It all started out innocently, as most things do.  This adventure started with me seeing a simple Facebook post.  A friend shared that the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory (https://www.gcbo.org/) was having an on-line experience auction as a fundraiser.  I bid on a few of the experiences, not expecting to be the high bidder, but I won a day of raptor photography with Bill Clark down in south Texas in January or February of 2022.  With Covid 19 rates going back up exponentially, I was a little worried.  But I figured I could take some food, eat mostly drive-through food, and interact with just a very few people – mostly outdoors.  So, in early January, I made plans with Bill, plans to visit the “birthplace” of the Texas photo ranch with Patty Raney, and plans to swing by a cool National Wildlife Refuge on my way home.  

Day 1 – Travel and Little Oasis Casita

I loaded my truck with camera gear, and headed south – for hours and hours!  It was as smooth and easy a trip to the Rio Grande Valley, as I have ever made – right at 11 hours of driving time.

My first non-gasoline stop at the Little Oasis Casita (https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/26024563?source_impression_id=p3_1642616685_TEXTz6YnymeTxIwQ&guests=1&adults=1) where I’d be staying.  I booked the Little Oasis Casita through AirBnB, and it was perfect!  It wasn’t far off of Interstate 2, close to lots of food options, but in a quieter suburban area.  The property actually had 2 casitas on it, though I was the only renter while I was there.  (The other casita is called Birders Paradise – https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/48103467?check_in=2022-02-18&check_out=2022-02-20&federated_search_id=e9713b4d-f7b1-4f40-836c-e630bf28cb79&source_impression_id=p3_1642617357_nB6Wuos7pTs5OJ4s&guests=1&adults=1 ).  The casita was very clean, well appointed, and had a whole shelf of south Texas bird books!  The hosts were great! 

The property also had at LEAST 17 bird feeders and 5 bird baths, all with fresh food or water.  When I pulled through the fence, I saw birds – lots of birds.  I did manage to spend an hour photographing right from the parking area.  In that hour, I saw green jays, great kiskadees, black-crested titmice, long-billed thrashers, 5 species of doves, and more.  Lots of Rio Grande Valley specialties right where I was staying!  There was also a small flock of chacalacas that roosted in the Texas wild olive right by the porch of my casita.  I saw them every morning or night, but never in “good” light – I needed to be there in the evening when they fed through the yard before going to roost.  That was my biggest problem at the Little Oasis Casita – that I didn’t spend enough time there!  I also saw parrots fly overhead – and saw a flock of 70+ green parakeets a couple of miles away.  I also saw a few red-crowned parrots.  I kept meaning to make time to photograph the parrots, but I never was ready or had time when I saw them.  I also made a decision that I’d rather have good pictures of some of the Rio Grande Valley specialties than spend time getting an “okay” image of the two true rarities that I was within a very few miles of – a social flycatcher and a bat falcon.

Day 2 – Raptor Photography with Bill Clark

Bill Clark (http://www.raptoursllc.com/guides/bill-clark)came to pick me up the next morning, and off we went to find some raptors!  The fog was just burning off.  We didn’t make it very far at all (less than a mile) before we found a Cooper’s hawk perched in the sun trying to dry off the morning fog/mist.

Bill knew where a LOT of Rio Grande Valley raptors liked to spend their winter.  We made a loop through a neighborhood and picked up a very cooperative gray hawk – which also happened to be banded and wearing a radio transmitter.  We opted to not try for the flock of parrots (because I KNEW that I’d have plenty of chances to photograph them later – which sure didn’t happen!).  I’m not exactly sure where and all we drove, but I bet we covered 200 or more miles – most of it on county roads – and saw HUNDREDS of raptors, including a pair of Aplomado falcons.  We did a little back-tracking to see some areas in different light, but I know we saw Harlingen, Rio Hondo, Los Fresnos, Laguna Vista, Arroyo City, Raymondville, and more!  We stopped and photographed well over 30 groups of raptors, opting to skip a few because of traffic, and others because of lighting.

