Backyard Birding - Part Three

February 01, 2019 in General Photography, Tips and Tricks, Wildlife and Nature

Now let's make some pictures!

If you're new to photography (or bird photography in general) this will be an evolutionary process. Take your time and have fun with it. Here are some tips and considerations to get you started.

Background

In Part Two of the series, we worked on setting up and planning for attractive backgrounds - but you still have to pay attention. In the shot of the Black Capped Chickadee above, the distant background provided a nice creamy blur - but it's not perfect. The brown blur over the bird's head wants to draw your attention away from the bird. Always actively look at your background as you're composing the shot, a step or two to the right would have improved this shot tremendously.

Getting Close

Most, but not all, birds will begin to get comfortable with you in their space. To aide in this, sitting (or standing) still and generally being quiet is needed. Limit sudden movements by being more deliberate and slow when you do move - it will ease the bird's tension. Also, sitting in the same spot frequently and for good blocks of time will help the birds adjust to you. I regularly sit within 12-15 feet feet of my closest bird setup with no issues (except be aware of the minimum focusing distance of your lens. This determines how close you can be and still achieve focus). Oh, and one more thing - don't think you can hide. Trust me, the birds know you're there!

Lighting

Needless to say, you want great light for your shots. When you were setting up your backyard birding area, you paid attention to morning and afternoon sweet spots as well as accounted for the movement of the sun over the spring and summer months - so you're all set. Well, not completely. Consider one more technique as the last piece to the perfect shot - fill flash.

Now, this isn't a requirement (you can make great shots without it) but it helps you deal with some of the inevitable shadow areas that can appear on the bird, especially around the eyes, face and breast. In the Bluebird shot above (and many of my other backyard shots) I use fill flash along with an inexpensive adapter called a better beamer to help my light throw farther. When you're ready, brush up on fill flash and take your shots to the next level.

Coloring

Pay attention to the coloring on certain birds to ensure you time your shot correctly. Similar to many ducks, some birds have an iridescent quality to them that varies depending on their angle to the light. What appears to be almost totally black at one angle, can look quite colorful at a slightly different angle. The Tree Swallow above is a good example. Almost dark black over his eye but the same color behind his eye (at a slightly different angle to the sun) is amazing. Pay attention to the light and learn the coloring traits of your birds.

Be Considerate

Don't endanger your birds for the sake of a picture. When birds are very young, it can be safe (in nesting boxes only) to approach and take close-ups - but keep the following in mind:

Mom and dad will fly off - but will return when you leave
Be quick about it, do not leave the box open for any length of time due to temperature considerations
Do not move the box around
Do not move or disturb the actual nest
Do not approach the box after the first week or so. As the birds get older, you could force them into fledging (trying to fly off) too soon and endanger their life.

For birds that are naturally nesting in trees and other places, don't even approach, you could alert predators to their location (where as properly setup nesting boxes are protected) or damage the nest by moving branches or other obstructions around.

Have fun with this new aspect to your photography - it's a very rewarding experience!

Stay in focus,

Mark

Backyard Birding - Part Two

January 13, 2019 in General Photography, Tips and Tricks, Wildlife and Nature

Happy Birds Make Happy Photographers!

A photo friendly habitat makes the job much easier - and it doesn't have to be fancy or expensive. The basic setup below contains all the elements needed for the birds (food, water and cover) and I added a few low cost perching options for my (and the bird's benefit). Keeping an eye open after some spring thunder storms can usually turn up broken branches and chopped up trees. I used one chopped stump that I found and several branches to make up different perching options for my feathered friends.

In order to be "portable" with my displays and able to change my perches out, I use a potting bucket filled with stones as my base. It keeps everything nice and orderly, mobile and fairly easy to make changes.

Here are a few more photo friendly environment tips to keep in mind:

Pay attention to your backgrounds. The farther away you can keep them and minimize drastic color changes, the better you'll be. It will help deliver a nice creamy background.
Shoot tight. As you can see in my setup - distractions abound. Shooting tightly allows you to place bird feeders near by (to interest your subjects and encourage them to hang out on your perch) without having these "hand of man" items ruin your shot.
Don't forget the sun location - both now and next month. As the sun moves through the season, it's position will shift slightly - making a flexible shooting environment a must.

In part three, we'll get to the meat of it - making some great bird shots! Stay tuned.

If you missed part one, you can find it here.

Stay focused,

Mark

Why Shoot Raw?

November 28, 2018 in Image Editing

The answer is easy for me - shooting in the camera's native ("raw") format rather than JPEG allows for a high degree of recovery when you "miss". There are other reasons (ability to adjust white balance, use camera profiles after the fact, etc) but exposure recovery is number one for me. The image below is the original raw file from the camera.

Big difference! The first step in processing this image was to increase exposure 1.5 stops. That's a lot! There were some standard edits made as well (contrast, color, noise reduction and sharpening) but 90% of the change was the ability to pull the exposure out of the shadows.

Shoot in the raw, you won't regret it!

Stay in focus,

Mark

Backyard Bird Photography - It's That Time Again!

October 06, 2018 in Wildlife and Nature

The first of a three part series on attracting, establishing a photogenic environment and making top notch bird images.

Part One: Attracting

Some General Considerations

First things first, you'll need to work with the habitat you've got. Is your backyard fairly open and surrounded by open areas - or is it dense, wooded and surrounded by closed in areas. It makes a big difference as to which type of birds you can successfully attract. Some birds are equal opportunity visitors but most have a preference.
- Dense areas: have good success with Woodpeckers, Blue Jays, Orioles and Cardinals.
- Open areas: have very good chances of attracting Bluebirds and Swallows - this is what I'm lucky enough to have available. And try as I may (and I have), Woodpeckers and Jays are just not interested. I have had some luck with Orioles, we'll talk about that in the food section.
- Learn what types of birds are common to your general area, climate zone and time of year.
  - There's a great tool on the web from The Cornell Lab of Ornithology that gives you all the information you need about birds in your area. It's worth a bookmark.

