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Thursday, April 24, 2008

Photographer Follows Birdie To Town

By Lee Ross /
Mountain View Telegraph
      It was three little birds that brought an award-winning photographer to Edgewood.
       Gail Diane Yovanovich — whose photograph “Sandhill Cranes in Flame Sunset” was one of 15 to receive an honorable mention in the National Wildlife Refuge Association 2008 Photo Contest — said she moved to Edgewood two years ago after driving down Hill Ranch Road and seeing all three North American species of bluebird.
       “I’m a nature person and I like to be closer to it,” she said. “Birds, of course, are No.1 with me … I have 15 bird feeders and many hummingbird feeders.”
       Yovanovich makes a living as an artist, both with her photography and illustration, but she said she finds true joy in photographing birds.
       “It’s the perfect way for me to combine birds and my art,” she said. “I like to extract the detail out of things with my camera.”
       On March 24, her photo of sandhill cranes, taken in the Bosque Del Apache south of Socorro, was one of 20 images chosen from more than 2,000 photos taken in over 150 wildlife refuges, according a publication of the NWRA. The awards were given out in connection with the 105 anniversary of the establishment of the national wildlife refuge system, Yovanovich said.
       Of the 20 award-winners, Yovanovich was the only photographer from New Mexico, and her photo was also the only image taken in New Mexico to receive an award.
       “Bosque del Apache happens to be one of the premier refuges for waterfowl,” Yovanovich said. “It’s probably the most- photographed wildlife refuge … they work hard to keep the habitat right not only for birds but also for visitors, so that people can appreciate what we have.”
       Yovanovich said she also is concerned with the natural habitat in Edgewood.
       “Development and progress, if you want to call it that, push animals and birds out of their habitat,” she said. “It’s more rural here and there’s more wildlife here … I hope they don’t build Edgewood up too much. It’s getting there fast.”
       Her photography can be viewed or purchased at Kokopelli’s Restaurant & Kantina, north of Cedar Crest on N.M. 14.
       Yovanovich said she is involved locally as a member of an artists group, the East Mountain Art Association. For more information on the association, which consists mostly of painters according to Yovanovich, e-mail Deb Matthew at starlightranch nm@aol.com.>   

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