I didn’t use a short lens all day, but I did grab a few shots with my cell phone.  For the most part, we were shooting out of the vehicle window on bean bags, though at times we did stop, and I’d pull out the tripod.  Some of my favorite shots included Harris’ hawks and a peregrine falcon with a mourning dove.  The Aplomado falcons were a pretty good distance away, and the best shots I got of them had to be cropped down, even using a 600 mm lens with a 2x teleconverter on a crop factor body (1800 mm lens equivalent!).

I think the favorite thing I saw was a flock of hawks feeding over a burning sugar cane field.  There were at LEAST 72 white-tailed hawks, 2 red-tailed hawks, a few great crested caracaras, and a few vultures.  The white-tailed hawks were catching large flying grasshoppers on the wing and eating them.  The birds congregated again when the field was picked, but the picking crew had shut down about the time we got to the field where they were harvesting the sugar cane.

When Bill brought me back to the Little Oasis Casita, he was kind enough to sign some of his raptor books for me!

Day 3 – Martin Refuge Photography with Patty Raney

Patty Raney is a great photographer and naturalist who is the main guide at the Martin Refuge (as well as guiding on a few other photo ranches as well).  I was to meet Patty shortly after daylight at the gate to the Martin Refuge – only a scant few miles north of the Rio Grande River.  Day three started off cold, windy, and darkly overcast – and remained that way pretty much all day as Patty had predicted the day before.  However, knowing overcast days allow for great photo detail (if not great shutter speed) and having been cold before, I opted to go ahead with my visit to the Martin Refuge (https://martinrefuge.com/index.html).  I consider the Martin Refuge to be the “home” of the Texas photographic ranch.  John and Audrey Martin’s land ethic and desire to share the ecology of the area through wildlife photography drove what became the Images for Conservation Fund (https://imagesforconservation.org/) and the concept of photo ranches and contests that has resulted in so many great images, and a lot of conserved land and better educated people.

We started off the day in a “raptor” blind, though raptors were certainly not the only things that showed up!  Harris’s hawks, crested caracaras, turkey, and black vultures photo opportunities were present in spades!  A large female coyote came to visit a few times as well.  There was a plethora of songbirds coming, which included several Rio Grande Valley specialties like green jays, great kiskadees, golden-fronted woodpeckers, black-crested titmice, pyrrhuloxia, lark sparrows, and more!

After lunch and a quick tour of the rest of the Martin Refuge (during which we saw several deer, including one very nice, mature buck), we repaired to our afternoon blind of choice to target more small birds.  I think all of the mornings’ suspects (less the pyrrhuloxia) showed up along with a few other species like curve-billed thrasher, long-billed thrasher, and white-tipped dove.  The green jays were especially cooperative.  We had another coyote within a few yards of the blind, but I moved waaaay to fast for it to be comfortable posing for a shot.  The white-tailed buck that materialized in front of the blind, did cooperate for several frames before melting into the thick, spiny Texas brush country.  And as we finished up the day, one of the peccary herds came out to feed back at the palapa.

Day 4 – Non-photography, Travel, and Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge

I had planned to photograph more birds around the Little Oasis Casita on my last morning in the Rio Grande Valley.  Unfortunately, it was foggy, misty, and overcast again with the fog not predicted to lift until the late morning.  I sat on the porch of the casita as the plain chachalacas started stirring on their roost before gliding down and feeding right in front of me when it was still MUCH too dark for a decent image – though I did grab a cell phone shot or three…  I waited more as other birds began to call, and kept checking the weather before deciding that rather than sit and twiddle my thumbs for 3+ hours waiting on the fog to lift, I could have ¼ of my drive back home out of the way – plus arriving at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge a little ahead of schedule – so I started out.

