduction of cookie cutters, molds and holiday decorating by Dutch and German settlers. About 200 years later, decorating cookies for Christmas gained popularity in America as more German-imported cookie cutters became available and cookbooks featured cookies cut in holiday inspired shapes sparked creativity in home kitchens. Today, the popularity of cookie decorating continues to grow during holidays throughout the world with all sorts of creations.

This holiday season, Zandy R (@pillbug) has been working on a cookie cookbook and experimenting with different iced cookie recipes and techniques (sugar cookie cut-outs decorated with royal icing).  You can do it, too.  Here are her cookie decorating tips:

it's fun to bake and decorate holiday cookies with these On2In2™ recipes and tips.

• Use your favorite sugar cookie and royal icing recipes, try something new or go nostalgic with a family recipe.  Find Zandy R’s (@pillbug) absolute favorite sugar cookie and royal icing recipes here → Roll & Cut Sugar Cookies.  If this is your first cookie decorating adventure, best to do a little research before starting. The Complete Photo Guide to Cookie Decorating by Autumn Carpenter

• It helps (a lot) to have the right equipment.  To decorate cookies with royal icing, you’ll need piping bags and/or squeeze bottles (a bunch, if using different colors) and a small offset spatula or rounded butter knife (to help spread the icing).  Also, toothpicks come in handy for tiny, precision work.

See Zandy’s favorite cookie baking tools below.  The stainless steel rolling pin eliminates the sticky dough problem by keeping the dough cool, the battery-powered sifter is genius, the 4-tier cooling rack is a great space saver during mega cookie baking projects, and the Kitchen Aid mixer—well, that’s really a dream machine.  For more information on any item, click/tap on the photo within the in the ad, and there’s a search box to help you find anything else your heart desires.


• Roll out cookie dough with a chilled rolling pin to avoid sticking.  Have fun cutting out a variety of cookie shapes     Holiday Cookie Cutters

• After cookies are baked and cooled, keep at least overnight (loosely covered with a sheet of parchment paper) before decorating.

• If using royal icing (as Zandy R did for her cookies), there are no quick short-cuts.  Let each application dry before applying the next one.  Check out Betty Crocker’s advice for decorating cookies with icing ⇒ here

• It’s a creative process of experimentation and experience, and that takes time and patience.  Don’t be afraid to try different techniques and colors because you’ll get better and better the more you decorate.

• When something goes wrong and you totally mess up a cookie, eat it immediately.

This page includes affiliate links to a shop website. If you purchase a product or service directly through the link, Zeester Media LLC may earn a small commission. This in no way affects the price you pay for the purchase.

 

 

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Feature photo courtesy of Gratisography CC0

Birds of America

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John James Audubon was a 19th Century artists and naturalist, and his "The Birds of America" publication is regarded as the greatest study of birds in history.
JJ Audubon by H.B Hall, PD

Some time around 1820, French-American artist and naturalist, John James Audubon (1785-1851) started work on a personal project to paint every bird species located in North America, using unique methods and materials as well as extensive field observations.  It was a tremendously challenging and costly endeavor, and many doubted Audubon’s ability to pull it off.  In fact, the idea would seem a little wild & crazy even today with 21st century technology.  But, Audubon was no ordinary guy. He was also totally committed to finding and illustrating every bird in North America for publication, working more than 15 years toward his goal and raising cash by teaching, selling art works, taking oil painting commissions, hunting and selling animal skins, and conducting exhibitions and demonstrations.

 

How to view and download John Audubon's extraordinarily beautiful illustrations in The Birds of America.
Common American Swan (The Birds of America, plate 411) is courtesy of the National Audubon Society, John James Audubon Center and Montgomery County Audubon Collection

The result of Audubon’s work is The Birds of America, first published in England as a series of 87 sets of prints between the years 1827 and 1838.  Now considered to be the greatest study of birds in history as well as one of the greatest examples of book art, the original publication included 435 hand-colored, life-sized prints of North American birds on handmade paper that were produced from copperplate etchings and engravings with water-coloring applied by assembly-line colorists.  An accompanying text (‘Ornithological Biography’) was written by Audubon and the Scottish ornithologist William MacGillvray and published separately in five volumes (1831-1839).

