Bird photography master class: part 2

This is the second part of the bird photography masterclass in which Emma interviews A Year With My Camera students to find out how they get their bird images.

You can find part 1 here: photographing garden birds for beginners.

If you aren’t confident with your camera, sign up for the A Year With My Camera beginner’s photography lessons to take control of your camera so you have the shutter speed skills you’ll need to get great bird shots:

Advanced bird photography tips

In the beginner’s post we talked about moving on from a “record” shot that shows you saw the bird and starting to take effective portrait shots. We also considered how to anticipate bird behaviours so that you can create more dynamic shots that show feeding, grooming and courtship.

The more advanced bird photography goals are:

1. Try to create something artistic. Consider your composition and the light, utilise the most appropriate shutter speed to show some movement where appropriate. Pay scrupulous attention to the background and any distractions in the frame. Look at the winning images in the Bird Photographer of the Year competition and see how the photographers not only caught the moment but created beautiful images. Try different crops and pay attention to how big the bird is in the frame.

2. Rarer birds: bird photographers are usually bird lovers first and photographers second. Only this community understands how difficult it is to find, let alone photograph, rarer birds. You will need patience, knowledge, experience and probably some kind of hide.

Elaine Henshaw

ISO 200, 1/1300th, f4.9hand held using my zoom lens, with no flash, Panasonic G80 mirrorless.

This was taken on Skomer Island, and the puffins are wild, but they are everywhere! I spent around 1 - 2 hours in the same place, just watching the puffins and waiting, as I really wanted a shot with a puffin with sandeels. And I got lucky! I'm not an expert bird photographer, but I would say that you need to be patient and take lots and lots of shots! The magic of digital means that you can delete all the rubbish shots later.

John Tebbet

ISO 320, f5.6, 1/250th, handheld Olympus 300mm + 1.4 teleconverter (840mm equivalent).

The Kingfisher suddenly and unexpectedly appeared on a wetlands reserve near Spurn Point in East Yorkshire and I needed to literally point and shoot before he flew off. And this is my advice to bird photographers: be camera ready with settings suitable for either stationary or flight, if you want to get shots of birds like Kingfishers using aperture priority (wide open) for most stationary birds and single point auto focus; and continuous auto focus for birds in flight on shutter priority at a speed of at least 1/250 sec.

Nasir Saeed

ISO 200, f36, 1/2.5, 145mm, handheld.

This picture was taken while on a weekend outing to a remote scenic location where the river flows through a deep gorge (Elora Gorge and conservation area, Ontario, Canada) Looking down the side of a gorge from about 35 feet above the rapids. Bird was free (not captive).

Advice for a new bird photographer: stay patient, look for a unique setting, decide on shutter or aperture priority, if possible pre-focus a point where you expect the bird to be when you hit the shutter and take many shots.

Angela Ness

ISO 200, f6.5, 1/500, 75-300mm (micro 4/3).

The RSPB publish the best days and times to see this spectacular display. I went along on one of these days. Lucky we got there early as the carpark was packed. The birds are called Knots and are winter visitors to the East Coast. They come from their breeding grounds in the arctic. As the tide comes in the birds are pushed closer together as they feed on the sand banks.

I took the photo handheld sitting on the edge of The Wash under an umbrella held by my husband. I was one of many photographers, some with very long lenses and masses of equipment. We were there in total for about 2 hours, the photo was taken at about 6 pm, as it was getting close to sunset.

My advice to a new bird photographer is know the limitations and strengths of your camera and lens, be patient and take an umbrella!

Kathleen Arnoldi

ISO 3200, f5.6, 1/2500, Olympus OM-D E-M1 III, 40-150mm (300mm equivalent).

After hearing that sandpipers recently flew into the area, I went to the north pier at Grand Haven, Michigan. I was having fun trying to take shots of Sanderlings as they quickly flitted about looking for food. In order to get a different perspective, I was kneeling on the pier, when I heard some commotion behind me. I turned around in time to catch these two Sanderlings facing off (not sure what this interaction was about). Fortunately I had my camera already set to a higher speed, so was able to capture the action without changing camera settings. This photo was shot hand-held, with natural light just before sunset.