Driving north wasn’t bad, and I turned around a few times for deer, peccaries, and feral hogs in the pastures along the road.  They all placidly fed until my truck would slow down, and then they would either melt into the cover or leave in a high gear.  Unfortunately, the closer I got to Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge (https://www.fws.gov/refuge/anahuac/), the drearier the day got until it was misting rain off-and-on.  Anahuac NWR is in Texas’ coastal chenier or prairie and has lots of cool waterfowl, wading birds, sparrows, and more because of it’s management of grazing, prescribed fire, and water levels.  And a lot of those birds are accessible along a wildlife drive or internal refuge gravel roads.  A lot of the smaller winter birds were deep in cover as the rain came and went, but there were a few photo opportunities for waterfowl, wading birds, and even another peregrine falcon.  However, an hour before I had planned to be done photographing (based on sunset), it got too dark to photograph well and the rain started falling.  Rather than go check into a local inn for more photography the next morning as planned, I realized that I could be home only a few hours after my normal bedtime if everything went well, so back to the road I went, and I got to sleep in my own bed!

The only problem that I had with this whole trip was that I really should have spent more days everywhere I went!  I guess it’s just another reason to go back!

CAT ISLAND BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY EXPERIENCE
MARCH 6-8, 2020

 

SUMMARY
Shore Thing Charters and Wildlife Mississippi are working to provide a later winter/early spring bird photography opportunity off the coast of Mississippi.  Shore Thing Charters has a fleet of 7 comfortable bay boats, and a long history of quality fishing and touring excursions based out of Cat Island – their famous “Cat Island Experience.”  Wildlife Mississippi has a project called “Focus on the Wild Side” that is designed to enhance access to wildlife photography opportunities in Mississippi.  Robert Smith, Wildlife Mississippi’s Coastal Program Coordinator, has been photographing wildlife for over 30 years, and leading bird photography outings for over 15 years.  For more information about Shore Thing Charters’ Cat Island Experience, visit:  http://shorethingcharters.com/the-cat-island-experience/.  For more about Robert Smith’s photography, visit:  http://www.photobiologist.com. For more about Wildlife Mississippi’s coastal projects, visit: http://www.wildlifemiss.org/Habitat/Coastal.aspx.

The Mississippi barrier islands are known for their beauty and wildlife.  Their environs hold great numbers of wintering shorebirds and some sizeable flocks of winter waterfowl.  Shorebirds will be a focus, but if the opportunity presents itself for waterfowl photography, that option will be pursued as well.  Other wildlife, such as osprey, raccoons, and wading birds are also common.  Scenic shots abound, as do opportunities for still life photography.

DESCRIPTION
Our photographic adventure will be based out of the Cat Island house.  We will have 4 photographic outings with 2 licensed captains in 2 of Shore Thing Charters’ bay boats.  We will plan to visit mud flats and beaches on Cat Island that are known to host loafing and feeding shorebirds, wading birds, and waterfowl.  We will also visit the shell banks and marshes of the Biloxi Marsh area in neighboring Louisiana for more habitats and photographic opportunities for wading birds and shorebirds.  If the light is good and the water calm, we will also cruise the canal edges as we come and/or go for other photographic opportunities.  On Friday night, Robert Smith will give a presentation on beach bird photography.

 

The birds on Cat Island and in the Biloxi Marsh are wild birds; these birds are not as habituated to people as the birds on the mainland beaches and around mainland harbors.  That said, as long as you make no quick movements and are patient, the shorebirds will often dart within minimum focus distance of most long lenses.  There are plovers, sandpipers, yellowlegs, oyster catchers, terns, willets, dunlins, turnstones, and a few scattered whimbrels, godwits, and less common shorebirds during this time of year.  Waterfowl, such as scoters, scaup, redheads, buffleheads, and common mergansers often swim into the lagoon entrance to feed; photographing these birds requires more patience and camouflage clothing is a definite help.  Opportunities to photograph ospreys, pelicans, and wading birds are a given.  Some resident and wintering birds, such as black and white warblers, kinglets, yellow-rumped warblers, northern cardinals, and northern mockingbirds are also found around the house.  Some early migrants, like purple martin scouts, may also be present.  Depending on the weather, we may see alligators, nutria, raccoons, and other wildlife.

 

 

 

 

Kayaks and fishing rods will be available for individual use at the Cat Island house during our trip.

WHEN
Our adventure will begin at in the very early afternoon on Friday, March 6^th when we meet to load our gear onto Shore Thing Charter’s boats at Long Beach Harbor.  We will photograph Friday afternoon, Saturday morning and afternoon, and again on Sunday morning.  We will return to Long Beach Harbor around early to mid-afternoon on Sunday, March 8^th.

