Friday, April 1st, 2016
Love of birds pays off for local teen
By Ed Gebert
Submitted Photo
Josh King, 14, Celina, recently earned second place in a national photography competition from American Birding Association. King submitted his photos of birds in their natural habitat.
CELINA - A local youth was runner-up for the second consecutive year in a national photography contest.
Josh King, 14, earned second place in the 14-18 year age division by the American Birding Association. He had earned the honor in a younger age group in his first attempt at the competition last year.
"I started birding at age 8, but I have always had a passion for wildlife," he said.
King is the son of Jason and Joél King, Celina, and is home-schooled.
"Both photography and birding are passions of his," Jason King said. "He's really been into different species of birds for quite a while now and we've been encouraging that."
That encouragement has included traveling to hunt down the ruddy turnstone, the yellow-bellied flycatcher or other tough-to-find birds.
"In this competition, you get pics of 10 different species of birds in their natural habitat setting, so you have to go out and try to find them," Jason King said. "Part of our vacations we spent time chasing down a rare species."
A family vacation to Utah and Arizona and an annual trip to Magee Marsh in Ottawa County helped locate several bird species this past year.
As part of the competition, Josh King had to give a keynote presentation with the 10 photos, identification of each species, a description of where the bird was found and notes on the type of camera used for each shot.
"He has become very proficient at taking such pictures," Jason King noted. "He's even bought two cameras, upgrading this last year to a new camera."
The cameras were purchased in part with money he had earned mowing lawns. His parents helped cover the remaining cost.
Some of Josh King's other hobbies include fishing, hockey, cross-country and hiking. His siblings are Jaden, Aliyah, and Aaren.
Submitted Photo
Josh King, 14, Celina, entered this photo of a ruddy turnstone in its natural habitat and other images in a national photography competition from American Birding Association. King earned second place the competition.
