Rick Lieder's fantastic backyard bird photos -- new book

Rick Lieder, the talented sf/f artist whose backyard nature photographs have stunned me for years, has released a new book of photos of small birds on the wing, shot in his own backyard in south Michigan. Rick doesn't use fancy fast film or other high-tech treats -- instead, he just uses patience and care to capture these remarkable images. I just got a copy from Rick (I'm at a science fiction convention outside of Detroit) and discovered a lovely bonus: a short introduction by Kathe Koja, the fantastic writer, who is married to Rick.

Aerial acrobats

[#1 posted by Stefan Jones , January 24, 2009 7:45 PM]

Great stuff, thanks!

Bird photos are generally of the colorful tropical sort, or charismatic hunting birds. Ricks pix are of scruffy neighborhood birds doing their generally-unnoticed thing.

[#2 posted by Antinous / Moderator , January 24, 2009 7:55 PM]

Next, birdlols.

[#3 posted by Guesstimate Jones , January 24, 2009 7:56 PM]

i invadedez ur airspace?

[#4 posted by Cowicide , January 24, 2009 8:14 PM]

Very dynamic shots. It actually kinda changes my perspective on birds and I can almost see the dinosaur in them.

This is one of my favs, looks so majestic:
http://cloudboxer.com/cb_pages/photos/Cardinal_271207_1.jpg

[#5 posted by Amy Fiasco , January 24, 2009 8:43 PM]

woah i have to draw these

[#6 posted by Johnny Cat , January 24, 2009 9:48 PM]

And I thought mine were cool.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y252/jdkinkade/zoo5.jpg

[#7 posted by ESQ , January 24, 2009 10:13 PM]

"Rick Lieder, the talented sf/f artist whose backyard nature photographs..."

Science fiction fartist?

[#8 posted by Anonymous , January 25, 2009 5:56 AM]

So Cory's been stunned for years; that explains a lot!

[#9 posted by jimmitude , January 25, 2009 6:57 AM]

Simply awesome!

[#10 posted by willykea , January 25, 2009 7:05 AM]

Caught this guy in my backyard:

http://picasaweb.google.com/willykea/BackyardVisitors#5295244873292449090

Not an action shot but pretty cool nonetheless.

[#11 posted by KidDork , January 25, 2009 11:14 AM]

Beautiful and engaging shots. It's also nice to see a celebration of the more common birds (or as snooty bird-watchers dismiss them as 'junk birds').

Watching sparrows often contains more comedy than most half hour sitcoms.

[#12 posted by Cunning , January 26, 2009 12:03 AM]

I've always found photographing small birds mid-flight is almost impossible. A remarkable achievement, and beautiful to boot.

[#13 posted by fredsmilek , January 28, 2009 12:03 PM]

Wow, great recommendation and great pictures. I love all wildlife.

"Fred Smilek is the acting president of the Society to Save Endangered Species. It was founded two years ago by Fred Smilek along with his two best friends Charles and Jonathan. http://www.fredjsmilek.com"