Hawks in Flight

On October 8th, The Des Plaines Camera Club will be featuring Vic Berardi’s presentation, “Hawks In Flight Photography”. Vic will discuss the techniques and equipment he uses to capture high quality images of raptors in flight. He will also discuss places to go and best times of the year. Some discussion will be given to perched raptors and creative techniques.

Vic Berardi is the founder of the all-volunteer Illinois Beach State Park Hawk Watch which has conducted eleven complete seasons of full time hawk migration monitoring. He recently served on the Board of Directors for the Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA) and is the Central Continental Flyway Editor for Hawk Migration Studies which is HMANA’s biannual publication. In 2007 he was awarded the Grassroots Conservation Leadership Award for his leadership in raptor education and research. And in 2009 he was awarded the Service to Chicago Area Birders by the Chicago Audubon Society.

In addition to Vic’s dedication to the IBSP Hawk Watch and HMANA, he also finds time to write articles on hawk watching, give hawk identification seminars and raptor conservation related talks. Vic is also an accomplished photographer and many of his photos have been published in several magazines, including Outdoor Illinois, Hawk Migration Studies and BirdWatching Magazine along with two new guide books, “Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America” by Donald & Lillian Stokes and “Hawks At A Distance” by Jerry Liguori.

Vic is also a member of the Raptor Research Foundation, HawkWatch International and several other birding organizations including the Illinois Ornithological Society in which he served as a Board member for 4 years and Field Trip Chair for 3 years.

When Vic isn’t out in the field watching and photographing raptors you will find him at his fulltime job as a Sales Manager for a Wisconsin based designer and manufacturer of plastic injection molds.

He is widely respected by the prominent leaders in the hawk watching community of North America.

Anyone interested in photography or in expanding their knowledge or just curious is welcome. The club provides an opportunity to learn from each other, from presentations, from outings and provides an outlet for creative interest. The DPCC meets on the second and fourth Monday of each month September thru May. The meetings are at 7:00 pm at the Arndt Field House, 1990 White Street, in Des Plaines. Questions should be referred to Tom Mulick at photobytomm@comcast.net.