Photographing Birds E-Book

Mark Sisson

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Seitenzahl: 232

Beschreibung

Bird photography is one of the most challenging genres of photography, and can test even modern high-specification cameras to their limits. This practical book guides you through both how to understand your camera and how to develop your own style and approach. With technical, practical and creative insights throughout, it also emphasizes the importance of fieldcraft and understanding your subject. The book advises on cameras and equipment, explains the importance of light and composition, encourages experimentation and a creative approach, suggests project ideas and locations and demonstrates post-capture processing. This practical book helps you master the challenges of photographing birds and to capture their beauty, flight and behaviour and will be of great interest to bird photographers, bird enthusiasts, artists and ornithologists. Beautifully illustrated with 160 stunning colour images.

Leseprobe

Photographing Birds

Art and Techniques

Mark Sisson

CROWOOD

First published in 2014 byThe Crowood Press LtdRamsbury, MarlboroughWiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2014

© Mark Sisson 2014

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication DataA catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 84797 714 4

Frontispiece: Mute Swan cygnet Cygnus olor.

Acknowledgements

Bird photography, like all aspects of nature photography, is generally a very solitary profession. In spite of this there are a number of people who have helped both in terms of career in this field and the love of the natural world that took me down this path in the first place. Firstly my family: my wife Caroline, our children and my parents have all had to put up with my long absences and at times obsessive nature in pursuit of my work, but all have been hugely supportive in the process. Professionally speaking my Natures Images colleagues Danny Green, Paul Hobson and Edwin Kats have been among the many photographers who have inspired and aided my learning in this field: a process that never ends. Finally the many organizations I have had and still enjoy the pleasure of working for, including Shropshire Wildlife Trust and the RSPB to name only a couple: you all do great conservation work and I hope my images are of genuine help and use in your causes.

CONTENTS

Introduction

1    Equipment

2    Understanding Your SLR Camera

3    The Importance of Light

4    Clues to Composition

5    Getting Started: Some Project Ideas and Finding Locations

6    Developing Your Portfolio

7    Some Creative Approaches

8    The Importance of Fieldcraft

9    Some Thoughts on Post-Capture Processing and Organization

Appendix

Useful Websites

Index

Introduction

There are many routes into the world of bird photography. For some it is a natural and these days reasonably affordable addition to the record-keeping that many keen ornithologists undertake. For those starting from a photographic knowledge base, it offers the excitement of one of the most challenging genres of photography there is, and certainly one that at times tests even modern high-specification cameras to their limits. For many, however, it is part of a desire to experience, enjoy and interpret an integral part of the natural world, and probably the most visible, varied and accessible to them in terms of subject, wherever they may live.

Whether or not any or even all of these apply to you, there is no doubt that bird photography is a pastime that has increased dramatically in recent years with the emergence of high-specification and in real terms significantly more affordable digital SLR cameras and incredibly fast-focusing long lenses. The days of expensive processing of slides taken using a split-prism manually pre-focused wind-on camera are now well and truly gone. There is also a plethora of individuals and companies offering photographic experience days, short-breaks and longer adventures focused on bird photography, so the accessibility of stunning subject material is now just a swipe of a credit card away! You only have to spend a short while surfing the internet to come across image after colourful image of birds in all manner of locations and with ever-increasing standards of creativity in their capture, so if this really is your area of interest then it’s as good a time to start as any.

All of that said, there is still, as in so many aspects of life, no better way to approach things than by really understanding your subject, really understanding your working tools and then looking to develop your own style and approach, and you should find some solid building blocks and pointers towards this in this book. The one thing the book won’t be able to teach you, though – and probably the greatest attribute any photographer of any aspect of the natural world can have – is patience. Our modern lifestyles make it all too easy to change channels if we’re bored and constantly keep in touch with friends or colleagues on whatever portable device we happen to have this year. While many of these technologies can help the process of bird photography, they simply cannot replace the need for patience, observation and time spent watching, learning and interpreting the behaviour of your photographic subject. Alongside technical, creative and practical insights these pages therefore look to offer the beginner and enthusiast some pointers to not simply achieving a more consistent and better standard of image, but also developing the mindset and outlook that will help them do so.

Fig. 0.1

Red-necked Phalarope Phalaropus lobatus wading in the shallows of Lake Myvatn, Iceland. Canon 1Dx, 500mm + 1.4× converter, f5.6, 1/4000sec, ISO 800.

