Registered: Jul 26, 2008
Total Posts: 2651
Country: United States
...Porfolio 19
Finally, I have something to share with my fellow FMers! I know I've been absent from the forum of late, and I probably missed a post, or two. 
Frankly, at times, I felt that my dear friends had turned on me and made me feel not belonging here. Anyhow, let's forget about the bad and focus on the good.
Yesterday I received in the mail my certificate award and my own copy of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Portfolio 19 BBC book. I was invited to attend the award ceremony in London and spend a week of activities at the Natural History Museum but unfortunately could not make it to England due to scheduling and work assignments. However, it still is fascinating to see my photo of the Teals looking so beautiful in the book, as do many other photos from other award-winning photographers. I feel privileged and humbled to be in the company of great professional wildlife photographers such as Michael Nichols, Andy Rouse (2009), and Arthur Morris (1997) just to name a few. It was beyond my expectation that I even made it this far at all.
This is me and my prizes. In my hand is the hard-cover book from the BBC. Behind me is the certificate award hanging on the wall, and my picture of the Great Egret that got published in National Geographic Magazine a couple of months ago.
I'd like to share this award with my friends (you know who you are) who have believed in me, even though I've had very limited resources (equipment, time for shooting, and travels to exotic locations).
Speaking of equipment, a quick browse through the book revealed that the supposedly "inferior" brand supplied the cameras of choice for more than half of the award-winning photos. The Nikon D300 was most popular, with a distant second shared by the respective once-flagships Nikon D3 and Canon 1D Mark III. Third was also split between Nikon D2X and Canon 1Ds Mark II. The list goes on with D200, 5D, 40D, 1Ds MkIII, 1D MkII, D80, D3X... I was surprised to see a couple of P&S cameras and even a 27-year old film camera (Nikon FG). The grandprize winner even used a Hasselblad for wildlife
photography. As expected, the majority of photographers used intermediate to long telephoto lenses (200mm, 300mm, 400mm, 500mm), although several outstanding photos were created using very wide lenses.
- The Teals photo was taken right in my local "backyard" Bolsa Chica, so I'd like to send a dedication to the Bolsa gang. I noticed that Floris (our FM member) is also one of the winners. CONGRATS Floris! Hope to meet you at Bolsa someday.
- I'm not sure if it's available at Barnes & Nobles or other bookstores in the U.S. or not, but I know it's available online now at Amazon.com . The layout is great and the design is very nice, I think it would make a good collector's item for nature and wildlife lovers.
I hope this post will send a positive message to all of us on the N&W board. Hope to see many of you in future competitions. The sky is the limit!
Your friendly neighborhood photographer,
Andy
Peace, Love, and Happiness
www.ndshow.com
Congratulations Andy! 
