Don DesJardin

Ventura, California, USA

http://birdsdesjardin.com

A native and life-long resident of California, Don currently resides in Ventura, California, which is located about half way between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara on the Pacific Coast of the US. He says it’s hard to believe that being married to a non-birding spouse works, but that it has for over 47 years, with 4 grown children, and, at last count, 10 grandkids. His secret……when it’s her time, it’s a 100%.
Don has always enjoyed the hobby of photography, purchasing his first 35mm camera at the age of 14. Beginning in the late 80’s, he firmly got hooked on and discovered the world of birds and birding, and along with that, he began photographing them. After years of bird photography, he started thinking about wanting more than just static bird photos, and in early 2000 he made the plunge and purchased a Canon XL1, along with all the other expensive related items he needed. Being a Nikon shooter and having a nice inventory of both Nikon and Sigma lenses, he also purchased a Canon video to Nikon camera lens adapter for the XL1. His current working lens for most of his video work is a Nikon 80-400mm lens, which he says gives a fantastic reach for those less than cooperative birds.
Although Don has birded in the UK, Europe, Middle East, Mexico, Chile, Guatemala, Ecuador, and most of the birding hotspots of the United States, almost all of his video work has been in the United States and primarily within his local patch of Ventura County, which has an impressive list of over 470 recorded species. Ventura County is unique, in that you can travel through many different eco zones, from the Pacific Coast with its lagoons and tidal estuaries, to its mountains that rise up to over 7,000 feet, in about 2 hours travel time. Video documentation of birds has become nearly a full time hobby along with birding. I retired the Canon XL1 camera in 2007 and started working with a Canon XL H1 HDV camera. Since my Canon to Nikon lens adapter also works with the new camera, the Nikon 80-400mm is still my lens of choice for birds.
With the migration from still photography to video, I soon found myself giving video programs to Audubon groups around the Southern California area, instead of my usual slide programs. Once I became comfortable with video editing, the next logical step was to put all the footage I had been shooting on DVD. At the present time, I have four 60 minute bird DVD's to offer. The description for these DVD's are on my website behind the "VIDEO & DVD" tab.
IBC Personal statistics:

• First material posted on 14 July 2006
• Number of videos posted: 1229 covering 322 species (3.23%)
• Number of photos posted: 38 covering 29 species (0.29%)
• Number of sounds posted: 34 covering 27 species (0.27%)