General Bird Photography Questions

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Cropping and Trimming

birdseye — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:25:44 GMT

How much do you folks crop your photos, before showing them here? Do you find that you can use use a consistant %, and after that it is not good? I noticed if i enlarge the main image enuf to get the to get it big enough , it loses it's definition and clarity. For instance, i can't enlarge it 100%, for the lose of quality. (other than me getting close before shooting.)..thanks

observation about the concept of a "photoshopped" image

grn mtn — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:54:34 GMT

just something i've come across lately, but some feel its neccessary to divulge whether their image has been 'altered'. for those that remember the good'ole film days part of processing photo's was correcting for color, light balance, burning and dodging and when framing an image, cropping. none of this imo is worthy of noting, however if you silo your subject then insert into a different field that does demand a notation of alteration.

what are your thoughts?

Is there any way to fix a photo like this?

Curlybird — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:17:53 GMT

Probably wishful thinking but I took some photos this a.m. when it was very cloudy and foggy (I'm in So. California), and this is how they came out. I am going to try and go back to same place when whether is better this week but this bird is a Pectoral Sandpiper, which isn't here very often (according to Sibley's, it only stops here in migration route south), so I may not get another chance.

Anyone have any suggestions on how I might be able to make this type of picture look any better? I have Paint Shop Pro but it's an older version so I don't think it has as many editing features as newer versions.

Raptor Force

raptrlvr — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:56:12 GMT

Check your PBS {TV} listing to see when this program is showing. In my area, it showed last night and is scheduled to run again on Thursday night. Very interesting program. A couple of years ago the guy who made the small camera called me and asked if I would mind them mounting the camera on my golden eagle. My eagle had just gone through a sickness and was not flying at the time. I told the guy to contact Joe Atkinson who also fly's golden eagles. Joe is the person in the video flying the golden eagle.

Photography 101

Matt — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 01:20:03 GMT

I have a EOS Rebel XT and an EF70-300mm F4-5.6 IS USM.

I do a hummer shoot once per month where I sit on my patio and shoot about 700 pictures over a period of about 5 hours. In each of my prior shoots I would use the auto focus on a hashed piece of paper, turn off the auto focus and start clicking away on full auto. I have never used the raw setting. I am targeting to do my shoot on Sunday so I have some time to absorb what you guys want me to do. I will have a feeder in full sun with three out of four feeding holes covered forcing all the birds to a single location. The open feeding hole will be perpendicular to the camera so 90% of the time I will get a profile of the bird. I will have my camera mounted on a tripod with a cable shutter release.

Since I won't be holding the camera can I turn off the image stabilizer? Will that buy me anything?

Depth of focus needs to be 12" (+/- 6" from where the hummers will sit)

Field of view is about 12" wide by 8" high.

How far away should I set up the camera?

What would you suggest my camera settings should be?

I have time to experiment, so fire away.

Question for you Nor'Eastern (and any other areas that get snow in winter) Members

Curlybird — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:27:49 GMT

I didn't know what category to put this under but anyway........

My Mom just came back from a trip to New England (Mass., Vermont), and she isn't a birder but she knows I am; anyway, she mentioned that she didn't see very many birds over there during her trip. She saw gulls and a few hawks but not much else. Of course, she may have just not noticed since she's not a birder, but I was just wondering -- do a lot of the birds in your areas go South for the winter? Are there very many that stay there for the winter? Just wondering what you all do for birding during the winter when there is snow everywhere - are there very many birds to find during winter season?

Capturing moving birds.....

Barb Vee — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:04:21 GMT

Can anyone help - I have a [Panasonic] Lumix FZ-7 camera. I can get some great pics, but would like to know - what setting do I need to capture wings? Here's an example - decent pic, but I wish I could do a better job on the wings. I know hummingbirds are particularly difficult, but i don't have much luck w/other birds either.

I'll post another of a sparrow in flight so you can see my wing blur and offer suggestions.......

Is anyone familiar at all with this camera and can you give me any advice?

Songbird photography

Curlybird — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 02:39:26 GMT

I usually do okay with photographing water/shorebirds, raptors, etc., but songbirds are so hard to get good photos of. I know that the type of camera makes a difference; I only have a P&S which takes fairly clear shots if the subject isn't too far away and not moving too much (I have 18x optical zoom).