The cost of printing the first edition of The Birds of America was an amount equivalent to more than $2 million US dollars in today’s money.  Audubon financed the massive print project with pre-paid subscriptions, but only the wealthy could afford the subscription price which limited the publication to no more than 200 complete sets.  Consequently, more affordable editions were later produced using lithography and published during the mid-19th century.

 

‘The Birds of America’ will then raise in value as much as they are now depreciated by certain fools and envious persons.John James Audubon

 

Almost two centuries later, Audubon’s bird art is still captivating and revered among birders and art collectors, and his influence on ornithology and natural history has been widespread and enduring as The Birds of America and Ornithological Biography significantly contributed to the understanding of bird anatomy and behavior.  Watching the short video, ‘Audubon’s Birds of America’ from the Lost Birds Project, you’ll get a sense of the massive beauty of these works of art as David W. Carson, curator of the History of Science Collection at Cornell University, conducts a private viewing of The Birds of America.

 

A copy of the complete The Birds of America series is available FREE of charge for viewing and high-resolution downloading via ⇒⇒ the National Audubon Society’s digital library, courtesy of the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove in Audubon, Pennsylvania and the Montgomery County Audubon Collection.  Be sure to check it out, and let John Audubon inspire your own creative work.

Audubon’s personal copy of The Birds of America is held within the Stark Museum of Art Rare Books & Manuscripts Collections in Orange, Texas.  An original, complete series is on public display (one page is turned each week) in the Audubon Room of the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.  It was purchased by the university in 1839 for the astonishing price of $970 (equivalent to approximately $80,000 today).  Undoubtedly, a wise investment.  In December 2010, a complete first edition from a private collection was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in London for US$ 11.5 million (a record breaking auction price).

Other permanent public display locations:  Trinity College (Watkinson Library) in Hartford, Connecticut; University of Pittsburg (Hillman Library);  Liverpool Central Library;  Woodstock Inn in Woodstock, Vermont;  and the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University (Ewell Sale Stewart Library) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Look around– there are surely more opportunities for viewing a first edition as there are currently 107 held by institutions, and many periodically offer special exhibits.

Information/Resources:
The Life of John James Audubon: The Naturalist (1869) [FREE ebook] The primary source material for this biography was Audubon’s notes and journals, written/edited by Lucy Green Bakewell Audubon and Robert Williams Buchanan.  The JJ Audubon image is an engraving by H.B. Hall based on a portrait by Henry Inman that appears in the book.
John James Audubon – The Making of an American (2004) by Richard Rhodes*
Audubon’s ‘Birds of America’ at Yale:  Creating a masterwork one feather at a time.  Article by Mike Cummings, Yale News, June 30, 2015
Six of the birds illustrated by John Audubon in The Birds of America are now extinct, and many more are endangered.  Learn how you can help by visiting the National Audubon Society’s Action Center.
“Ornithological Biography” or an Account of the Habits of the Birds of the Birds of the United States of America Vol 4, (1838) by John James Audubon [FREE ebook].
Featured photo of Columbian Hummingbirds is from plate 425 of The Birds of America
Wikipedia:  The Birds of America

If you just can’t get enough about birds, there’s more here ⇒ Bird ID Challenge (test your birding skills);  Birdsong Melody  (the music and magic of the mockingbird);  The California Brown Pelican; and Fast and Fearless (the Hummingbird).

 

Audubon was the first, but there’s a new illustration of birds to get excited about!    The Wall of Birds* tells the remarkable story of artist Jane Kim’s 2,500 square-foot mural celebrating the diversity and evolution of birds at The Cornell Lab of Ornithology.  It took her 2 1/2 years to create the one-of-a-kind, life-size mural showcasing all 243 modern families of birds, and the book “is a visual feast, essential for those who love art, birds, and our natural world”.