 

WHERE
Our group will depart from Long Beach Harbor (720 South Cleveland Avenue, Long Beach, MS 39560).  We will go out to Shore Thing Charter’s house on Cat Island, a barrier island about 7 miles off the coast of Mississippi.  From the house, we have 3 options:  1) we can visit nearby sites on the island by foot or kayak, 2) go by foot or boat to photograph birds on shallow mud flats near the ends of the island, or 3) go by boat over into neighboring Louisiana and photograph birds loafing on shell banks, feeding on mud flats, or foraging in the marsh.

LODGING
Lodging is included, and will be in a private house on Cat Island, location of Shore Thing Charter’s famous “Cat Island Experience”.

MEALS
Hearty meals are included, and will be served at the house on Cat Island.  The cook at Cat Island specializes in “Cajun-Southern Cuisine”, and we’ll have seafood dinners, hearty breakfasts, and delicious lunches.  We will attempt to serve the meals around the best photography light, which may mean a late breakfast and a late dinner with a light lunch in the bright mid-day.  Snacks and water will be available on the boats while we are out photographing as well.  As always, if you have dietary needs or restrictions, please let us know so that we can plan for those in advance.  You may bring your own alcoholic beverages for consumption at the Cat Island House.

WHAT TO BRING
Pack in waterproof container (many coolers work well).
Camera
Lenses (long lenses)
Tripods
Other Photographic Equipment (flashes, brackets, memory cards etc.)
Battery chargers
Rubber knee boots
Subdued or camouflage field clothing (recommended for waterfowl opportunities)
Flash light
Bug spray
Toiletries and other personal items
Waders (if you wish)
Small folding stool/dove stool (if you wish)
Lay-down mats to lay or sit on in the sand & mud (if you wish)
Blinds/hides (if you wish)
Check weather before trip to see if you need to pack for cold weather, warm weather, hot weather, or all 3!

TRIP RIGOR
This adventure is moderately rigorous.  It may involve walking in loose to firm sand carrying gear for 1 ¼ to 1 ½ miles one-way to a photographic location; though if the tides and weather permit, we will transport to a nearby beach via boat.

Climbing from the boat to the shore (and then back aboard) is usually done with a minimum of effort by utilizing coolers and steps, but sometimes a little wading may be needed.

Mosquitoes, no-see um’s (sand gnats), and biting flies may be present at this time of year, so bug spray and bug netting may be helpful.

PRICE
The price for this Cat Island Bird Photography Adventure is $900 per photographer.  This includes guided boat transportation, photography assistance from Robert Smith, 2 nights lodging, 2 suppers, 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, and the opportunity to press the shutter release a lot of times!

A deposit of $200.00 is required to hold your slot.  If the trip is cancelled because of weather or the minimum number of photographers is not reached, your deposit may be applied to another day or overnight trip with Shore Thing Charters.  Make checks payable to:  Shore Thing Charters and mail them to:  Robert Smith, Wildlife Mississippi, P.O. Box 1374, Biloxi, MS  39533.

A minimum of 6 photographers are needed, and a maximum of 8 will be accommodated.

ABOUT THE TRIP LEADERS
Sonny Schindler and the other 6 captains at Shore Thing Charters make up the largest charter fishing fleet on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  The captains at Shore Thing Charters are on the water throughout the year and know the places where not only the fish are, but where the birds are located as well.  They make every effort to provide an unbelievable outdoor adventure, while striving to make sure your trip is as enjoyable and productive as it can be.

Robert Smith is a wildlife biologist by vocation and has been photographing wildlife for over 30 years.  He first worked on the Mississippi barrier islands in the late 1980’s.  Robert can help with wildlife identification and camera issues.

TO SIGN UP
To sign up for this adventure or to ask questions, contact Robert Smith at 228-990-0559 or rsmith@wildlifemiss.org.