My takeaway/advise from this episode is to be persistent (keep shooting-it takes me a ton of photos to catch a good one), and don’t forget to check what’s behind you - sometimes that’s where the best shot is.

Jenni Cluskey

ISO 125, f4.9, 1/200, 38mm

We were walking on Isabella Island in The Galapagos – so much wildlife to see. I saw this pretty bird and wanted to take a photograph of it. I probably took around half a dozen photo’s in maybe 45 seconds, this being the best of the bunch. Identifying him later I found he was a male Yellow Warbler – not endemic to The Galapagos, found from Alaska to Peru.

Learn the habits and habitats and the best time to photograph your birds, adjust your camera settings and wait - be patient and most of all be kind to yourself. Don’t expect the first photo you take to be ‘the one’. Expect the unexpected.

Sandy

ISO 100, f9, 1/500, Tamron 18-400.

There is quite a story attached to these 2 – they live in the local park called Abbey Grounds, Gloucestershire and last year they lost all but 1 of their 5 cygnets so this year we have a FB group to look after them and all 6 new have survived and are now flying!

On this particular day I hung around for about an hour watching all the swans and ducks trying to get some action pics or some with sun shining through etc and dad was doing his usual chasing the last years only surviving cygnet as he wants to be the alphaa male - and mum was swimming after him as if to say don’t chase our son from last year (locally he is called Juvi the juvenile) then dad finally gave his wife the attention she wanted and tired from chasing Juvi and formed this lovely pose – I took several of them just before and after but my settings were a bit off to be honest – but when I looked at the pics at home I actually liked the darkness of the water that my poor settings had created.

Jo Griggs

ISO 200, f6.3, 1/1000, Panasonic G80 with 100-400mm (800mm equivalent).

These flamingoes (Slimbridge Weglands Centre, UK) were the only ones in a large flock which had their heads up and so I chose to make them the subject of this composition. The compression created by shooting from a distance packs the frame with the colourful feathers. My advice to new bird photographers is to visit a bird sanctuary, if possible. It gives you a good chance of seeing plenty of birds and some like ducks, swans and flamingoes move relatively slowly.

Alan Shearman

ISO 400, f8, 1/1600, 400mm, tripod, no flash.

Red-backed Shrikes were once a common breeding species in the UK but suffered a dramatic decline during the 20th-century and are now extinct in the UK as a breeding species. A migratory bird we now only see a few annually during migration. This confiding juvenile bird was using a wooden fence close to a footpath as its lookout for food. It would then drop into the grass to grab its prey. At this point when it was in the grass, I would carefully inch closer until I was on the edge of the path closest to the bird just a few yards away. Wild birds can be easily spooked which is why I only moved towards it when it was out of sight. It spent almost a week devouring grasshoppers and crickets before continuing its migration fully fuelled.

My advice for any budding bird photographer would be get to know your subject and have lots of patience.

Cate Ryan

ISO 250, f8, 1/1000, 75mm, handheld.

The flamingos were gathered on the salt flats in the wild in the Atacama Desert in Chile. I believe it’s a national park and there are set paths and boardwalks which guide you through without really disturbing the flamingos. I had taken a few landscape shots and decided to switch lenses and try to get a few close ups and this shot is one of them. This was a spontaneous shot which I did not set up. The flamingos just flew by and I got the picture.

Advice? Even with a simple, relatively basic and small kit, it is possible to take stunning photographs!

Jane Tyrer

ISO 100, f7.1, 1/60, 300mm, handheld, no flash.

This puffin was just perching on the cliffs directly underneath me. I was not expecting to see it at all, although I knew that some would possibly be about. I had intended to take a photo of a totally different bird (a guillimot) and actually lay down flat on my stomach and leaned over the cliff to get a better view of it, only to see the puffin! I think if I'd known it was where it was I would have set up differently but i'm so glad I managed to get a picture of it.

