Professional nature photographers Kevin Karlson (right) and Lloyd Spitalnik are offering a free day of events at DeKorte Park on Saturday. Kevin sent us the following description of all the programming — which include some amazing stuff you won't want to miss, including a free hands-on photography seminar and a look at their new book:

Two 90-minute bird walks in the morning (8:15 and 10:15 a.m.) will concentrate on shorebirds and any other birds that we see around the Meadowlands Environment Center and on the Marsh Discovery Trail.

After lunch, I will give a short presentation on “Tips for Being a Better Birder” (1/2 hour), after which I will show new digital comparative photo arrays from my upcoming book “Birding by Impression” in the Roger Tory Peterson Reference Series.

Detailed descriptions of the afternoon programs follow.

During this short session (1/2 hour), I will ask the audience to pick out differences between similar-appearing birds, with a concentration on the bird’s body shape and structural features (bill size and shape; neck and wing length; leg length, etc.). Plumage and bare parts differences are then analyzed to come up with a more comprehensive ID picture of every bird seen. This evaluative approach to bird ID uses evaluative right brain strengths to help with your ID.

The second hour of the afternoon session will be a short introduction to a new photography book that Lloyd (pictured at left) and I wrote, “Visions: Earth’s Elements in Bird and Nature Photography,” after which we will share a digital presentation based on the book that incorporates musical interludes for each of the earth’s elements section.

This special presentation is currently being shown as a keynote presentation for a number of national birding festivals, so come and see some of the finest bird and nature photographs, accompanied by wonderful music that is also themed to earth’s elements of earth, fire, air and water.

The final hour is a photography seminar by us two professional photographers. Lloyd will give an introduction to bird and nature photography for ½ hour, and then Kevin will give a hands-on workshop on how to take the best possible flight or action photo.

This second section is a bit advanced in nature, but you will get something out of the seminar regardless of your skill level. Lloyd and I will have a large assortment of Canon lenses and cameras for you to hold and try out so that you can plan for your own photography future.

Lloyd and I will be available to answer questions about equipment and costs, and the pluses and minuses of large lenses versus smaller ones. This is a rare opportunity to pick our brains  while testing the equipment on site.