However, the main problem I have is SEEING and/or FINDING the birds. I hear them in the trees around me but usually I just can't find them, and usually by the time I do find/see them, they take off. I know it takes a lot of patience to get pictures of passerines but I just can't seem to locate them when they are in trees. It's very frustrating! I also try to find them through my binoculars but they don't help a whole lot, either, as you have to be focused where the bird(s) are.

Can anyone offer any advice on this?

Another observation of ducks' molting/plumage timetable

Curlybird — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 01:55:08 GMT

Okay, I'm still a rookie but I'm trying to learn what time of year most ducks have their breeding/alternate plumage and when they have their eclipse/non-breeding plumage, so that I can hopefully get photos of the male ducks in their "Sunday Best" before they go back up North (if they don't breed in So. California, where I live)

I have concluded, by viewing various photos (the ones that have dates on them) on the internet of Cinnamon, BW, and GW Teals, American Wigeons, No. Pintails, and No. Shovelers, that most ducks only have eclipse or non-breeding plumage a few mos. out of the year (July, August, and September).

Most of the photos from October, Nov, Dec, Jan, and Feb, show males in full breeding plumage. I previously thought they only had breeding plumage during breeding season (Spring/Summer) like a lot of other birds that change plumage.

To sum up, it looks like I will be able to get photos of these species in their full breeding plumage within a couple of months from now.

Can any of you offer your opinion about this? Does my conclusion sound about right?

Molting/Migration of Ducks - another "rookie" birder question

Curlybird — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 03:19:57 GMT

Okay, I've been into bird photography since around January of this year but I didn't really get "serious" (or hooked) until mid- to late-February.

I'm in Southern California, and I know that a lot of duck species are only here during winter, then they go back up North to breed in Spring.

A couple of these species that I know for sure fit this category are:

American Wigeon, Blue-winged Teal, Green-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, and Northern Pintail.

Back in March of this year, I found both a Blue-winged male and a Green-winged Teal male at the same location on same day (at the time I didn't know what they were, though). I got really good, closeup shots, too. Both of these birds were in their "Sunday Best", meaning full breeding plumage.

I don't know if the American Wigeon male has the full coloring all year round like Mallard males (except during post-breeding molt, that is) but there were about 2 dozen of them at the lake that is in middle of my apt complex until around beg. of April, then suddenly they were gone (back up to the North for breeding, obviously).

My question is: Do the ducks that winter here get their breeding plumage back in early Spring BEFORE they go back to their breeding locations? I'm guessing they do, based on these two species that I photographed in March.

I'm hoping they do all get their breeding plumage before Spring Migration, so I can get some nice shots of the others (No. Shoveler, No. Pintail) in their full gorgous colors!

I'm sure there are some of you out there who know all about this; I tried to find out on internet but no luck.

Black Eyes - Black Head Tips?

LauraC — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 19:03:31 GMT

Any tips for photographing birds with black eyes and a black head (examples: chickadees, crows) so that you can actually see their eyes in a photo? It's always hit and miss for me.

Here's how I feel about Bird Photography (last night anyway)

Ken Nielsen — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 18:10:52 GMT

I was told that I need to fill at least one-fourth of the frame or it is not worth pressing the shutter button.

I have been to lots of areas where there are birds, but never do they let me get closer than they are comfortable with, and certainly not close enough to fill at least one-fourth of the frame with subject.

I have a 100-400 zoom and have tried a 1.4 tele-extender on that this weekend. My shots with all of that on tripod and remote release yield good shots but never more than 1/8th of the frame if that.

Should I give up on bird photography? I do not want to spend $6,000.00 on a lens.

My sentiments:

Egyptian Goose?

Curlybird — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:07:50 GMT

I wasn't sure what forum to post this to. I'm just wondering - is the Egyptian Goose considered a "domestic" breed? In other words, would it qualify for my Life List? I don't see it on the website but probably because it's not native to North America?

**P.S. These birds were not at a zoo or someone's backyard; they were at a park, along with Canada Geese, Mallards, and Ruddy Ducks. Also, there were quite a few - about 20-30.

Clouds and Shade

randimal — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 22:25:39 GMT

I just got a new camera, a Panasonic Lumix FZ28 (10mp, 18x zoom). After 8 straight days of sun, it got cloudy the day I got the camera. My first set of pics were with the sun out and they were fantastic (in Auto mode). Since then it has been cloudy and the pics have been very soft.

