Bird Lives by Boston Jazz Hero Arni Cheatham

The Streak Continues: 141

I will be publishing this post just after 6:00am Amsterdam time, about noon on the east coast. We enjoyed another great day of photography at Keukenhof and the nearby tulip fields.

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This blog post took 1 1/2 hours to put together. Enjoy!

Arni Cheatham at work. Image by by Kayana Szymczak.

Press Release

Tammis Coffin, Education Coordinator

Museum of American Bird Art at Mass Audubon/Connecting People & Nature through Art
781-821-8853 x101 / 963 Washington St, Canton MA 02021

Bird Lives by Boston Jazz Hero Arni Cheatham

Bird Photography – Jazz Improvisation – Storytelling April 27

CANTON, MA – The Museum of American Bird Art (MABA) at Mass Audubon hosts Arni Cheatham’s performance of Bird Lives on Sunday afternoon, April 27 as part of their spring series titled “Travels with the Bird Artists.” Cheatham’s performance fuses his bird photography and stories with jazz improvisation in a museum setting of silkscreen prints of birds and habitats around the world. Bird Lives is an interwoven tapestry of stories, large format projected images and music presented by multi-talented artist Arni Cheatham. Named last year’s “Boston Jazz Hero” by the Jazz Journalists Association, Cheatham finds inspiration for his photography, stories and music near Boston and beyond. Below, MABA shares a brief interview with the artist about his upcoming performance, along with ticket information.

How do you get started with music?

I’ve been playing Jazz since my teens. Matter of fact I bought my first tenor saxophone while in High School and performed in many venues before my 21st birthday. My musical tastes have always run the gamut from blues, bebop and gospel, to Trane, Ornette and Free Jazz.

How about photography?

I was hooked on photography at an early age. My father was a serious shutterbug who loved photographing with his Yashicamat and Rolleiflex TLR cameras. He gave me my own Kodak Pony 135. As a teen, I worked part time with my dad at a photo reproduction company in Chicago and he educated me in the nuances that make an image great. Later, I began to investigate landscape and nature photography.

Juvenile Semipamated Sandpiper, image courtesy of and copyright Arni Cheatham.

What about birds?

As for bird photography, I’d looked longingly at the wonderful work of Arthur Morris over and over until I finally broke down in 1999 and acquired a Canon EOS-3 and a Canon 100-400mm lens. For the first time I had enough “reach” to begin to experiment with bird photography. The ball really got rolling in late 2004 with the advent of the Canon 20D DSLR. At last with the increased capacity of the CF card storage media, I could afford to take the many images on an outing that bird photography really requires. This is not to put an undue emphasis on equipment because equipment doesn’t take photographs on its own, however bird work in particular does have its minimum requirements.

When did these interests come together?

The first time I had an opening exhibit of my photography, it was a natural for me to have my quintet provide the music with me at the helm. And of course it was equally inevitable that I would tell the band to look at the images on the walls and make that the score for an improvisational performance.

What unites your music, your photography, your writing?

Music is my public art, and photography is my quiet art, and yet I consider them both part of the same continuum. In fact, there is a special place that I can sometimes arrive at when improvising. It’s a magical place where there is no thinking about notes, chords and fingers but rather literally being the music. The right hemisphere takes over. In like fashion, on an exceptional day I am in the same magical place when photographing. It’s not something that I can have all the time but like Nirvana, once you’ve tasted it you’ll always strive to experience it again.

With music, I attempt to tell the audience “Come. Let me take you on a journey. We may go somewhere you haven’t been before but I promise to bring you back safely.” Photographically I strive to follow the same principle and the writing is just another way to enhance the journey.

What birds fascinate you?

I first saw a photograph of a Puffin more than 10 years ago and the die was cast. Such beautiful coloration, amazing large quizzical red eyes, the rainbow beak and the orange rosettes that seem like a small orange stickpin being held in each corner of its mouth. From that fateful day until the trip I took last year, I dreamed often of having one of these gorgeous birds in my viewfinder with an unlimited time budget, great light, perfect weather conditions, unrestricted access and an empty CF card.

Do you consider yourself a “bird artist?”

I am simply Arni Cheatham, a guy with this incredible urge to create art every day. I’m fortunate to have several means to achieve that goal. I think that the fact I’m able to pursue that intention every day is a blessing. I’m passionate about bird photography. I am a decent photographer but not necessarily a great ornithologist. I shoot first and ask questions later.

However therein lies the wondrous part. Every day I have something to learn.

I look forward to each day as an opportunity to explore something new or learn more about something familiar. I believe that’s what an “artist” is at the core.

Norhtern Pintail, image courtesy of and copyright Arni Cheatham.

Ticket Information

Tickets for Cheatham’s 3pm program are $15 for Mass Audubon members and $19 for nonmembers. Advance reservations are required to massaudubon.org/maba or 781-821-8853.

Performance Details: Accompanying Cheatham will be creative improviser and long time musical associate, John Funkhouser, a well-known pianist/keyboardist, bassist composer and educator. Cheatham and Funkhouser have performed together in the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra, Mark Harvey’s Jazztet, and other ensemble settings. Funkhouser teaches at Berklee School of Music and co-teaches with Cheatham for the JazzBoston’s Riffs and Raps program.