 

Nature-based tourism is a big deal on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  There are a few recreational charter boat captains that specialize in eco-tours, mostly in the swampy river and upper marsh areas.  There are a few fishing captains that advertise tours of some sort, but none that have really tried to develop that niche.  After seeing the reactions of some of their fishing clients to the bird life the encounter while fishing, Captains Sonny Schindler and Kenny Shiyou with Shore Thing Fishing Charters have decided to expand into the niche of taking non-anglers out to see the bird life and coastal habitats.

They have taken a group of National Audubon Society employees out to see some of the areas, they have taken groups of biologists and tourism professionals out.  And they have taken a diverse group of birders out on a test run.  I’ve been on three of those trips, all without my big bird lens because I was not there to take pictures.  Though I did get a few pictures that I liked, like the great blue heron below.

One of the areas that I had not seen, but had heard about was a rumored roseate spoonbill rookery.  Even though the spoonbills nest during a time of the year that the guides are busy guiding fisherman, I told Sonny that when the spoonbills were nesting, to give me a call, and Larry Dees and I would be ready to go.  Turns out that Larry Dees, Scott Breazeale, Michael Sandoz and I were all ready to go.  Four photographers and gear was a good fit for the 26-foot bay boat that we’d be using.  Shore Thing Charters has 7 captains and boats, so larger groups could have easily been accommodated.

So, just after sunrise on a late May morning, we departed the marina in Long Beach, Mississippi.  It was hard on the photographers who shoot a lot of scenic, because the orange orb had just gotten a little too high to create a very cool image of the Port of Gulfport to our east.  We left the docks and headed south into the Mississippi Sound.  Rather than go for a diversity of birds, what we really wanted was “quality, charismatic birds” that were approachable in good light.  We decided that we’d rather have fewer good shots rather than a lot of shots of a bunch of different birds.

Our first stop was just across the Louisiana line where brown pelicans were nesting in the shrubs on a low oyster bank.  We found a place where we could ease in between fishermen fishing from their anchored boats and not interfere with others wade fishing and cut the engine and began drifting towards shore.  We got some decent shots, and could have stayed and gotten even more, but the lure of the rumored spoonbills a tad further west had us cranked up and on plane after a few minutes of shooting.

Our next stop was an intimate roseate spoonbill rookery in a large clump of eastern baccharis.  Well, like most wading bird rookeries, it wasn’t a single-species rookery, there were also white ibis, tri-colored herons, great egrets, and snowy egrets.  But the star of the show was definitely the roseate spoonbills.  Based on their behavior, there were likely nesting clapper rails, willets, and red-winged blackbirds nearby as well.  After getting a few shots from the boat, we waded into the marsh to feed the horseflies and get some frame-filling shots.  After a period of initial alertness, most of the birds seemed to go back into their routine of nest-enhancement, brooding, going down to the water’s edge, and more.  Even so, after getting shots that we liked, we left the rookery with plans to return later when there were chicks.  Most of the nests were down in the vegetation, and we only saw a teeny amount of chick movement out of one spoonbill nest.

 

 

 

 

The next plan was to go to a large mud flat where we had seen thousands of shorebirds and wading birds a few months earlier.  Because of the wind and waves, we had to approach the flat from a different direction that had a large shell bank that we could walk down.  As we approached that end, it quickly became evident that wouldn’t be walking down that shell bank because it was a colony of black skimmers, gull-billed terns, and laughing gulls with nest scrapes all along the open area.  We slowly drifted in until we were close enough for good shots, a Captain Sonny put the powerpole down into the mud to anchor us in place as we shot the birds squabbling, feeding mates, incubating eggs, and just doing what a nesting colony does.

 

 

 

 

 

Looking across a narrow bay to another strip of open oyster shells we could see a smaller colony of Caspian terns.  We slipped across the bay for a few shots.  As we began circumnavigating the marsh island for better shots, we had to stop for a pair of American oystercatchers.  As we photographed them, one went just over the crest of the oyster pile and sat back down on the nest.  Rather than intrude for a photo opportunity, we moved on.

 

We finally made it around to the mud flat, and found ourselves out there at high tide.  Rather than a mud flat, we had a shallow water area with tailing redfish chasing mud crabs across the bottom.  There were a few shorebirds along the edge, but not the numbers we were expecting, so a quick shot of a whimbrel that should have already been up north somewhere and a few other birds, and we moved on.