Chapter 1

Equipment

CHOOSING A DIGITAL SLR

If this book had been written even just ten years ago the decision-making process when it comes to camera selection would have been far more complicated than it is today. Digital cameras in their various guises were relatively new on the market and in terms of final image quality simply didn’t match up to a well-taken slide or transparency.

Fig. 1.1

Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus in the wetland area of Hortobagy National Park, Hungary. Canon 1Dx, 500mm +1.4× converter, f5.6, 1/2000sec, ISO 1600.

Today it’s almost impossible to find anyone working seriously in the field of wildlife photography who doesn’t rely exclusively on a digital camera and this will almost definitely be an SLR (single lens reflex) camera – a system which allows interchangeable lenses to be added to a camera body, the viewfinder of which provides a view which looks directly through the lens thanks to a mechanical mirror and pentaprism inside. When the shutter is pressed to take an image the mirror swings out of the way, allowing the lens to project light through the aperture onto a digital sensor at the rear of the camera, a process that generally takes a fraction of a second. Although the zoom (or magnification) capabilities of many so-called bridge cameras are indeed quite significant, and there are even now mirrorless interchangeable lens camera systems, these styles of cameras do have limitations in terms of the amount and degree of control you can really have over them. They also very often have a significant delay between pressing the shutter and taking the image that will soon have you wishing you had spent that bit more on an SLR in the first place.

Fig. 1.2

A modern, professional-specification digital SLR.

It is not the author’s place to advise on a specific brand or model of SLR, but in making that choice for yourself it makes sense to be guided by a number of pointers, such as the breadth of camera bodies and lenses that the manufacturer has to offer – a good indication of their range and a quick bit of researching on what kit the photographers you might aspire to image-wise are using can be a good starting point. It generally comes down to a couple of choices, either of which will see you right. Beyond making a decision as to whether a full-frame or crop-sensor body is your best bet (see box), it is then a question of budget. Camera bodies are a bit like new cars: there is an array of price-points, all of which depreciate almost immediately as new models are constantly being brought out. The best advice is to aspire to one at the top end of your budget, work it hard for a number of years, and you will know when you have out-grown it and can justify (as well as afford) trading up. You will also know by then which features have proved to be a touch more frustrating than ideal and can research them specifically at that next stage, too.

FULL-FRAME VERSUS CROP SENSOR

Full-frame digital SLRs have had their sensors (the area where the image data is recorded) sized to match the old 35mm film format – namely 36mm × 24mm. These large sensors are generally more expensive than crop- (or APS-C) sized sensors and are therefore more likely to be found in high specification models. There are, though, advantages and disadvantages when it comes to bird photography. On the plus side they have large photosites (the light-sensitive points on the chip), which means they are able to capture more light with less noise, resulting in a less grainy and smoother image; this also means they are generally able to work better in low light conditions. A fast shutter speed is often important in bird photography so this can be a major help towards this.

Crop sensor SLRs (most consumer-level models fall into this bracket) have an APS-C size chip. Depending on the manufacturer, this means a sensor ranging from 20.7mm × 13.8mm to 28.7mm × 19.1mm. The main impact of this is the apparent multiplication of the focal length of the lens attached to the camera – hence why these are often referred to as 1.3× or 1.6× crop. This makes a 300mm lens the equivalent of a 390mm or 480mm lens respectively. Using these bodies the equivalent focal length of longer (and more expensive) lenses can be achieved more economically, and subjects that won’t tolerate being approached too closely can still be photographed from a greater distance.

Read plenty of reviews and look particularly at the camera’s speed and accuracy of focusing and frames-per-second capabilities (a minimum of five per second is necessary). These are the capabilities that will be most tested by bird photography as a genre. It is also important to try the camera out ergonomically – there can be quite a bit of variety in terms of size and it needs to fit comfortably in your hands.

CHOOSING LENSES

The reality of bird photography is that if you really want to take it seriously you are going to need a reasonably long telephoto lens and these do come with a high price tag. Our view of the world using our eyes is roughly the equivalent to looking through a 50mm lens on a full-frame sensor camera. Anything greater than 50mm is moving into telephoto territory. For most bird photography the simple fact of the matter is that you will have to be working at a reasonable distance from your subject, and as many bird species are small in size a long telephoto lens is essential. 300mm is probably the absolute minimum and the norm that you will see most professionals using is a 500mm.

Fig. 1.3

A 300mm lens (shown here with a protective neoprene coating) is very much the minimum focal length required for professional and high-end bird photography.

