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Gregory Vinyard of Talent captured this image of an American White Pelican in flight at the Klamath Wildlife Refuge in early June 2008. The fibrous plate on the bird's bill has moss on it from fishing. Vinyard won eighth place in the 2008 Oregon Outdoors Wild Bird Photo Contest.

November 12, 2009

By David Smigelski

Mail Tribune

It's time again for bird lovers and nature photographers to show their stuff. We're kicking off our annual wild bird photo contest today, which could be your ticket to adventure and fame.

If you think we're kidding, just ask Jerry Pogue of Ashland, who won last year's grand prize with a photo of two sandhill cranes dancing on the snow near Howard Prairie Lake.

"I've been enjoying the publicity, definitely," says Pogue, a painter by trade who has been motivated to up his commitment to photography following last year's big win. "It was great to see my photos in the paper and have my friends calling.

"I haven't really gone into the business, but I put up a blog recently and I've been putting up my photos. It's exciting for me. I'm going to see how far I can take it."

Pogue's foray into the blogosphere can be viewed at poguephotography.blogspot.com. He has even created his own backyard bird studio, arranging foliage and creating a blind from which he can view birds as they come to feed.

"It's just a little makeshift blind where I can sit and enjoy it," Pogue says. "It allows me to control the lighting ... it just keeps on snowballing."

In addition to his winning photo, Pogue entered an action shot last year of two Western Grebes taken at Moore Park in Klamath Falls. That shot received enough votes from readers and the Mail Tribune's expert judges that it also would have won a prize, except that the rules prohibit a single entrant from winning more than one prize in a given year.

Pogue was glad to hear he's eligible to enter again this year, however. He hasn't decided which photos he'll enter, but it sounds like he has a few ideas up his sleeve. He drove down to Montague, Calif., this summer when he heard that a European white stork had been spotted in Siskiyou County. The rare sighting caused a flurry of excitement among birders, and after a three-hour search, Pogue managed to find and photograph the bird. He's not sure the shot is contest worthy, though.

"It's a rare thing to see, but I like a little more action," Pogue says.

2009 WILD BIRD PHOTO CONTEST DETAILS

The prize sponsors once again this year are Wild Birds Unlimited and Total Camera and Video.

To enter, fill out a registration form and upload your photos on our Web site at www.mailtribune.com/birdcontest, or submit them on a CD or DVD, and drop them off at Wild Birds Unlimited, 712 Crater Lake Ave.; Total Camera and Video at Harry and David's Country Village by the south Fred Meyer; or at The Mail Tribune, 111 N. Fir St., Medford.

Once the entries are in, Mail Tribune readers can vote for their favorite photos online. Readers will have a 50-percent say in who wins. Our panel of expert judges will account for the other 50 percent of the score.

The grand prize is a Vortex Nomad 20-60x60 (angled) spotting scope, retail value of $379, from Wild Birds Unlimited.

First place receives an Olympus Stylus 1050sw waterproof digital camera from Total Camera and Video, valued at $299.

Second place receives a $100 gift card from Wild Birds Unlimited.

Entries must be received by 4 p.m., Dec. 11. On that day we'll kick off a week of online voting, which closes Dec. 18 at 4 p.m. The winning photos will be published Dec. 24 in Oregon Outdoors.

OFFICIAL RULES

1) Only photographs of wild birds are eligible.

2) Birds must be photographed in the wild (no zoo photos or pictures of tethered birds, caged birds or dead birds mounted by taxidermy).

3) The contest is open to everyone except employees of the Mail Tribune, Wild Birds Unlimited and Total Camera and Video.

4) You can enter as many photos as you like; however, each photographer is eligible to win only one award.

5) The entrant of the photo must be the photographer who shot the photo.

6) Only digital (jpeg) photos are eligible, submitted in RGB mode. If you shoot film, the photo must be scanned and submitted in digital format.

7) Entries must be accompanied by an entry form that includes the photographer's name, phone, address and e-mail address.

8) Please include the species name of the bird(s), the location where the photo was taken, the type of camera and lens used, the film speed (if not digital) and, if possible, the shutter speed and lens opening.

9) Digital photos may be enhanced using tools such as exposure control, cropping and sharpening. Other major or obvious enhancements may render the photo ineligible. This will be a decision of the judges and all decisions are final.

Even though the greatest care will be taken with all photos, the Mail Tribune, Wild Birds Unlimited and Total Camera and Video are not responsible for lost or damaged entries.

CRITERIA

The judges will use the following criteria for grading all photos entered:

1) Composition

2) Technical quality (sharpness, depth of field, exposure, etc.)

3) How well the photo captures the essence of the bird

If you have questions, e-mail Mail Tribune Features Editor David Smigelski at dsmigelski@mailtribune.com or call 541-776-8784.

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