AND THAT'S HOW I BECAME A BIRDER

I think it was in elementary school that I nicknamed myself "Joe Cool."  Being cool was (and is) always pretty important to me.  According to my family (and some friends), my cool points took a serious hit when joined the camera club.  I guess people liken it to the AV Club.  But truth be told, the  South Shore Camera Club includes some incredibly talented and creative photographers.  Not to mention they are generous with their knowledge, kind and fun-loving.  Any success that I have had as a photographer, I owe to the members and speakers that have graced our club.  One subject I NEVER thought would interest me was nature photography.  And even more specifically, photographing birds.  An outsider might think "birding" is for the birds but in reality, I have found it quite fascinating and now that I am living on a pond, I'm learning by leaps and bounds that there's a lot that goes into identifying and photographing birds.  I recently noticed some small black and white birds on Straits Pond and learned that they are called Bufflehead ducks.  They had eluded my camera until early Sunday morning, when I clawed my way through the cattails, armed with my 100-400mm lens and a monopod.  I hope to go back to do a bit better but the light was good and I was pretty happy with these for a first attempt.  Turns out, birding is pretty cool.