Announcing the Obscured Bird Contest!
I enjoyed all the pictures that were submitted for our first GBP Contest of birds eating so much that I decided to do another one. You could win $100 just in time for Christmas! As an extra bonus you might randomly win $25 just for submitting a picture on GreatBirdPics. Here’s how the contest will work:
Obscured Bird Contest
Sometimes I try to challenge myself when taking photographs of birds in the wild by taking shots of birds that are obscured by branches, bushes, snow, etc. I use these opportunities to practice manually focusing the camera. My keeper rate is pretty low but I feel pretty good when one turns out well.
Starting today and going through December 18th I invite you to enter the GreatBirdPics Obscured Bird Contest. XWinger and I will be the judges once again and the winner will be announced on Friday, December 22nd and will receive $100. Of course all GBP members can “influence” our decision by checking the Latest Pics section and commenting on any submissions. No strings attached – the photographer will still retain rights to the picture.
An obscured bird is one which is partially covered by something. It could be a branch, fence, another bird, leaf, snow – anything that covers part of the subject bird. I’ve included a couple of my pictures below as examples. Q&A about the contest:
- How many pictures can I submit? As many as you want.
- Do the pictures have to be new or can I use ones I’ve previously shared on GreatBirdPics? New submissions only (but could have been taken before December 18th).
- How do I submit a picture? Login to your GreatBirdPics.com account (or join as a new member). Pull down the My Account menu and select Upload Photo.
If you have any questions about this you can always reply to this email or enter your question at the bottom of this post in the Blog section of the website. Good Luck!
10,000th Picture Prize!
Believe it or not the GreatBirdPics collection is approaching 10,000 wonderful bird pictures! Thresholds like this excite me so here’s an extra bonus – whoever submits the 10,000th photo will win $25. It doesn’t matter if it is part of the Obscured Bird Contest or not – just whoever submits the 10,000th photo will win! Share away!
Obscured Bird Examples
Here are some of my Obscured Bird pics to give you an idea of what the contest is all about. A White Ibis in Hilton Head, SC obscured by branches. Note that the eyes are unobscured – very important!
This Field Sparrow was obscured by branches, although I was able to get a good focus on the eye. I think the shadows create an interesting effect on the body of the bird.
Birds were foraging in the dead limbs in my backyard. This Tree Sparrow is popping its head above a snow-covered branch.
The Tree Sparrow was able to find some seeds to feed on within the snow-covered tangle in our garden.
A White-throated Sparrow was really buried in the tangle of some bushes. You can barely see the bird but the whole mess seems interesting to me.
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