 

 

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*Zeester Media LLC may receive a small commission for a book purchase you make via a link to Amazon within this page. This in no way affects the price you pay for the purchase.

Lost in Wars

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“The sun has gone
A long time ago
We’re waiting for the dawn
That will never show
Our hearts are getting hard
Souls covered by scars
We are made of stars
But we are lost in wars”

                                                                                                       —Battle Beast, Lost in Wars

 

2nd LT John Robert Holt, Jr (1978-2009) was a graduate of Luther Burbank High School in San Antonio, Texas and the University of Texas – San Antonio.  He served as a US Army combat medic in Iraq, and was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.

In the short video documentary, Vincent Valdez:  Excerpts for John, produced by filmmakers, Mark and Angela Walley, Vincent tells the story of his friendship with John Holt while he works to create a memorial to John and all the soldiers ‘lost in the fog of war’.

San Antonio native, Vincent Valdez, is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, and a recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant for Painters and Sculptors.  He focuses his creative work on cultural and historical themes with contemporary portrayals of human struggle, loss, sacrifice, war and injustice.  In recognition of excellence in the arts, Valdez was designated a ‘Texas State Artist’ in 2015 by the Texas State Legislature.  Exhibitions and collections include:  Museum of Fine Arts Houston, The Ford Foundation, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The National Portrait Gallery, Blanton Museum of Art, Parsons Paris, Bullock Texas State History Museum, OSDE Buenos Aires, the McNay Art Museum and Southwest School of Art.  [Vincent Valdez website →here]

John, oil-on-canvas by Vincent Valdez, 2010-2012.  It’s an intimate portrait of Vincent’s friend “in the midst of battle, an explosion and billowing smoke behind him, his eyes focused on an ominous sight that is invisible to the viewer and that anticipates John’s demise.” (Taina Caragol, co-curator, The Face of Battle: Americans at War)

Excerpts for John (2012) depicts the unfolding sequence of events and emotions Vincent Valdez experienced during his friend’s military funeral in a series of paintings created as an homage to Lieutenant Holt and “a eulogy for those who can’t find their way home”.

Information/Resources:

After more than a decade of war in the Middle East, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has become a critical health concern among American war veterans as the number of veterans seeking help for PTSD has dramatically increased and an estimated 18-22 veterans die from suicide each day.*

Soldiers of Conscience, Q&A What is PTSD & how to get help, PBS (October 2008)
PTSD Treatment for Veterans (treatment options & barriers to care) article by Miriam Reisman, NCBI, US National Library of Medicine (October 2016)*
National Center for PTSD:  US Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Families United: PTSD healing resources and helpful reference materials for veterans & families

 

In this collection of video documentaries, artists reveal thoughts and feelings about their work and living a creative life.Artists reveal thoughts and feelings about their work
and living a creative life in “Creative Perspectives”,
an On2In2™ collection of videos– FREE To WATCH, On-Demand

 

 

Go to next → Watch:  Introspection, an On2In2™ collection of videos featuring personal reflections on life that will move and inspire you — FREE To WATCH, On-Demand

 

 

 

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Feature photo is a screen shot taken from the video, Vincent Valdez:  Excerpts for John, produced by Walley Films

Inspired Photography

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Photography is an art form as well as a science with a history of technological development that goes back as far as the ancient Han Chinese and Greeks, and is now used in many fields of business, science and art.  Amateur photography, which began in the late 19th century with the introduction of a hand-held camera, has spread widely in the early 21st century with different platforms and equipment, and a cell phone as the key tool for making photography more accessible.  However, it’s not always easy to take a good photo despite all the new tech and imaging techniques.

Want to take better pics?  Watch and learn from professional photographers sharing their work, inspiration and creative ideas in a series of free-to-watch live broadcasts and video presentations.

Programming Note:  Sometimes it happens — scheduling changes or technical interruptions in a live broadcast.  Please check back for updates, and take a look at the Live Stream Program Guide for more On2In2™ streaming info.  If you miss the live stream broadcast of a program, a video recording is typically available to watch.  Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or on the video posts located on the media players below.

