July 2008: Bill Schmoker
I’ve always enjoyed nature and the outdoors, but birds and bird photography have captured the lion’s share of my attention, outside of family and work, for nearly a decade. I have also been keenly interested in photography since elementary school, but I left my film days behind when I began photographing birds digitally in 2001. I usually employ an opportunistic approach to bird and wildlife photography that emphasizes organisms in their natural surroundings and capturing interesting behaviors on camera. I rarely use a tripod, opting instead for the speed and agility afforded by hand-holding my gear (and relying heavily on image-stabilizing technology!).
About Bill
Bill Schmoker is perhaps best known in the birding community as a leading digital photographer of birds. Since late 2001 he has built a collection of bird photos documenting over 550 species of North American birds, which can be seen on his website (http://schmoker.org/BirdPics) and blog (http://brdpics.blogspot.com). His photography has appeared in many publications including Colorado Birds, Birding, Birder’s World, WildBird, North American Birds, National Wildlife, Bird Conservation, Audubon, British Birds, Birdwatch, and Western Birds. His pictures have also been featured in photographic field guides, bird ID cards, newspapers, interpretive signs, web pages (including the ABA’s home page), advertisements, corporate logos, and as references for art works.
Other birding experiences of Bill’s include several summers conducting fieldwork for the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, presenting bird photography workshops, giving bird talks, leading field trips, and working with Leica Sport Optics as a digiscoping consultant and optics rep. Bill is a leader and outdoor instructor for NestlingTours, and an instructor for the Audubon Society of Greater Denver’s Master Birder Program. He has also enjoyed his involvement with the ABA’s Institute for Field Ornithology and with their youth program, coordinating field trips for the 2006 Young Birder Conference in Fort Collins and judging the photo module of the Young Birder of the Year contest for several years running. Bill is a Colorado/Wyoming regional editor for North American Birds, authors the “Geared for Birding” column in the ABA’s newsletter, Winging It, wrote a chapter for Good Birders Don’t Wear White, and serves as president of the Colorado Field Ornithologists. When he isn’t out birding Bill teaches middle school science.