 

We made a run back over to Cat Island to look for shorebirds on the southern beaches, and found them in decent numbers.  However, the tide was still high and the light was getting brighter and higher, so made a quick trip on around the island looking for other wading birds.  We saw some of the great blue herons, green herons, osprey, and other birds we were expecting, including the green heron nests we expected.  But it was so hot, the birds were generally tucked back into the shade, and the ones that were not did not look elegant with their gular panting to keep cool.

 

 

 

So, we headed back to the mainland after a great morning of bird photography.  In hind sight, we’d have been better off spending more time in Biloxi Marsh rather than trying to squeeze in a bit of Cat Island as well.  Plans are being made to return to both, however.  Another trip over to the Biloxi Marsh this summer when all those nesting wading birds and shorebirds have chicks is in the works.  And then a 2- or 3-day trip in late fall or early winter out to Cat Island to photograph shorebirds, wading birds, and potentially waterfall while staying in the house on Cat Island for the full “Cat Island Experience”.  If you want more information, drop me a line or contact the folks at Shore Thing Charters (www.shorethingcharters.com).

Most folks who shoot with me know that I’m a big fan of MANUAL Photoshop – getting it right in the scene and in the camera BEFORE you press the shutter release.  I am NOT a big fan of “I’ll just fix it in Photoshop”.  Even when I might be able to fix it in photoshop, it’s often just too much work.  It’s ever so much easier to get it right first.

I recently led a photographic workshop at Indian Point RV Resort as a part of the City of Gautier, Mississippi’s 2^nd Annual Plein Air Art Competition.  One thing that I offered was to meet participants to shoot the sunrise on Sioux Bayou.  When I am leading photographic workshops, I am usually not shooting much myself – focusing instead on helping the participants learn and get their shots.

We had a small group for sunrise, so I went ahead and got out my camera and tripod, and I was glad that I did.

I had told them that there was a snag that herons and egrets often perched on.  And just as the sun started to break the horizon, sure enough a snowy egret lit on the side of the snag.  Then it moved on up to the top, right where I had envisioned it.

Now, I vastly prefer to shoot critters rather than landscapes, so when the egret perched up there, I didn’t even press the shutter release on my wide angle lens (my mistake).  I went to the truck, and got out a long lens and another tripod so that I could get a cool egret silhouette shot.

I got the gear back down where I wanted it, got it set up, focused on the egret.  Then I rotated the lens from horizontal to vertical, and the bird flew away!  In a fit of pique, I went ahead and pressed the shutter release to add to my growing collection of “perch” pictures.  Now, a perch picture is a picture of the branch (rock, log, etc.) that a bird HAD been perched on moments before.

As I looked at the image as I got ready to download my shots, I realized that I could “fix it” in Photoshop!  So, I selected the brush tool, and drew a snowy egret right where it was before.  But instead of making it just a dark silhouette, I went ahead and made it a somewhat natural-color snowy egret.

That image earned me a pat on the head and “Nice job, Dad!” from my daughter, but something about her tone combined with that pre-teen eye roll makes me think that she just might have some other meaning in mind…

I did grab a few shots of some of the photographers shooting out of one of the two bird blinds, as well as a pair of photographers photographing an American alligator.  The alligator came up and posed within 10 feet, as did a sora, and a trio of black-bellied whistling ducks.  All in all, we had 17 bird species, two mammals, and a few damselflies, dragonflies, and fiddler crabs within photographable distance during the workshop.

 

 

I did manage to get a couple of shots of the birds during the last part of the afternoon.

 

 

 

Authors note:  A recent positive experience with USB Memory Direct prompted this blog post…

Photography is fun.  And sharing pictures with others makes it even more fun.  I’m using sharing in a VERY broad context.  I’m including sharing with friends, sharing with editors, sharing with coworkers, and sharing a final product with a client.  Historically, those images were shared as prints, and in many cases, that is still true.

But other times, those images may need to be shared digitally.  Social media has made it very, very easy to share lots of pictures with other people very quickly.  Sharing one or two high resolution digital images via e-mail is reasonable.  But what happens when it is time to share a lot of high resolution images?