I checked the settings on the soft pics (all taken in Auto mode) and the shutter was 1/125, and ISO400. I'm not sure which of those caused the pics to be soft, probably the shutter.

I experimented today with Shutter priority Mode, setting it at about 1/300 for shady shots. I also dropped the ISO to 200. The pictures of course came out dark, but by increasing the midtones in editing, they turned out good. Best of all, I got detail on all the feathers.

Am I on the right track for taking crisp pictures in shade?

ODD

Matt — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 18:35:39 GMT

I have lost a number of excellent opportunities to get bird details from birds that have flown into a neighbor's window (Wilson's warbler and Western tanager) or drowned in a pool. The detail plumage I could have gotten would be similar to what you get on the net from banding sessions.

I want to set up a postmortem "station" to photograph various aspects of birds found or given to me by neighbors. It will be set up indoors on a workbench and a tripod. My equipment...

Cannon EOS Rebel XL

70-300 1:4-5.6 or 18-55 mm

built in flash

Can anyone tell me which would be the better lens and what distance should I use and in general what the settings would probably be?

thanks, Matt

Do You Only Take The Bird Photos You Take Due To Equipment/Personal Limitations or Your Long Time Association With Film?

LauraC — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:18:09 GMT

The DSLR vs Advanced Point and Shoot thread (good one) got me to thinking.

I see an awful lot of spectacular bird photos in various places online but most of them are either feeder/nest box shots (especially hummingbirds), perched birds or large birds out in their natural habitat. You know, I see a lot of blue herons/hawks/eagles in flight but not songbirds in flight. Why? Is it a decision that the small birds (chickadees, finches, sparrows, etc.) aren't interesting enough or do you gravitate to taking photos of larger birds because it's easier to do it (they move slower, you don't have to get as close, you don't need an expensive zoom lens, etc.)?

I had a slightly similar discussion once with a long time photographer who turns his nose up at bird/wildlife photography in favor of people and landscape photography. He also sniffed at anyone taking, for example, 15 shots and keeping two. I thought it was his 30 plus year film (vs digital) history. I wondered if I started taking photos when there were no digital cameras would I think the same way, that is, preferring photography where I had more control over the subject. Because birds move around so much, I use burst. Of course I'm going to discard more than I keep. Isn't that the beauty of digital? I'd be in the poorhouse or be a lot more choosey of the type photos I took, if I could only use film. So my second question is, you long time bird photographers who used film for most of your life, how hard was it to make the mindset transition to digital? Before digital, were you limited in the types of bird photos you'd even attempt? Do you think it's amateurish to take more photos than you keep?

I also told him, you just take photos of people because you can control the photo. You light them, you pose them, you decide the background. If you really liked taking photos of people why aren't there any photo journalism type shots in your collection? Even the ones that look like candid shots, aren't. You told the people to do something a certain way, maybe added some props and then snapped the shot to make it look candid. The same is true with landscape type photos. You prefer them because you set up your tripod when the sun is in the right position, at the angle you want and if you have to, you might even move something in the line of sight before you take the shot. These people posing photographers would wet their pants if they had 3 seconds to photograph a small fidgety bird in it's natural habitat because they have no control over their subject, the external lighting in the time it takes to get the shot off and the background. Third question: Does it make it a less valued type of photography in the photography world if you do composition on your computer? In other words, is getting the shot off unblurred and quickly the most important aspects of bird photography knowing composition can be done later on the computer?

I'm guessing some of you belong to camera clubs that include all kinds of photographers. I condider myself to be a beginner but I find it odd that a posed portrait of a human is more highly thought of by photographers than a portrait of a bird (or a dog or a squirrel, for example). Why is a perched bird close-up more boring than a human portrait close up? Is it true or is it prejudice in the photography world because more people make money from photographing people?

If you answer these questions, I'd like to know if you started taking bird photos when film was primarily used or if you didn't get into bird photography until after there were digital cameras. I'd also like to know if you were a birder who then started to take bird photos or if you were a photography buff who eventually found out you like to photograph birds.

