Hi guys,
Welcome to my first post for this year! I’ll get back to birds, which has gradually become one of my favorite photographic subjects. To compare it with macro photography it is somehow more relaxing and the success rate might in specific cases be higher. I say specific cases referring to still birds because birds-in-flight (BIF) is a completely different story (for me it is still in many respects an uncharted territory).
However if dealing with “shy” birds (especially the smaller ones like swallows or even sparrows) things can get complex even when they are not flying. The slightest noise (say when you step on a branch) can make them fly away. So extreme caution should be taken by getting closer carefully and avoiding the eye contact with the bird as much as possible.
Also some of the small birds in flight have such an eratic movement that you either need to have an excellent combination of camera, lens, technique or you have to pray that you are lucky enough to get a good or at least acceptable shot. Or better wait until they “land”, which quite often means one should have a huge amount of patience.
What I found fairly easy to photograph are the seagulls (even in flight there is a nice chance to take a good shot), pigeons and … ducks. Well, most of the ducks I’ve been seeing so far were not flying at all. But of course there are exceptions. In my last session which took place in December I noticed more flocks of wild ducks flying above the lake, one of them being captured by my camera (see below).
To conclude the post, one of my new year’s resolutions is to improve the bird shooting technique. After all, birds are fascinating creatures so don’t they deserve great pictures?
I wish you a Happy New Year and all the best!
PS. Check these too:
https://callofnatureblog.wordpress.com/2016/03/14/birds3/
https://callofnatureblog.wordpress.com/2016/09/21/birds-4/
Call of Nature 