Budgets will always be a factor here, but as with your selection of camera body my advice is to spend at the top end of your budget. A good lens will last through several changes of camera body, and in this field the simple rule that you pay for what you get applies – higher quality glass simply does give cleaner and sharper images. Although they don’t appear very often, looking on internet auction sites for secondhand lenses can prove fruitful and is an additional reassurance that you should have little problem recouping much, if not all, of your outlay should your circumstances change.

Another factor to bear in mind other than the quality/budget equation is the weight of the lens and camera combination. Although most of the time you will be using a tripod (see ‘Supporting your Camera’, below) or some other form of support, you still have to be able to comfortably lift and manoeuvre your kit, as well as carry it to photographic locations away from home. Before investing in this area make sure you get to feel the weight of your potential purchase by visiting a retail outlet or an exhibition where the equipment may be on display.

Fig. 1.4

A 1.4× tele-converter adds an additional 40 per cent magnification to your lens, turning a 500mm lens into 700mm: you do lose a stop of light, though.

Working with these long lenses does mean that fast shutter speeds are preferable in order to avoid the dreaded ‘camera shake’ in your images. Many manufacturers have additional image stabilization or vibration reduction technologies built into their lenses, and although they add to the cost they are extremely beneficial and another factor to consider in your decision-making.

Alongside your long lens, a wide-angle lens (24–70mm for example) will prove a useful addition. This style of lens will significantly exaggerate the perspective of your images – put simply, objects close to the camera will appear larger than they are and those in the distance seem further away. Although this lens type is the bread-and-butter for landscape photographers, it has a role in creating images that emphasize the context of the habitat your subject may be in. This may require the use of remote shutter release, as relatively few wild subjects will come that close.

Fig. 1.5

A 24–70mm is an ideal wide-angle lens (shown here with lens hood).

Fig. 1.6

This confiding Atlantic Puffin Fratercula arctica, photographed in the dramatic setting of the cliffs at Hermaness in Shetland at a focal length of 50mm, shows just how the context of the bird’s habitat can add to the drama of an image.

PRIME LENS VERSUS ZOOM

Lenses come in essentially two different types. Prime lenses are those of a fixed focal length (for example, 300mm) and this cannot be changed. Zoom lenses offer a range of adjustable focal lengths that the user can easily adjust during use (for example, 70–200mm). While the advantages of the latter are indeed many, offering as they do a wider range of compositional options and often a significantly cheaper route to achieving the longer focal lengths you may be seeking, prime lenses do tend to be much sharper from an optical perspective, and are generally much ‘faster’, offering wider minimum apertures such as f2.8 or f4, which means they can be used more easily in lower light conditions.

SUPPORTING YOUR CAMERA

Having already highlighted the need for a long telephoto lens for most bird photography work and the associated issues of weight that come with it, making sure that your camera and lens are well supported is another essential ingredient. Key here is a good, solid tripod with a flexible head on it, to which the camera and lens are attached.

Tripods

As in almost everything in this equipment chapter, setting yourself a budget and then looking to invest towards the top-end of it will always pay off in the longer term. Buy a cheap and flimsy tripod (usually these come with the head and legs combined) and you almost may as well not bother as it really won’t help; in fact it will probably hinder your photography, such will be the frustration it will engender.

There are a number of leading tripod manufacturers to choose from, all of whom offer the same essential design. Key things to look out for are strong and adjustable legs (if this is provided in a lightweight material such as carbon fibre so much the better, as it will reduce the burden of gear-carrying), ideally a maximum height that means if you are photographing from a standing position you can minimize the bending of your back to look through the camera, and personally I would avoid a centre column so that when you open the legs out to get the tripod as close to the ground as possible it goes almost flat. If you do get a model with a centre column, make sure it is removable.

Fig. 1.7

This tripod is very solid yet reasonably lightweight thanks to its carbon fibre legs, which can be extended to full standing height if required or opened flat for photographing at ground level: note the absence of a centre column to make this easier.

Tripod Heads

On top of this you will require a tripod head that provides the attachment to the camera and lens combination. The three main design options are a ball head (akin to a ball and socket joint), a pan and tilt head, and a bracket design.