A healthy lawn also makes a big difference for natural feeding. If you use fertilizer and insecticides, look for organic and natural types of products. Want to learn more about bird friendly yards, check it out here.

As with any type of creature, birds will look for the "big three". If you've only got one or two of them, you will get occasional visitors - but not regular neighbors. Here's a quick review, one at a time.

Shelter

IDMkIV_Backyard Birding_2010-05-16_2639_Original.jpg

Shelter will be species specific so reference the Cornell Lab site above for your birding type and also visit Wild Birds Unlimited for assistance in setting up the right type of housing. An actual "bird house" is only one of two types of shelter considerations for birds, the other is natural vegetation such as trees and bushes. Not only can these provide protection for birds, but many can also function as natural food sources. Visit Gardening for Wildlife for more information on enhancing the habitat.

Water

Just as with humans, water is a critical component for happy birds. There are many types and styles of bird baths, so choose to your personal taste - the real consideration around water is cleanliness. Birds can be highly susceptible to dirty and bacteria infested water. Change the water frequently and either scrub the bird bath or use cleaning tablets to keep it safe.

Food

Seeds

IDMkIV_Backyard Birds 4-10-10_2010-04-10_1583_Original.jpg

Not all seeds are created equal. Your basic mixed bird seeds will do the job alright, they'll attract everything - including Red Winged Blackbirds, House Sparrows and Cowbirds that can make it a rough neighborhood for song birds. A cleaner seed choice is safflower as it is very desirable by Cardinals and House Finches (as seen above). The rougher crowd of birds will usually stay clear of safflower.

Nectar

Hummingbirds of various types can be attracted to most areas by special feeders and nectar. You can purchase "hummingbird food" but it's really just sugar water. If you're willing to take a few minutes, you can boil your own. Two very important facts, regardless if you boil your own nectar or use a packaged brand - DO NOT use food coloring in an effort to attract Hummingbirds. You've got plenty of color in the feeder itself and the dye is not healthy for the birds. It's also important to change out the food (more frequently when the weather is warmer).

Fruit and Jellies

There are many birds who are attracted to fruits such as oranges and berries - Orioles and Waxwings to name just a few. But don't underestimate the power of grape jelly! It's a cheap and easy alternative to fresh fruit and you'll also find House Finches lining up for a beak full as well.

Live Food

Live food is the only real choice for certain types of birds. The best and easiest type to use are meal-worms and can usually be purchased at your local pet supply store. Mealworms kept refrigerated will stay dormant but will come to life once placed in your nice warm backyard. If you're a little squeamish about worms in your fridge, you can also try the freeze dried (in other words - dead) variety. They seem to work fairly well when other live sources are not readily available.

Ok, you should be all set for the "attracting" part. In the next installment I'll focus on building a photo friendly environment. It's easy and can be accomplished anywhere from low to no cost if you know how to proceed. This is where it really starts to get fun!

Stay in focus,

Mark

Patience Can Be 90% Of The Battle

January 01, 2016 in General Photography

3 hours of waiting for an eagle. Finally one pass. But it was a good one!

Scout your locations (including sun angle and prevailing winds) to be sure that you're "patient" in the right location.
Make sure your settings are correct, check them periodically with test shots if the light changes.
"Pre focus" on the spot you think the action will happen.
Pay attention - don't get too distracted, the 10 seconds of action can happen when you least expect it

Stay in focus,

Mark

Air Show Tips - Shutter Speed

August 31, 2015 in Air Show, General Photography

An ultimate shot for me!

P-51 Mustang captured at 1/160th of a second on a low and fast pass.

Generally speaking, you can shoot jets at a very high shutter speed - unless you're looking for a certain type of effect (more on that later) but with prop driven planes it's important to shoot slow enough to show as much motion in the propeller as possible. Yes, this is easier said than done - as the Mustang in the shot below illustrates.

Quick Tips

Determine you current "stable" panning shutter speed
- Start at 1/750th and begin working down from there
- Practice good panning techniques
  - Plant your feet shoulder width apart
  - Keep your elbows tucked in
  - Pick a spot on your target and keep one specific focus point on that spot
  - Pivot at the waist
  - Gradually start to slow your shutter
    - Different airplanes will have different "sweet spots" - as high as 1/350th of a second all the way down to 1/60th of a second

Take a look at the shot below taken at a later air-show and compare it to the "frozen" Mustang above. Sharp focus is maintained but with a nice pleasing blur in the Mustang's prop. You don't get the feeling that the aircraft are just hanging in the sky but rather a good sense of motion.

Jets

Generally speaking, you can use a high shutter speed on jets - makes for easier shooting and with a jet's speed you may need it. There are times, however, when you'll want to reduce your shutter speed based on background and simliar situations. The shot below is a good example, higher shutter speed for the jet worked just fine - but a slower speed would have significantly blurred the background creating an even greater sense of speed.

One last consideration for slower shutter speeds, be sure you're not dealing with three axis movement. You can manage a shutter when:

the plane is moving closer or farther away from you (autofocus does this)
the plane is moving forward (a good panning technique handles this one)

However, if the plane is rotating, rolling or pitching up dramatically at the same time it's moving forward - you'll start to pick up some blur as you can't pan in multiple directions.

Have fun and don't get discouraged, it takes time!

Stay in focus,

Mark