Some times when I share a folder of images or a selection of digital images with an editor or other user, I use a “cloud” service like DropBox.  But there are times when you want to deliver a physical product, even if you are delivering digital images.  Many years ago, I bought a printer that would print images on compact discs.  I would save or “burn” the selected images to the CD, and then work up an image and label for the CD and print it on the CD.  Sometimes, I’d deliver the CD in a special case that also held a 4”x6” or 5”x7” traditional print.

It’s been more than a few years since I’ve printed an image on CD, though that printer still works.  My daughter’s current PC does not even have a CD drive.  My current method of choice for sharing a number of images or large files is a USB drive.  These little USB drives are also called USB fobs, flash drives, thumb drives, memory sticks, pen drives, and jump drives.  It is much easier to put the images on the USB drive than it is to put them on a CD.  They are lightweight, easy to transport, and seem to have a good digital lifetime.  There are also USB ports on all manner of electronic devices including PCs, televisions, “digital picture frames”, and more.

Not only can I save the digital images on a USB drive, I can also save a PDF version of the imaging license or useage release that tells what rights I am sharing with those images.  I also usually put a “contact” file on the drive that has my business contact information on it should whoever end up with the drive in the future need biological or photographic expertise.  In the past several months, I’ve had 3 occasions where a USB drive was either the logical or requested method of sharing.

The first was after a land management workshop that I helped facilitate.  The workshop information and Powerpoint presentations were all going to be compiled and sent to all the presenters and participants.  Traditionally, this would have all be printed out and put into some sort of binder and mailed.  In this case, it was significantly cheaper to convert all the files to PDFs with each “slide” having it’s own page and save them to a USB drive than it was to print the same files with 3 “slides” to a page and put them in a spiral or 3-ring binder.  The USB drives were also cheaper to mail than the traditional paper booklets would have been.

I was invited to be a featured artist at a small gallery recently.  There is limited room to hang images in the gallery, so deciding which traditional prints to hang was not easy.  There were several other images that I wish that I could have taken.  The good news was that the gallery manager said, “We also have a high-density , flatscreen television mounted just outside the gallery room that you are showing in.  Bring a dozen to a hundred of your other images on a USB drive, and we can run them as a loop on the television.”   I took a USB driver over, and we plugged it into the USB port on the back of the television, and my images were there in a matter of seconds.

I also do some outdoor event photography.  Joe Venus (www.outlawphotography.com) and I recently shot a 2-day event.  One of deliverables was a slideshow the last evening with action shots of all the participants.  We provided that slideshow on a USB drive.  After the event, the organizer asked was there any way that we could provide a copy for each of the participants.  Of course there was!  Thirty-seven additional USB drives later, each participant has his own version of the show.

USB drives come in a variety of sizes from 64 megabytes to 16 gigabytes or larger.  USB drives can also be customized.  There are all sort of shapes and colors, and there are all sorts of innovative ways to protectively cover the end that plugs into the electronic device.

I recently acquired 25 personalized USB drives from USB Memory Direct.  I am a pretty simple guy, so I chose a pretty simple option.  I chose a traditional drive with a  removable cap (style DE) that was black with silver accents with my logo/website printed in it’s normal orange, black, and white – though it was divided to print on both sides so that it could be a little larger than if it were put on both sides.

The folks at USB Memory Direct were easy to contact and responded more quickly to my messages than I did to their replies.  The digital mock-up of my drives looked good, but they said when they started processing it for real the logo got a little distorted.  I resent the image in a vector format, and everything went great.  A few days later, I had a very padded parcel of USB drives sitting on my desk!  The drives feel solid.  The caps are snug.  The logos are tough – I scratched on one with my thumbnail, and it looked just like it did before (though I’m sure that if I carry one around in my pocket with change and keys, that it will show signs of wear).

While I did not use any of the additional services that USB Memory Direct offers, they will format the drives in different ways, preload information on them (in hindsight, I should have gone ahead and had them load my business contact information on the drives), and more.

Somehow giving clients a physical product with digital images feels like more of a transaction than delivering those same files through the ether.