Personal Statement Nature and photography have always been closely linked for me. Birds have been my passion since my earliest memory. For much of that time, bird photography was equal parts lust and frustration as I dreamed of images that I knew I could never capture with the equipment I could afford. So I focused on other subjects, and by happy coincidence my work and aptitudes preadapted me for the digital age. I immersed myself in imaging software and techniques even before digital cameras were a practical reality. The invention of digiscoping, a makeshift coupling of a point-and-shoot camera with a telescope, finally let me taste the thrill of long-lens photography. I was hooked before I started! In 2005 I took the plunge and invested in a "dream" setup of professional camera gear. The years since have been the fulfillment of my initial dream and the inception of many new ones. I have traveled more widely, observed nature more closely, and experienced life and light more richly than I had ever imagined I might. My love of birds, even the most common and "unspectacular" species, has been reborn and amplified. I have made wonderful new friends and worked with some of the finest photographers alive. I have learned volumes about the art and science of photography as well as the private habits of birds and other creatures, and I have discovered an unending source of fascination, challenge, and continued growth as a photographer and biologist. I draw many kinds of inspiration and insight from nature, from artistic to scientific to philosophical. For every image I capture, I see a thousand I wish I could. I still feel that every image is a gift, and I am honored to be able to share some of them with you. Biography David Seibel is a native Kansan and lifelong birder. He earned his Ph.D. in ornithology from the University of Kansas and was a biology professor for over 25 years before retiring from teaching in 2017 to pursue nature photography and writing full time. His passion for birds has taken him to five continents, twelve countries (including a transformative expedition to Amazonian Brazil with his daughter, Emily), and most of the contiguous 48 states as well as Alaska and Hawaii. An expert in field identification by sight and sound, he has seen more than 670 species in the United States and well over 400 in Kansas alone. His knowledge of birds, photography, and computer technology converged in 2003 when he undertook the art of digiscoping (super telephoto digital photography through a telescope), which quickly propelled him into a second career in photography with professional Canon equipment. He has now captured hundreds of thousands of digital images of birds, and his work is widely published and has won recognition in several national and regional competitions and exhibitions. Seibel has written numerous scholarly, educational, and popular articles and books. Personal highlights include an article on the Snowy Owl in Kansas coauthored with his daughter ("One Owl, Two Tales" by David and Emily Seibel, Kansas Wildife & Parks, Vol. 70, March/April 2013) and a major compendium of Kansas birds coauthored with a team of experts at the invitation of his undergraduate mentor (Birds of Kansas by Max C. Thompson et al., University Press of Kansas, 2011). With his good friends and fellow nature photographers Bob Gress and Judd Patterson, Seibel launched BirdsInFocus.com in 2009, an online gallery of publication-quality bird photos now portraying well over 2,000 species of birds from around the world.   Photograph courtesy Bret Gustafson