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General Questions
Q: Are you a professional photographer or doing work for a newspaper/magazine/academic institution?
A: Nope – just a hobbyist with a particularly strong passion for the outdoors! I do post “Fun Fact Friday” information on Facebook and Instagram for some casual educational moments, but am not currently affiliated with any school or organization.
Q: Are you doing all of this for a special project like a book?
A: No. I do, however, participate in “citizen science!” This includes “birding lists” that are submitted to eBird (a project run by Cornell University) and occasional observations on iNaturalist.
P.S. I am kind of sort of writing a book — but it’s a work of fiction and only tangentially related to photography.
Q: Can I hire you to do my [insert type of event]?
A: No, but if you’re looking for a spectacularly talented, truly professional photographer and crew in the Maryville/Knoxville TN area, I strongly recommend Farrah’s Photography and Event Services!
Q: Are the photos you’re posting on social media current?
A: Short answer, probably not. The “public” Facebook and Instagram occasionally has same-day or next-day photos. For “Fun Fact Friday” posts, the content is usually about an animal, plant, or other feature that’s relatively “in season” here in East Tennessee, but not all photos in a particular post are necessarily recent. And if I’m featuring something that’s present year round, the photo array might include photos of different portions of the yearly cycle, e.g. a tree in winter, with flowers, with fruits, etc.
If you’re talking about my personal Facebook — definitely not. The “day job” and other factors have left me literally months behind on true photo editing.
In the Field
Q: What are you looking at?
A: Probably a bird! Possibly some other interesting animal/plant/fungus/rock formation.
Q: Getting any good pictures tonight?
A: I rarely get truly good photos! The aim is more about capturing things “for science” than trying to necessarily get things that “look good.”
Q: Hey, don’t you want to take MY picture?
A: You’re so kind to offer, but unfortunately, I’m contractually bound and obligated to a powerful Archfey to primarily focus on things that either have feathers or more than two legs. Taking photos of Humans could put me in breach of contract and potentially cause a rift between our mortal realm and the Suvokimo. Thank you for your understanding!
Q: Why do you have two cameras with you?
A: Because three would be overkill. Kidding. The short answer, because they’re for two different things.
Most days, I only take a lighter “bridge camera” out because it’s all I need to get “good enough for identification” photos. Every once in awhile, you might see me with a second “good” camera that has a more limited range, but takes higher quality photos. Because that lighter camera reaches further, I still take it out in general, just in case there’s that one really distant cool thing that begs to be photographed.
About the Birds
Q: What are the best areas to bird?
A: The best way to keep up with what people are currently seeing, bird-wise, is always eBird. For extremely localized general tendencies, I’ve created a loose resource for Birding in Blount County. This includes some helpful tips for areas that aren’t designated local “hot spots.”
Q: Can you help me find a certain bird around here?
A: Short answer, I can’t freely offer tours these days, and I don’t get out nearly as often as many other people do.
eBird is definitely the best resource for what’s currently being seen.
You can reach out via my contact page with specific questions about a bird I’ve reported, but responses may be delayed.
Q: What about those Yellow-crowned Night Herons you’re always reporting?
A: I could / might eventually do an entire page on these guys. But the short answer is that anywhere along Pistol Creek is fair game. The area closest to the Maryville side of the greenway, specifically between the PetSafe dog park and Jack Greene Park, is one of the most reliable areas. Next bit of advice: while people are more likely to see them when they’re hunting in the middle of the creek or perched atop the dam near the library, they love to hide out on the edges of the banks, in trees, and sometimes atop buildings or even light posts near downtown.
Evan Kidd Photography 