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November 20, 2009 |
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Created and Maintained by: The Photoimaging Information Council |
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by Russ Burden |
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Flight photography of birds is certainly a challenge. While it’s true that digital capture vs film capture provides a greater chance of coming home with a great image, by no means does it guarantee you’ll get the shot. In the days of film, what you got as far as the size of the bird in the frame was the shot. If you were shooting negative film, you had a bit of latitude enlarging the negative, but there were limitations. Slide shooters could make a cropped dupe, but the results were marginal at best. There are many other digital benefits too numerous to go into detail. While there are many general tricks and techniques one needs to employ to come home with fantastic flight shots, I want to get you started and share five of mine to get you on the right path. The Common Subject: Birds that are more commonly found and that have a tolerance toward people are a great species with which to start. They allow you to capture great shots with shorter lenses. This is a huge plus seeing that the top of the line prime 500 and 600 mm lenses cost upwards of $6000.00. The commonly found and “tame” species can often be photographed with a 200 mm lens which most of us own. Head to a local duck pond in an urban setting to find tame birds. They’re used to seeing people walking dogs, jogging, or simply taking a stroll. Another great place is along a shore line and while you’re there, look for the local gulls. They’re often found looking for a food handout. The accompanying shot of the hovering gull was photographed while kids were feeding him near an oceanside picnic area.  © Russ Burden
Behavior: Taking your bird flight photography to the next level dictates some sort of behavior needs to be captured. While on a family vacation to Mexico, I decided to take a break from relaxation and bring my camera and 80-400 mm lens to the shore in late light. I saw some terns in the area and took advantage of the opportunity. Realizing some were fishing, I concentrated on those performing this behavior. I set the focus priority to Continuous Dynamic and let the lens follow the action. The tern pictured here just took off from the water with his prize catch. Capturing moments like this produces images with more impact than if the tern was simply flying without anything in his mouth.  © Russ Burden
Use Flash: The duration of a flash can be much quicker than the duration of your fastest shutter speed. What this provides is a stop action image of a very fast moving subject. As in the case of a hummingbird whose wings can flap at a rate of 150-200 times a second, using flash greatly enhances the chance of stopping the wings in mid beat. As seen in the accompanying image, the wings are sharp as a result of my using flash as the main light. I used one flash mounted on a stand to the right of the subject and another to illuminate the background. Given the soft ambient light Mother Nature provided the day on which the image was made, the fastest shutter speed I could use was 1/125. It would have been impossible to mimic the effect flash provided.  © Russ Burden
More Than One: If a display of behavior is not in the cards based on what the bird is doing, to bring the image to a higher level, look for situations where more than one bird can be incorporated into a composition. What you want to be aware of is where in the frame the birds fall, what the interaction is between the two, and how well they come together to make a strong connection. Simply placing two birds in the photo doesn’t make it better than having only one. As a matter of fact, it may hurt if one of the birds is cut half way off or flying too far out of the frame. It’s always important to leave room in the frame for the bird to fly. In the accompanying image of the two sandhill cranes, it works due to the fact the birds have room to fly across the composition, the wing positions fit like puzzle pieces, the top bird takes on more prominence and the early morning light is warm and soft in color.  © Russ Burden
Include a Bonus Feature: Often the addition of a sky element that complements the flighted subject can work as a bonus. A puffy fair weather cloud, a soft pink one at sunrise or sunset, a subdued sun softly glowing from behind a thin cloud or a moon all can provide points of a sky that add a taste of the environment to the image. While it’s obvious the sky is the environment in which a bird takes flight, adding a point of interest is not always easy. With this in mind, if the opportunity presents itself, take full advantage and fire away.  © Russ Burden
To learn more about this topic, join me on one of my Photographic Nature Tours. Visit www.russburdenphotography.com and click on the NATURE TOURS button for more information. Also, pick up a copy of my new book, Amphoto’s Complete Book of Photography. You can purchase a signed copy directly from me or visit your local book store or Amazon. Contact me at rburden@ecentral.com to order your signed copy.
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