About Us

> Welcome to the Cornell Nature Photography web site. Photography presents the unique opportunity to combine technology and my interests in nature and birding. Birds are fun to watch, incredibly interesting in their behavior and ever changing plumage, and rarely fail to be a surprise. A reliable indicator of the health of our planet, birds, with their beauty, fragility, and ability to survive in an increasingly hostile environment, are a constant source of amazement. I enjoy photographing other wildlife, but birds, with their unbelievable variety, are truly my favorites.

> I became interested in photography in high school and continued through college, shooting mostly sports, usually (at the risk of dating myself) with a Speed Graphic. My intention was to make it a career. As frequently happens, events nudge you in different directions, and I became a commercial pilot, spending much of my life looking at the earth from five or six miles up, rather than through a camera lens. After trying retirement once or twice, I decided to return to photography, where I could combine my camera skills with my love of nature. Shooting with film required setting up a dark room, so I switched to a digital camera fairly early in the development of digital photography. One of the things I enjoyed in my early years in photography was dark room work, and the digital format allows the control of a darkroom, but without dealing with the chemicals.

> I spend as much time as possible in the field since it is such a pleasure to be out. There is rarely a bad day spent outdoors. With all photography, if you are not there, you won't get the shot. If you are there, it still might not happen, but sometimes I capture the moment and get to share that glimpse of something wild with others. Hopefully some of my work will help protect the habitat and environment of my subjects.

> I have been published in Birders World, Bird Watcher's Digest, and I have appeared in the Canadian Wilderness Committee Endangered Wildlife Calendar. I also sell fine art prints through the Wild Side Gallery in Key West, Florida, and I am represented by Visuals Unlimited, a photo stock agency.

John Cornell