Other Events: The Travels with the Bird Artists series concludes May 1 with an evening presentation by author John Hanson Mitchell about bicycling with bird migrations across Europe, also by advance registration.

Fort DeSoto in spring is rich with tame birds. With many in breeding plumage it is a photographer’s paradise. I hope that you can join me there in mid-May.

Short Notice Fort DeSoto IPT/In-the-Field Workshops: May 9, 10, & 11, 2014

IPT–3 FULL DAYs: $1099
In-the-Field Workshops: $399/day

Fort DeSoto in spring is so good that I needed to create two cards in order to give folks an idea of what is possible. Even then I have barely scratched the surface. If you are coming from out of town you will surely want to do all 3 days, the entire IPT. Local folks may wish to join me for one or more full days.

There will Lots of tame birds including breeding plumage Laughing Gull and Royal and Sandwich Terns courting and copulating. American Oystercatcher plus lots of sandpipers and plovers, some in breeding plumage. Red Knot in breeding plumage likely. Lots of wading birds including Great and Snowy Egrets, both color morphs of Reddish Egret, Great Blue, Tricolored and Little Blue Heron, and Yellow-crowned Night-Heron. Roseate Spoonbill and WOod Stork between possible and likely…. Lots of flight photography with the gulls and terns and with Brown Pelican.

You will learn how to approach free and wild birds without disturbing them, to understand and predict bird behavior, to identify many species of shorebirds, to spot the good situations, to choose the best perspective, to see and understand the light, to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure, and to design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system. And you will learn learn how and why to work in Manual mode (even if you are scared of it).

At lunch we will review my images–folks learn a ton watching me edit–why keep this one and delete that one. If you opt to bring your laptop, we will take a look at five of your best images from the morning session. We will process a few of my images in Photoshop after converting them in DPP. That followed by Instructor Nap Time.

This is the IPT hotel: Comfort Inn St. Petersburg, FL. 2260 54th Ave N., St. Petersburg, FL 33714. tel: 1-727-362-0075. The best airport is Tampa (TPA).

Payment in full via credit card is due upon registering. Please call Jim or Jennifer at 863-692-0906 to register.

Fort DeSoto in spring is rich with tame birds. With many in breeding plumage it is a photographer’s paradise. I hope that you can join me there in mid-May.

Fort DeSoto Site Guide

Can’t make it in mid-May? Get yourself a copy of the Fort DeSoto Site Guide. Learn the best spots, where to be when in what season in what weather. Learn the best wind directions for the various locations. BAA Site Guides are the next best thing to being on an IPT. You can see all of them here.

Shorebirds/Beautiful Beachcombers

If the shorebirds in the ID quiz gave you pause, get yourself a copy of my Shorebirds/Beautiful Beachcombers. Includes ID tips, shorebird biology, migration, and tons more. All in my simple-to-read easy-to-read style.

Canon Gear for Sale

Doug Bolt is offering a used Canon 400mm f/4L IS DO lens in very good to excellent condition for $4599. The sale includes the lens trunk and lens cover; the seller will pay shipping to US addresses only. This one should sell in minutes to someone looking for a lightweight super-telephoto. The item will ship only when the check clears.

Please contact Doug for additional info and/or a link to photos via e-mail or try him by phone at home: at 301-937-3112 or on his cell at 301-537-8073.

Doug is also offering a used EOS-5D Mark II in very good to excellent condition for $1199. There is a shallow scratch on the body and a faint smudge on the top LCD. The sale includes a RRS L-plate, a vertical grip, and the original box and all the stuff that came in it. The seller will pay shipping to US addresses only. This one is a great body for flowers and landscapes. Mine saved me on a Southern Oceans cruise when I trashed two EOS-1D Mark IV bodies in a rainstorm; it was a great back-up camera body. The item will ship only when the check clears.

Again, please contact Doug for additional info and/or a link to photos via e-mail or try him by phone at home: at 301-937-3112 or on his cell at 301-537-8073.

Join me at Gatorland for a ton of learning. If you want to learn to use your flash, you will not want to miss this one. Click on the composite image to enjoy a larger version. Click on the composite to enjoy the larger size.

Another Gatorland Short Notice Saturday Full-Day In-the-Field Workshop

Saturday May 3, 2014. 7:15am till 10:15am & 4:00pm till dusk. Lunch, image review, and Photoshop session included. Limit 6. A very small group is again likely: $399.

The cost of your Gatorland Photographer’s Pass is not included.

Chicks in nests likely. Breeding plumage Cattle and Snowy Egrets. And tons more. You will learn to spot the good situations, to choose the best perspective, to see and understand the light, to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure, and to design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system. A big part of the above is that you will learn how and why you must work in Manual mode 90% of the time at Gatorland.

At lunch we will review my images, take a look at five of your best images from the morning session (for those who opt to bring their laptops), and process a few of my images in Photoshop after converting them in DPP. That followed by Instructor Nap Time. Last Saturday all 3 folks had a great time and learned a ton. And the weather for this coming Saturday is looking good.

Payment in full via credit card is due upon registering. Please call Jim or Jennifer at 863-692-0906 to register.

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Typos

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