Boston Flora

Tag: Nikon

  • Saturday, January 25, 5:00 am – 5:00 pm – Superbowl of Birding

    Winter is a wonderful time to bird in northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire. In celebration of this season, the Joppa Flats Education Center, 1 Plum Island Turnpike, Newburyport,  is hosting the Superbowl of Birding XI on Saturday, January 25, 2014 – 5am to 5pm (Snow date: Sunday, January 26).

    Superbowls I-X were great successes with teams from as far away as Delaware and Pennsylvania participating. The challenge is renewed this year, with prizes awarded in ten categories!

    This is a unique competition to find the greatest number of species and to earn the greatest number of points based on the rarity of the birds recorded. The Nikon Joppa Cup is awarded to the team that collects the most points by the end of the specified 12-hour birding day. Strategy and planning are essential in order to win this competition.

    The event consists of activities targeted for all levels of birders. Expert birders can compete for a number of awards, including the Nikon Joppa Cup, Essex County Award, or Rockingham County Award. Teams with young birders 18 years old or younger can vie for the Seekers Award. The Fledgling Award encourages young families to participate. Nikon is the lead sponsor, and complete information may be found at http://www.massaudubon.org/get-outdoors/wildlife-sanctuaries/joppa-flats/news-events/superbowl-of-birding.

    http://www.massaudubon.org/var/ezdemo_site/storage/images/site_ma/get-outdoors/wildlife-sanctuaries/joppa-flats/joppa-flats-gallery/superbowl-of-birding/160958-1-eng-US/superbowl-of-birding_gallerymedium.jpg

  • Saturday, April 2, 9:30 am – 4:00 pm – Creative Flower Photography

    Unfulfilled by your flower photographs? Discover your artistic side in this Saturday, April 2 one-day, hands-on workshop at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive, Boylston, Massachusetts with fine-art photographer Joel Shore of MetWest Gallery. Learn how lighting and composition improves your photos, experiment with iridescent glass and reflections, explore how to get closer to your subject, and discover why seeing less lets you see so much more. Do you have flower photos you love, or ones that disappointed? Bring them in!

    A digital single lens reflex (DSLR) camera and tripod are required. A macro lens is strongly recommended. A cable or wireless shutter release is preferred, but your camera’s self-timer will suffice. Point-and-shoot cameras are not recommended unless they allow you to set both the shutter speed and aperture manually. We plan to have a variety of Lensbaby lenses in Canon and Nikon mounts available.

    This is an all-day ( 9:30 – 4:30) workshop. For lunch, we recommend Tower Hill Botanic Garden’s own Twigs Café. Alternatively, you can bring your own lunch. The closest fast-food establishment is in Clinton, a 14-mile round-trip drive. Workshop price is $80 for THBG members, $90 for non-members. To register (and this class fills quickly – a February session was sold out before The Garden Club of the Back Bay web site even had a chance to publicize it!) log on to www.towerhillbg.org.