It was 1981. I was fishing on the American River in Sacramento, California. As the first light of dawn began to shimmer on the surface of the river, a ray of golden morning sunlight illuminated a solitary Great Blue Heron in the mist.
That was the day I traded my fishing rod for a camera and my passion for bird photography and birding began. The beauty and behavior of birds has fascinated me ever since. And this fascination, combined with the challenge of photographing these often reticent subjects, has fueled a lifetime’s worth of remarkable encounters with these elegant creatures.
Ken Salzman has been birding and photographing birds for almost 40 years. He currently teaches birding and photography classes at Whatcom Community College and annually conducts bird photography workshops at Wings Over Water: the Northwest Birding Festival. His work has been published in various periodicals and utilized by the Nature Conservancy. See more of his wildlife photography at kensalzman.zenfolio.com.