Your Favorite Pose of a Standing/Perched Bird

LauraC — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 09:08:39 GMT

Do you have a favorite pose of a standing/perched bird? Does it depend on the type or size of bird or the bird's color? Does it depend on what's in the background or what the bird is standing on?

Some tips that may interest you.

thekiwi — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:00:33 GMT

I have placed this link to my web page it details acouple of tips you may find interesting.

http://thekiwi.org/tips/

Bald Eagles in Southern CA

Curlybird — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:16:25 GMT

Do any of you in So. California (or anyone else, if you are knowledgeable about this area) know the best places to find Bald Eagles? I would guess that places with large bodies of water would be best, since they eat fish....any ideas?

DSLR vsAdvanced Point and Shoot

birdseye — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 01:14:28 GMT

for years i used a Canon S3 IS ... it took great photos.. but like an idiot i went to a Canon XS...the IS was convient, took video, fast fast focus, very good burst rate...then i got this stupid DSLR... it is combersome, doenst take movies... going down the road , and i see a great shot at a hawk on the fence... the IS let me swing it over at the bird, and shoot away... the DSLR I gotta get the camera outta the case, put the stupid lens on.. then, if he is still there--take the photo...the IS resolution was only 6, but you can't tell the difference hardly. only if you crop alot will the difference even show up..... the 100mm lens i got give about the same lens length as the 10x zoom on the IS...What is the big deal about going DSLR????? I hate it...

Cliff Swallows

LauraC — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 05:06:34 GMT

This is the second year I have seen cliff swallows but if I see them in one place for more than two days in a row...well, I guess I never have. It seems to me to be just incredible good luck with timing that I see them at all, when I have my camera. Please excuse the inexact birding teminology but my obsevation both years is the same. A mud puddle occurs after a rain. The birds circle and swarm and dive over the puddle extremely fast for what feels like a long time. When they finally decide to land in the mud around the puddle, one comes down first and then in a second or two, there are more than you can count all clustered in the same spot. (They make me think of bats.) When one takes off, they all follow en masse. The following day, it's very likely the mud puddle has dried up and no more cliff swallows. This week I got some photos of them around a mud puddle left by tire tracks in the dirt (near a lake) that filled with water when it was raining. The next day, the water in the tire track had evaporated and the cliff swallows were gone.

My question is, if you've photographed these birds, how do you do it? I took at least 100 photos of them on that one very sunny morning and was only satisfied with 5 shots (that I know could have been better). I'm thinking their uniqueness is that there is so many of them fidgeting around in one spot at once but that's also the problem for me. I honestly have no idea how to capture them. They're all on the ground, looking different ways, they're extremely fidgety, there's so many of them. I wound up cropping some out of the photos I kept so the photos didn't look like one big disorganized mess but I could use some ideas. Thanks.

How do you find owls?

lonestranger — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 22:07:58 GMT

Although I have some owl pictures from a Birds of Prey Demonstration, such as my avatar, I would love to get some shots in the wild. I have seen many pictures on this site of owls and am curious how to go about finding them in the wild. I am always looking for signs of life in the hollowed out holes in the trees, but as of yet I haven't had any luck. Is there a trick or any tips for finding owls in the daylight, or is it simply a matter of being there at dawn or dusk and hope for sufficient lighting? Any advice would be helpful, thanks in advance.

Need a good point and shoot for digiscoping

joshc — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 03:24:13 GMT

I have read the other camera posts, but none are really what I need.

What I need is a good , cheap point-n-shoot that will fit most scopes and binoculars.((I have taken pictures through my binocs, and they are really good. sometimes better then through the scope.)) I am on a teenagers salary ( I am 15), so it can't be too expensive.

The camera I currently have is a Polaroid i534. It is really great for only 100 bucks, but the shutter isn't too great. I need something just one step up from this.

Can anyone help?

Shutter speed question (newbie)

plethora — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:29:37 GMT

Hello,

I'm just starting out with photography, with a Lumix fz28. Question about shutter speed. Since I'm no good at keeping my hands still (yet) I'm toying around to determine the highest shutter speed I can get away with in various lighting conditions. So far 1/60 seems to be the limit without flash -- the photos are too dark otherwise.

But then I come here and see photos of hummingbirds at 1/2000 or more, and they're not dark at all. Are you folks using flash when taking these kinds of pictures? Or is there another technique?

Thanks!