Leopard (Pantera pardus) from my Zambian Dawn Safari ©Christopher Dodds All Rights Reserved. Canon EOS Canon EOS 1DX, 500mm F4 L IS, Canon 2X III Extender, Tripod & Jobu Jr. 3 ISO 1,000, f/8 @ 1/500s Manual mode. Click HERE to order a print or license image for publication.
Third Annual Photo Geek Christmas Party a HUGE Success!
YABBA DABBA DO! I'm thrilled to report that Saturday night's presentation at the Casgrain Theatre (Thank you CEGEP John Abbot College and their Theatre Department) to an awesome crowd was a huge success and raised $6,320.00 for Le Nichoir; well over my personal goal of $5,000.00. Thank you to all who came out to support such a worthy cause. Huge thanks to Christopher Brown (and his team; David & Brendan) for the hospitality and fabulous introduction! Thank you to the volunteers (who already work tirelessly for the birds at Le Nichoir) for working so hard to make the event a huge success. Many thanks to the sponsors who contributed some fabulous prizes! Read more about Le Nichoire HERE. A wildlife biology student will now have a summer job (in their field) at Le Nichoir!
Be sure to encourage our sponsors:
Some good Karma:
John Abbott College Casgrain Theatre
“A benefit ‘performance’ in support of Le Nichoir”
If you were not at the Casgrain Theatre of Cegep John Abbott College on Saturday, March 9th, 2013 then you missed a unique opportunity to spend an evening with Mr. Christopher Dodds. He is an inaugural member of the Canon Northern Explorer of Light and elite X-Rite Coloratti initiatives. He is a full-time freelance nature and wildlife photographer, nature photography workshop & safari leader/instructor, photography educator, blogger and lecturer.
Chris generously dedicated his time and shared his “Canon” of knowledge in support of Le Nichoir, the renowned wild bird rehabilitation centre based in Hudson, Québec. Every year Le Nichoir rehabilitates up to as many as 1700 North American birds and relies heavily upon monetary donations and an avid army of volunteers.
This benefit evening, hosted by the Theatre Department and John Abbott College was the second such benefit evening donated by Chris Dodds, but was the first with John Abbott’s contribution. The 200 or so audience members who attended were privy to a 3-hour spectacular soiree. Chris animated an evening which included countless examples of his diverse wildlife photography; polar bears at James Bay, grizzlies in Alaska, lions in Africa, great grey owls in Gatineau, blue herons, ospreys, hawks, clown faced puffins, geese, terns and gulls to name but a few.
Exquisite examples of mammals and birds were beautifully shot in a myriad of diverse landscapes in weather ranging from blinding blizzards to searing desert dust storms. Chris spoke about the challenges of his work with very amusing anecdotal tales of some of the difficulties of being a professional wildlife photographer. He explained his photographic techniques, sharing his knowledge of cameras, lenses, f-Stops, film speeds, shutter speeds, exposure, depth of field, sharp and soft focus, white balance and histograms.
He had impromptu camera fact quizzes, rewarding people who had answered correctly by hurling wool tuques at them. In addition to the tuques, Chris had generously gifted photography accessories to the benefit raffle and hosted the draw mid-way through the evening’s activities.
Was the evening a workshop? A seminar? A lecture? A show and tell? Or a fascinating combination of all? It’s hard to say, but what is not hard to say that it was excellent and that Chris is a world class wildlife photographer, an avid wildlife enthusiast and that he is profoundly committed to his art and craft. Above all he is exceptionally generous of spirit and time and Le Nichoir’s meagre revenues have benefitted greatly because of his benevolence.
Thank you to the Theatre Department and John Abbott College, and thank you to the tireless efforts of Le Nichoir, but most of all thank you Christopher Dodds for your exceptional accomplishments and boundless generosity.
Christopher Brown
Chair
Department of Theatre and Music
John Abbott College
Hi Chris,
I was one of the attendants at last Saturdays (Mar. 9/13) Le Nichoir Fundraising event. Your presentation was all I expected and much much more. As a nature photographer myself and a long time Lakeshore Camera Club member, I witnessed suburb photography by you. The accompanying anecdotes and photo technical comments added a very personal note to it all. Your photographs of the presented subjects are outstanding, technically and visually superb. My Granddaughter had asked me if she could come along and so she did. She said to me, that this was a wonderful evening. For a 20 year old (who could spend a Saturday evening otherwise) it is definitely quite a compliment.
I am looking forward in perusing your website and reading your blogs.
Thank you very much and good luck.
Hans J. Kandert