Advice for a new bird photographer? Be patient and prepare for the unexpected! I think another one would be try and stay safe when you're out. It was probably not the wisest thing leaning over a very steep cliff!

Heather Wawryka

ISO 120, f5.6, 1/400, 250mm.

This kingfisher lives around the pond and stream in Finchingfield Essex. The photo taken September 2019 - the day was dry and quite sunny, not really bright; warm with some cloud.

Carol Connolly

ISO 3200, f2.8, 1/320, 200mm, handheld, no flash.

Every year the same pair of barn swallows return to build a nest inside of a horse barn. I noticed that as the birds flew in and out of the barn feeding their chicks they would occasionally stop and rest on top of a 9 foot high barrier wall two horse stalls. I waited several feet away from the wall for one to stop and as it looked around I caught what I thought was a jaunty angle of her head.

My advice to people new to taking photos of birds is to be patient, learn about the species so they can capture the personality of that bird and to be respectful of their habit. These birds were very used to people, horses and dogs in close proximity to them so my presence did not disturb them, however that is not be the case for all nesting birds.

Mike Perkins

ISO 160, f5.6, 1/100, 18-135mm at 72mm, handheld, no flash.

The gyrfalcon is a 19yr old and had been recused by its handler who flies her regularly and had been coming to the spot where we came upon them by chance, for the last 12yrs, (This was the first time I had seen them). She was in beautiful condition as were the rest of the birds which included a Harris Hawk and a Merlin which were of doing what they do best.

Louise Goodridge

ISO 1600, f6.1, 1/200, 194mm, handheld, no flash.

The subject is a wild male mallard duck that was on my local river Wandle. I wish I could say this shot was planned, but it was a fluke! I was on a walk and started taking pictures of a group of ducks, when this bird started flapping his wings. The camera and lens were new to me at the time and to be truthful I really wasn't sure what I was doing!

The only advice I can give to new bird photographers is to be patient and aware of your surroundings, whether that's in your garden or out on a walk.

Valentine

ISO 1600, f5.6, 1/400, 400mm, handheld, no flash.

This photograph is of Miss Darkness (barn owl) tracking slowly around the field for prey. I sometimes sit in a camouflage tent with a small chair, as here I can be invisible and use a tripod. This is ok if I am just focusing on activity around the barn, but when they are active and flying around the field and top moors, this is no use. On this occasion, I was just walking up to get settled into the small tent with chair, when Miss Darkness was soon upon me (she was one of the confident young owlets) so I just quickly knelt down into the long grass and took as many photographs as I could… so this was taken without a tripod.

When working outside in the field, away from base… always ensure your battery is fully charged and you have a spare SD Card, just in case it fails or is full

Brenda Ditommaso

Nikon P900, settings not available.

I was sitting down near our beach in North Carolina while snapping these Willet. I was on a bit of a rise, so I like how the angle made the Willet stand out. Although it looks like clouds in the background, it was actually the surf breaking.

My advice for birds, is to stay on bird watching mode and continuous shot, so you don't miss anything,...and get down on your belly if you can!

Jennie Raymond

ISO 400, f6.3, 1/1600, 280mm, handheld.

This is a juvenile Australasian Darter. It is a slim bird measuring 86-94cm long with a snake-like slender neck. It feeds on fish from the lake and dries off its wings like my photo as they are often submerged underwater except for the neck when feeding for fish. This lake is 34 km north east from Melbourne's CBD. There are an abundance of wildlife there including birds, fish, kangaroos to name a few.

Jo Anne Soper

ISO 500, f5.6, 1/1250.

I took this picture in May while the cedar waxwings were migrating through central Nebraska. I was anticipating seeing birds in my town park so I took my Canon Rebel T6 with zoom lens with me. There were a bunch of waxwings feeding on the crabapples and I took as many shots as I could before they flew off.

My advice to anyone looking for birds is to be aware of your surroundings, be alert, be patient, and have fun! And take loads of pictures!

Beginner’s camera course

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