Nature's Nursery is an amazing organization.

 Nature's Nursery is a wildlife rehabilitation and conservation education center located in Whitehouse Ohio. They strive to educate the public about the wildlife in our own backyards.
     Laura Zitzelberger is the director of operations at Nature's Nursery and she was kind enough to help me with my sound slides project for photojournalism. She took time out of her day to give me a tour of the facilities, and see some of the heart of what the center does.
     From opossums to owls, and squirrels to birds of prey, all the animals in their care are provided with food, shelter and medical care. I even was able to get up close and personal to an eastern screech owl named Einstein and a cormorant named Darcy.
      In several of the cases, some of the animals will never be able to be released and instead can be used as education animal. For those that can be released, the volunteers try to make them not become comfortable with humans. This way they have a better chance of surviving in the wild when released. Sadly there are three animals that they are not able to rehabilitate. Those three are coyotes, raccoon, and deer.
     The other main part of the heart of Nature's Nursery is educating the public. Many assumptions need to be dispelled. One of these that Laura says they face a lot is people think that if they touch a baby animal that the mother will then abandon it. However it seems that this is not the case.
      It was an amazing experience and I would like to thank Laura for allowing me to not only see what Nature's Nursery does, but to also be able to show the public some of the animals that benefit from this organization.

Darcy is a double breasted cormorant. (pho245/Sydney Sawkins)

Isabella along with her cage mate Maverick (not pictured) were kept as pets before coming to Nature's Nursery. (pho245/Sydney Sawkins)

Laura Zitzelberger spends some time with Nigel the woodchuck. (pho245/Sydney Sawkins)

   

Shooting a baseball game was actually kind of fun.

     The only other sporting event I ever shot was Hockey and this was by far better because it was a better speed. Hockey was a bit too fast paced for me to shoot.
     When I went to the Mud Hens game on April 23 it was all business in my mind. I went there to get a coach shot and a fan shot but I ended up getting more. It was fun to get action shots because I could get each play individually.
     However when it came time to the shots I needed, I was nervous to say the least. I don't like large crowds of people unless it's in a dance club and I really didn't like photographing fans at random and then getting their caption information. But after a small panic attack I actually started loosening up and having fun.
      Does that mean I'll become a sports photographer? No. But I will definitely watch baseball games in a new way, envisioning what would make a great picture, rather than how the game turns out.

The Columbus coach takes a moment to speak to his pitcher. (pho245/Sydney Sawkins)

Muddy and Muddonna prepare to head onto the field. (pho245/Sydney Sawkins)

Columbus player no. 11 gets to first base before the ball. (pho245/Sydney Sawkins)

Mudhens batting coach Leon Durem shakes hands with  no. 44. (pho245/Sydney Sawkins)

Tomi Harvey (black hoodie) stays warm as she watches the game. (pho245/Sydney Sawkins)

   

Why yes, I can do a portrait headshot

In my previous post on my feature story (Lori Nix) I forgot to include a head and shoulders portrait shot. So now I give you proof that I can successfully shoot the shot. Ta da!

Laura, who is the director of Nature's Nursery, was very nice to let me get a shot of her. 

   

The Sunshine Home Visitation

     The experience of team shooting at the Sunshine Home was very beneficial for me as both a photographer, and just a person in general. It made us work together as a cohesive team and coordinate our different jobs. We were split up in to teams of two for this with me and Paul being on the sound team.
     Paul and I got to do the audio interview which was a little nerve wracking. However it was shooting the residents that caused a mini panic attack in me. I didn't want to disturb or upset the residents so I was hesitant about getting the shots.
     I've come to realize that photojournalism may not be for me, but I will take the lessons I learned and the teamwork skills to heart and utilize them in my future interactions with others.
All photos by Sydney Sawkins.

A 72 year old resident, Tommy, holds hands with caregiver Deb Johnson.

Caregiver Lamiah Jones  helps move resident Tiffany Beacon.

One of the very friendly and photogenic horses used for thereaputic riding.

Caregiver Sarah feeds a resident.