Saving the Earth One Bird at a TimeThe Bouler family captures feathered friends with the Tamron SP 70-300mm VC USD lens. |
Article By Jennifer Gidman Images by James Bouler and Olivia Bouler Costa Rica and Maine images all shot with the Tamron 70-300mm VC USD lens. |
James and Nadine Bouler and their children, Olivia and Jackson, care about the Earth. Whether it’s building houses that use renewable energy (James Bouler’s specialty), lobbying for the environment as a family in the nation’s capital, or 12-year-old Olivia’s efforts to raise money for the Audubon Society after the devastating Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, the eco-conscious clan is at the forefront of socially responsible living and education. |
Olivia’s story is the most well-known. In 2010. after the biggest accidental oil spill in history in the Gulf of Mexico, Olivia, a budding ornithologist, was devastated. “Olivia has grandparents in Alabama and knows the area well —she knew the brown pelicans down there would be nesting,” says James. “Brown pelicans don’t leave their nests under any circumstances — they’ll sit there and get covered in oil just to protect their eggs.” |
Olivia wrote to the National Audubon Society saying she wanted to help. Audubon suggested she set up a Facebook page. “Her idea was so simple,” says James. “She gave original paintings of birds to the first 500 people who donated to Audubon. It took her all of last summer to do those paintings.” Olivia’s bird paintings have raised nearly $200,000 to date. |
Her artistic endeavors eventually evolved into Olivia’s Birds: Saving the Gulf*, a book that came out in April 2011 to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the oil spill. The book features Olivia’s paintings, illustrations, bird facts, and photos by James that showcase Olivia’s campaign.
*Tamron lenses were not used for the images in Olivia's Birds. |
But while painting birds has been her main concentration (mom Nadine is a painter and artist as well), Olivia and her dad also enjoy photographing their feathered friends in a variety of venues. One of the family’s favorite new lenses for this purpose: the Tamron SP 70-300mm VC lens, which they’ve used everywhere from a recent trip to Costa Rica to a bird restoration project in Maine. |
Aviary Adventures in Costa Rica |
The Bouler family recently traveled to Costa Rica, where they stayed at the nature-inspired Four Seasons Costa Rica Resort, a series of buildings tucked into the landscape of the Peninsula Papagayo. During their stay in this lush Central American jewel, the Boulers did everything from boat ride birding expeditions to educating schoolchildren in the Palo Verde rainforest. |
There are abundant species of birds in Costa Rica — including some we’re familiar with here in the States. “We share so many birds with Costa Rica, because they migrate from North America down there, and then back,” says James. Olivia was able to name her favorites from memory the way some kids list Pokémon characters: “We saw mangrove swallows, Baltimore orioles, ringed kingfishers, white-throated Magpie-Jays, cormorants, snowy egrets, green heron, Magnificent Frigatebirds, brown pelicans, and black-bellied whistling ducks,” she documents. |
In this photographer’s paradise, James Bouler got to take full advantage of the Tamron 70-300mm lens, which he appreciated for its fast autofocus speed (thanks to Tamron's new USD AF system) and the sharp images he was able to get in the depths of the rainforest. “Plus the lens was lightweight and compact — it fit in my camera case really easily,” he says. |
The group took a boat ride through the rainforest, where James was able to put the 70-300’s birding capabilities to the test. “For birding, it’s a great lens to get close,” he says. “We would float past the birds, and because they had had so much rain there, we were moving pretty swiftly. I would just have to point and pull the trigger fast. That’s where the Vibration Compensation of this lens came into play — we were in a boat, moving and bumping along, so the stability of this lens with the VC was terrific.” |
While James took about 80 percent of the Costa Rica images, Olivia also got into the photographic act. “She likes to take her own pictures, so I gave her the camera often as well,” says James. Nadine was impressed with how easily Olivia was able to handle the camera with the 70-300 lens. “Because we were on a boat, I would hand her the camera and then take it back intermittently so it wouldn’t get dropped,” she explains. “But other than that, Olivia was really able to focus and catch birds in mid-air — she was really comfortable with it.” |
Olivia also got the chance to shoot with the 70-300mm up in Maine, where she had an exhibition at Project Puffin. “Project Puffin is a seabird restoration project off the coast of Maine started by ornithologist Dr. Stephen Kress,” says Nadine. “Puffins had been hunted to extinction off the coast of Maine in the 19th century, mostly to supply feathers for ladies' hats. Not only have puffins been brought back to Maine, these nesting sites have become havens for other birds such as the endangered roseate tern.” |
Up in the Pine Tree State, Olivia had the opportunity to photograph Atlantic puffins, laughing gulls, and common terns, among others. Nadine also noticed another purpose for the 70-300 when it was in Olivia’s hands. “One of the things I really liked about the lens was how it increased her ability to see the birds — it served as both a binocular and a recording device since the VC makes the image in the viewfinder really steady for viewing,” she says. “As a mom, to give that tool to my daughter for birding was great. And the evidence was in the photos she took and how she paid such close attention to the birds she was seeing.” |
The Boulers, who have already been to Washington, D.C., twice to lobby for the environment, plan on continuing their efforts for Mother Earth through photography, art, and education. “We had always done things at a certain level to be kind to the Earth, but the oil spill really galvanized us,” says James. “We have family conferences about what we’re going to do next. It’s important what the kids’ opinions are. Jackson has been a great helper for Olivia, handing out packets in Costa Rica and raising money himself for Project Puffin. My own specialty in the office is renewable energy. We build houses that produce more energy than you can use: You can get a check back from the electric company at the end of the year.” |
As for Olivia? “Well, she’s only 12, and things could change, but she wants to go to Cornell to be an ornithologist and get involved in habitat restoration and bird rehabilitation,” says James. “Birds are a litmus test in terms of the health of the environment. We all live in the same fishbowl, and the environment is our water filter — when the water filter breaks down, we’re also going to be in trouble.” |
For more information on the Bouler family’s projects, go to http://boulerdesigngroup.blogspot.com/. For specific information on Olivia Bouler, go to http://www.oliviabouler.net/. |