The former allows the camera to rotate while it’s attached to the ball itself and be locked into position. Although they are highly flexible they can be quite fiddly to lock into position at speed and are possibly therefore more suited to landscape photography. Pan and tilt heads allow movement left to right, forwards and backwards, as well as horizontal panning. They provide excellent and often very precise support but can be quite bulky and heavy design-wise and, like the ball heads, can be quite awkward with longer lenses. The third option of a bracket design or gimbal-style head is really designed with the long lenses of bird photography in mind. The camera and lens combination is balanced at its natural centre of gravity around a central point of rotation and the resultant effort required to move the direction the lens points is minimal. They are an expensive option without doubt, but for long and heavy lenses they are certainly the most flexible and easy-to-use option. It is important to note, though, that you will require an additional lens plate on the foot of your telephoto lens in order to attach everything together and this will need to be purchased separately.

Fig. 1.8a

A ball head: its movement is similar to a ball and socket joint.

Fig. 1.8b

A pan and tilt head.

Fig. 1.8c

A gimbal-style head based on a bracket design offers the greatest flexibility with long lenses. If your budget will run to it, it is the best option for bird photography once you have invested in the longer lens.

Other Supports

Many sports photographers, also users of long lenses, use a monopod as their preferred method of support, citing flexibility, a lighter weight and greater manoeuvrability as the reason. In essence it is a single-legged tripod; the better ones have adjustable leg sections (again, check the maximum height) and some offer options as to how the foot end can be secured to the ground (a spike for instance). They can be a useful option when stalking and also on small boats where space is restricted and constant motion renders a tripod almost useless.

Fig. 1.9

This image of a male King Eider Somateria spectabilis was photographed using a 500mm lens while travelling at reasonable speed in a zodiac-style rib boat in northern Norway. Tripods were not possible for support but a monopod wedged into the floor of the boat helped significantly in comparison to straightforward hand-holding.

A beanbag is also an excellent form of support and highly flexible. For the filling, rice or dried peas are generally a little more eco-friendly that polystyrene balls (some of which always blow away when you empty or refill) and their pliant nature allows the bag to form nicely around a long lens when placed somewhere stable as a base. These are particularly useful when working out of a car window (especially those that come in an ‘H’-type shape as they fit over the door well when the window is down) or in hides where there is a suitable shelf in front of the opening. They also work well when you have to set up in a prone position on the ground in a bag hide and a tripod is too bulky.

Fig. 1.10

A beanbag, whether a commercially bought one (as here) or homemade and filled with rice or pulses, provides excellent mouldingtype support for long lenses when tripods are not possible.

Finally, the one bit of support that comes with your camera when you buy it is a neck strap. When you are using long lenses and tripods these are by and large irrelevant to the carrying of your camera and frankly get in the way, so it’s generally best not to bother attaching them to the camera body.

USEFUL ACCESSORIES

There is an almost endless range of accessories marketed at photographers, many of which are of limited long-term usefulness, but the following suggestions are useful additions to consider as you become more committed to your hobby.

Spare Batteries/Battery Grip

Top-end SLRs come with large battery packs which contain a number of individual battery cells inside. Under most circumstances these will happily last out a day’s photography but it is always good practice to have a spare or two in your kit bag, especially when photographing away from home. Entry-level SLRs have much smaller battery packs and these run out much quicker, making this more essential. It is possible to get a vertical battery grip for these, which attaches via the camera’s battery storage compartment. This will not only provide increased storage space by allowing for the use of two batteries, but also provide an additional shutter-release button, making using it in portrait-format images infinitely easier.

Fig. 1.11

This additional battery grip will house not only two batteries (it slots into the existing battery compartment of the camera) but also a new set of shutter-release and general control buttons for use when shooting in portrait mode.

Angle Finder

When your camera is pressed flat to the ground with you lying behind it, contorting your neck to look through the viewfinder can sometimes be impossible. The same issues apply (albeit with different consequences) should you be set up at water level with your tripod in the water! In both of these instances a right-angle viewfinder is an excellent solution. It slots onto your viewfinder like a ninetydegree periscope, allowing easy visibility. It does take a bit of mental re-orientation when it comes to seeing and composing your images (especially getting level horizons), so practise a bit before a first serious outing.

Fig. 1.12

Working with a 90-degree angle finder will allow you to get the camera even lower to the ground or water and still be able to look through the viewfinder to compose and focus your images.

Filters

Long telephoto lenses don’t lend themselves easily to the addition of filters, but some do have a slot for drop-in versions. As a result filters generally are of less use for bird photography than in most other areas of outdoor photography. A polarizing filter, though, which reduces glare (especially on water) and also increases the intensity and saturation of colours (especially blue skies) in much the same way as a pair of sunglasses does, is a good addition to the kit bag for using on a wide-angle lens, especially as the habitat itself will be key to any images taken.

