Projects
100 Bird list(2018)
The 100 bird list project was one that I completed throughout the entirety of 2018. My goal was to originally photograph 100 bird species throughout the summer exclusively, then as the summer came to an end, I realized this wasn't an obtainable task. So I decided to extend my challenge to the rest of 2018 to also be ale to include the migratory birds in the winter.
What made this challenging is the fact I had to balance this project along with my college classes and work at the time. I was attempting to also photograph all 100 species exclusively in Delaware to help highlight the bird species variety and range my native state has. Sitting comfortably in the middle of the East Coast migratory path for over 100 bird species, Delaware sees upwards of 400 different bird species throughout the calendar year. While a birding culture is present in Delaware, it's not as prominent as you would imagine given how crucial Delaware is as a birding layover during winter and summer migrations.
I attempted to capture most of the species in their natural habitat(i.e. a swamp, backyard, forest, beach, etc.) to show off where they can be found and what their behavior is like. I tried to tell more than just, "This is a bird". I wanted to show people what the species in it's typical environment looked like!
While working on the project...
-I was shooting for roughly 65 hours and 14 minutes
-I traveled a total of 1,579 miles in Delaware alone
-Took around 34 trips out to shoot
-and photographed over 100 birds
It was an interesting experience learning so much about the bird species as I was hunting them down throughout my state. As well as, actually exploring and discovering nature spots in my state that I had previously never knew existed! The project was featured in Delaware's largest news outlet, The News Journal, and as an exhibit in Delaware's Natural History Museum in early 2019.
On December 30th, two days before my deadline, I completed my photo list of 100 birds in Delaware while standing on a freezing cold beach with a killer cough and even worse migraine. I could've prioritized my health and stayed inside, falling short of my goal. But that's not my style...
Side note: The gallery above does not include all 100 bird photos, but instead what I deem to be the best of the bunch.
All the shots taken were also shot with my Canon Rebel T5 and 75-300mm lens.
My project featured on the cover of The News Journal after I completed the project.
My project featured on Delaware Online's website right before I completed the project on Dec. 30th 2018.
My project featured on the cover of The News Journal after I completed the project.
A selfie i took at Delaware's Indian River Inlet beach as I completed my project on Dec. 30th 2018.
Me seeing my project featured in Delaware's Museum of Natural History. I worked with the very kind museum staff to help put together a small powerpoint highlighting my project!
Bird Species Vulnerability to Extinction Based on their Diets and Hunting Techniques(2019)
This project was one that I worked on during a three week span in August of 2019. As part of the University of Delaware Summer Research Fellowship Program, my documentary was funded a grant and I given free creative reign on the project.
With the knowledge obtained throughout my previous bird-related project, I was able to find most of the bird species desired to complete the documentary. All aspects of the video are accredited to myself, excluding the music.
When applying for the research grant, I wanted to work on a project that I had some deep interest in, but at the same time i figured would be interesting to others as well. I wasn't reinventing the wheel with this project, nor the information relayed in it. I have just always been extremely interested in evolution and the theories that go along with it, so I figured I would tie this project in with my fascination. I also wanted to help bring more attention to how important Delaware is as a birding state and the vulnerability to the bird species within it.
I shot all the clips in Delaware exclusively, and shot them on my Canon Rebel T5 using varying lenses. In hindsight, there is a lot I would change or add to the documentary to help it flow better and be of better quality.
I really enjoyed working on this project due to it being my first documentary over 5 minutes long and requiring a decent bit of grinding and traveling.
While it was intended to be a project worked on throughout the entirety of summer break, an internship I had as a photographer for The News Journal kept me busy most of the week. As a result, around 90% of the documentary was filmed and worked on in a two week span prior to the research's deadline. After concluding my internship, I worked on filming, writing, editing, and recording nearly 16 hours a day for those two weeks in hopes of grinding out a satisfactory documentary. The last week of editing I didn't leave my house once, unless it was to get food. Waking up at 8-9am, I would organize/edit until lunch, then organize/edit more until around 2-3 am, sleep and repeat.