Dayton Photographer has Wildlife Photograph Published in National Wildlife and to be Part of Exhibit at Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C.

A wildlife photograph taken by Dayton-area photographer Jim Crotty, who owns and manages the Picture Ohio gallery and studio in Centerville, Ohio, has been selected as the First Place winner of the New Life category, professional division, of the 36th Annual Photography Awards for National Wildlife magazine, published by the National Wildlife Federation. The photograph, featuring two baby House Finch birds in a nest, has been published in the December/January 2007 Issue of National Wildlife.

Dayton, OH (PRWeb) November 16, 2006 -- A wildlife photograph taken by Dayton-area photographer Jim Crotty, who owns and manages the Picture Ohio gallery and studio in Centerville, Ohio, has been selected as the First Place winner of the New Life category, professional division, of the 36th Annual Photography Awards for National Wildlife magazine, published by the National Wildlife Federation. The photograph, featuring two baby House Finch birds in a nest, has been published in the December/January 2007 Issue of National Wildlife.

In addition, Nature's Best Photography magazine has selected this photograph to part of an exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. According to Bob Tope, Managing Editor of Nature's Best Magazine, "this exhibition featuring the finest images from our 2006 Nature's Best Photography International Awards Competition and the 2006 National Wildlife Photography Awards will officially open to the public on November 16, 2006 and remain on display through April 2007."

Information about the exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History can be found at:

http://www.mnh.si.edu/exhibits/natures_best_2006/

The National Wildlife magazine online article with image can be viewed at http://www.nwf.org/nationalwildlife/article.cfm?issueID=112&articleID=1409.

"This is big," commented Jim Crotty. "Every professional photographer aspires for national exposure, to be recognized amongst a field of incredible talent. Many top nature photographers become widely known based on only a handful, or sometimes just one, of his or her best work. I had no idea when I took this image last spring that it would go this far. Now I need to get myself, my daughters and my wife to D.C. before the exhibition ends in April.

"Everytime I see this photograph I think 'muppets'," said Crotty. "These two little guys are two-day old House Finches, who nest in our hanging ferns that we place each year on our front porch. The nestlings are fun to photograph, but it can be tricky because of the timing. There is only about a two to three day window of opportunity immediately following the time that they hatch when they have this other-worldly appearance. This image is proof-positive of what I always say at my workshops and presentations: it's the image you're not expecting or searching for that turns out to be the best shot of the day."

The photograph and additional details about how it was captured are available on Crotty's photography business blog, calmphotos.com.

Crotty has also added over 300 new images of the National Military Park in Gettysburg, all taken during a recent visit this past October to his stock library of nature, landscape, wildlife and cityscape photographs. Many of these can be viewed on the Travel Photography page of http://ohiophoto.org. Many of his most often licensed photographs are represented by either the Alamy Images stock agency, based in England, or iStock Photo.

Other recent photographic work was published on the cover of the Spring/Summer Issue of Ohio State Parks Magazine, the Official 2006 Dayton Visitors Guide, Dayton: On the Wings of Progress coffee table style book and Impressions: the 2006 Showcase of Images published by the North American Nature Photography Association.

In addition to the licensing and publication of his stock photographs, Crotty also creates and sells fine art prints, produced in his studio and gallery in Centerville, as well as providing a variety of commercial photography services. "Recently I've been doing quite a bit of location photography outside of the Dayton area for company websites and marketing publications. Lots of products and architectural projects. I find that work just as rewarding as my nature and landscape photography," he said.

Picture Ohio, LLC will have been in business for four years in April 2007. Crotty began the business from his home in Kettering, then moved to a 500-square foot studio at Far Hills and Dorothy Lane before finally settling in at his current location, just a few doors down from Elsa's Restaurant on Far Hills Ave. in Centerville.

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