Fig. 1.13

A polarizing filter will really help to intensify colour and saturation in your images. This is a slot-in square version from Lee, but there are screw-in filters that will attach directly to your lens as well; you need to rotate the filter to get the maximum polarization effect from it.

Fig. 1.14

Although this image of a Common Buzzard Buteo buteo was taken under controlled conditions, the use of a polarizing filter to give some additional punch to the clouds and sky in particular has added an extra element in terms of its impact.

Flashgun

Entry-level SLR cameras generally come with a popup flash, but many more advanced models don’t, so if you want to use artificial lighting a flashgun becomes a necessity. Whether you will wish to do so will be very much a matter of personal choice and style. Flashguns are quite cumbersome and awkward to use, often have quite short distance reach without the purchase of additional accessories, and even when used very carefully to minimize their visual impact there is a certain uniformity about the images created when using them. Their use will be covered in Chapter 3. If purchasing one, stick with the manufacturer’s brand that matches your camera and look for as high a Guide Number as you can afford, as they reflect the power output (and therefore distance coverage) of the unit.

Fig. 1.15

This flashgun is attached conventionally to the camera body, but can equally be taken off the body with a wired connection or fired on a remote basis using wireless triggers. The diffuser over the flash itself helps to diffuse the light, making it more even.

LOOKING AFTER YOUR GEAR

Photographic equipment does not come cheaply, and if you get seriously into bird photography the chances are that you will have some very expensive items that you will be using, carrying and occasionally having to transport overseas, so they do need looking after with the appropriate care and attention. Add in the fact that many of the locations you may be working in offer some environmental challenges at times and it becomes even more necessary. Underpinning this day-to-day care, it is important to make sure that your camera equipment is properly insured. It may be that your household contents insurance will do this, but the chances are that every lens, camera body and possibly even tripod/tripod head combination will need listing as a named item; check your policy carefully. You will also need to check just what the level and nature of cover for your equipment is when using it away from home and how this applies to travel, especially overseas. You will also need to check whether the circumstances of this general policy change should you start to make any form of commercial return out of your images. If this is the case (and if your equipment list starts to reach a significant figure you may want to consider this regardless), then looking for specialist photographic equipment/photographer insurance policies is very much recommended. The author has had to make claims against his more than once and has been very grateful that he had a good policy in place on each occasion!

Fig. 1.16

However well designed and spacious, any backpack will always become full to the brim: the battle between keeping weight to a minimum and yet having everything you may need to hand is never won.

Backpack

A good rucksack-style backpack is almost certainly the most comfortable and practical way of storing and carrying your gear. There will almost always be a walk of some sort to your location, occasionally very long if you are working with species like Ptarmigan who live on the mountaintops, so it’s important that whatever your storage it is comfortable to carry. Backpacks tend to be more spacious and easy on the shoulders than the older-style shoulder bags.

There are many brands, shapes and sizes but you need to consider the array of equipment that you are likely to have on any one excursion and be sure that it will all fit – the length of your longest lens is usually the determining factor. Check that the zips open easily (and quietly) to allow quick access to your kit, and if you can find an option that allows your main body and lens to be connected up rather than separated you will be ready to shoot much quicker should you come across something unexpected that you want to photograph.

Fig. 1.17

This extremely hard Peli case is the right size to allow your backpack (and all its additional padding) to fit straight in it if you need extra protection when your kit is in transit. You can alternatively buy a foam insert to the case and place the individual items in gaps you cut out.

A further consideration comes when looking to travel internationally and wanting to take your kit on a plane. Placing equipment of this value routinely into the hold is not recommended, so ensuring your backpack is the correct size to be taken onboard as your carry-on item is an essential element in your final choice of design. On the occasions where strict weight allowances prevent this (although careful selection of airlines will generally avoid this – many have no weight restrictions on carry-on bags or surprisingly high ones anyway when compared to others), the use of a hard and lockable case (Peli are the main manufacturers of these) into which your backpack can be placed to ensure full padding/protection is recommended.

Rain Sleeve/Dust Cover

Since bird photography is an outdoor occupation, the chances of undertaking it during inclement weather are high, especially in the UK. In fact deliberately heading out to photograph in difficult weather conditions is recommended, as the resulting images can be very impactful. This makes it especially important to ensure that your camera and lens are suitably protected.