News/Upcoming Meeting Newsletter
Fall 2008 Speaker Announced!!
Mark your calendars, November 22, 2008 for the fall GPNP meeting with Rick Sammon from Outdoor Photographer magazine. The meeting will be at the Great Plains Nature Center in Wichita, KS and Sammon is being sponsored by Canon. Sammon's website is at www.ricksammon.com
38th Annual RIVERS and WILDLIFE CELEBRATION
Friday thru Sunday, March 14th – 16th, 2008
Holiday Inn, Kearney, NE
Presented by Audubon’s Rowe
Sanctuary
Speakers include:
Robert Bateman – Wildlife Artist
Donald Kroodsma – Author of “The Singing Life od Birds”
James Mallman – President of Watchable Wildlife, Inc.
Field trips available including time in a blind at Rowe
Info at:
Nebraska@audubon.org www.nebraska.audubon.org
Or contact the Rowe Sanctuary at 308-468-5282 and www.rowesanctuary.org
This is not sponsored by GPNP – Just informational only
Wanted: Photos of Kansas Birds
for
“Birds of Kansas”
By Max C. Thompson, Charles A. Ely, Eugene Young, David Seibel, Sebastian Patti, Bob Gress, and Chuck Otte
In 1989, Max C. Thompson and Charles A. Ely co-authored “Birds in Kansas, Volume 1”. This was followed by Volume 2 in 1992. These volumes encompassed the 426 species known from the state at that time. Since then, 44 species have been added to the state list making a total of 470 species. These additional species and the enormous amount of data and information gathered by the state birdwatchers and ornithologists are enough to warrant a new book on Kansas birds. The new book will feature an 8.5” X 11” page layout and the finished volume will be approximately 550 pages. The book will be illustrated by professional quality photographs, taken mostly by Kansas photographers.
Timeline:
August 2007 Photo request and initial submissions from Kansas photographers.
August 2008 Final submissions from Kansas photographers are due.
Photo requests will be circulated for the remaining images.
December 2008 Deadline for all photos and text from co-authors.
2009 Thompson and Ely to collate final text.
Text and photos submitted to the University Press of Kansas.
2010 Expected publication
Photos needed:
Each of the 470 species of Kansas birds will be illustrated by a color photograph. A current Kansas Checklist of birds can be found at www.ksbirds.org on the Kansas County Checklist Project Page. The list is available in various formats including PDF, RTF, Word and WordPerfect. Only one photo will be used for each bird species. The photograph can illustrate the male or female, adult or juvenile, or any color morph. The photographs do not need to be taken in Kansas but must have backgrounds consistent with the Kansas landscape. Digital images are preferred but color slides are also acceptable. Color prints will not be accepted. Images submitted will be used only for the book, a website version of the book (probably on the KOS website), and for book promotional efforts.
Photo selection procedure:
Initial photo submissions will be reviewed by Bob Gress. Photographs with appropriate quality, appeal, and resolution will advance to the next step in the selection process. The final selections will be made by a committee.
Photo payment:
Sorry, no payment will be made for photographs. A complimentary copy of the book will be provided to any photographer with at least one image used in the book.
Photographers Release Form:
Photographers whose images will be used in the book will eventually need to sign a release form for the University Press of Kansas.
Digital submission guidelines:
Submit no more than 2 photos of each species. Image size must be at least 1,200 X 1,800 pixels for a typical horizontal or vertical image. Files may be either JPEG’s or TIFF’s. Each image must be appropriately labeled. Label the image starting with the species name (copied exactly from the checklist) followed by an underscore and then your name. Additional file information can follow your name. Following is a sample of an image file label:
Golden-winged Warbler_Bob Gress_060617_1037Kansas.jpg
Submit images on either CD’s or DVD’s. I’ll keep the discs until the project is completed. Let me know if you want the discs returned.
Slide submission guidelines:
Submit no more than 2 photos of each species. Submitted images must be originals (no duplicates). Each slide must bear the photographers name and the species name. Mail the slides in archival plastic slide sheets that hold 20 slides each. (If you don’t have these plastic slide sheets, let me know how many slides you intend to mail and I’ll send you the appropriate number. My contact information is at the bottom of this page.) I’ll review the slides, scan the slides that make it through the first selection process, and return all of your originals.
Photo want-list update:
Once you send your initial submission I will put you on an email list for periodic updates. These updates will keep you informed of photos still needed. With time before the final submission deadline of August 2008, hopefully you will concentrate your photography on photos of the missing species.
Note: Make sure I have your email address!
Submit your photos ASAP to the following address:
Birds of Kansas Photos
Bob Gress, Director
Great Plains Nature Center
6232 E. 29th N.
Wichita, KS 67220
If you have any questions feel free to contact me.
316-683-5499 X 106