WATCH On2In2™

Our Journeys Into the Night: How We Found Ourselves in the Dark –  Chris Nicholson and Lance Keimig show and discuss the evolution of their photographic imagery over the course of 30 years, and tell the stories of how their careers and styles developed and how they became so intensely focused on nighttime photography.

If you missed the live stream broadcast of Our Journeys Into the Night, there’s still time to watch a video recording.  Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button located on the media player below ↓

 

If you missed the May 10 live stream broadcast of Connecting With Nature, there’s still time to learn what it takes to capture the beauty of nature with a great photograph.  Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button located on the media player below, and watch as nature photographer Mike Mezeul II shares the stories behind some of his favorite and most challenging images.  He also shares imagery from some of his wildest outings, including tornadoes, volcanoes and northern lights.

 

Michael Halsband’s talk was cancelled. Disappointing as we were all looking forward to it.  But, turned out OK because professional photographer Bruce Byers stepped in and discussed his work and methods.  Bruce believes that photography is a powerful artistic medium because it can change how people feel, what they see, and how they believe.  After seeing his work, you’ll begin to understand.  To watch, just click/tap the “Watch Again” button on the media player below ↓    

 

Whether you are a beginner or advanced in your photography skills, you’ve probably taken some beautiful images.  But, do you aspire to take your portfolio to the next level, add to a specific body of work, or even challenge yourself with a new technique or subject matter?

Travel Photography and the Self-Assignment inspires photographers at every level as seasoned travel photographer, Liz Groeschen, shares several short and long-term ‘self-assignments’ she gave herself while living in Seoul, South Korea and traveling through 30+ countries around the world, including her own backyard, New York City.  If you missed the March 21 live stream broadcast, there’s still time to watch a video recording.  Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button on the media player below ↓

 

If you missed the live stream broadcasts of Learning To Fly and Exploration for Landscape Photography, there’s still time to watch a video recording.  Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or the posts on the video players below ↓

 

 

Award-winning headshot photographer, Rod Goodman, shed light on the creation of a headshot in this discussion of both the technical and creative aspects of the subtle art form.  If you missed the live broadcast of How to be a Headshot Hotshot, there’s still time to watch a video recording of the event.  Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or the video post on the video player below ↓

 

Jeff Cable, a 5-time Olympic photographer and popular speaker, understands the challenges of close-up photography.  If you missed his live talk on how to take high-quality photos of small subjects, there’s still time to watch a video recording.  Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or post on the video player below ↓

 

American photographer Amy Arbus’ work has been published in more than 100 magazines, including Rolling Stone, The New York Times Magazine, and Vanity Fair, and is part of collections located in the New York Public Library and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.  She’s also published five books, including the award winning On the Street 1980-1990, The Inconvenience of Being Born, The Fourth Wall, and her most recent, After Images, an homage to modernism’s most iconic avant-garde paintings.  The books are available for purchase via Amazon → Amy Arbus Photography

In the presentation “The Photograph Not Taken”, Arbus talks about her instincts, thought process and technique while sharing favorite treasured photographs.  It’s a unique opportunity to learn from a gifted professional photographer.  Click/Tap “Watch Again” on the media player below ↓, and be patient or fast forward as it takes about 3-4 minutes for the talk to begin.     

 

Video and live stream lectures and lessons offer helpful advice from camera pros on how to take better photographsPhotography pros share travel, sports, outdoor photography know-how & more in these free-to-watch info-videos, Pro Photo Tips 

 

 

 

Photographers tell their stories and share their work and inspiration in this On2In2™ collection of videos.

Both professional and amateur photographers share their stories, work and inspiration in this On2In2™ collection of selected videos → Watch:  Photography

 

 

 

 

 

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Feature photo is courtesy of Pixabay/Pexels CC0
Photo of camera courtesy of Unsplash CC0

Editor’s Note:  Zeester Media LLC may receive a small commission for a purchase you make via the Amazon links within this page to Amy Arbus Photography or the discount camera equipment.  This in no way affects the price you pay for a purchase.

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