| August 2009 Newsletter |
This newsletter includes information on taking action photos and photographing multiple birds
at feeding stations. All photos in this newsletter were taken at Bill Forbes's excellent feeding
stations in Southern Arizona. On our November Arizona workshop we will be spending part of
our time shooting at these feeding stations.
at feeding stations. All photos in this newsletter were taken at Bill Forbes's excellent feeding
stations in Southern Arizona. On our November Arizona workshop we will be spending part of
our time shooting at these feeding stations.
Gambel's Quail - photographed by Nate Chappell, May 2009, Green Valley, Arizona. Canon
MkIII 500F4 lens, 1/1250 F11, iso 640, evaluative metering at 0, tripod, blind. Whenever I'm
photographing in an area where there is more than one bird present I'm always on the
lookout for getting shots of interaction between 2 or more birds. In this case I only had a
couple of seconds to catch this dispute between 2 male Gambel's Quail. I quickly rotated
my Wimberly tripod head, switched the apeture to F11 because I knew I would need more
depth of field to get both birds in focus and fired off a few frames. The dispute was over in
an instant and I only got 2 frames with both birds with their beaks open. Quick reactions
and the use of a Wimberly tripod head were essential to get this image. The Wimberley
head is ideal for holding a large lens such as a 500 or 600mm and being able to swing the
lens in order to react to action. If I was locked down with a ballhead, I wouldn't have been
able to move the tripod head quickly enough to get this shot as I was focused on a bird
which was on a different perch. If anybody would like to take a look at Wimberley tripod
heads, their website is www.tripodhead.com .
MkIII 500F4 lens, 1/1250 F11, iso 640, evaluative metering at 0, tripod, blind. Whenever I'm
photographing in an area where there is more than one bird present I'm always on the
lookout for getting shots of interaction between 2 or more birds. In this case I only had a
couple of seconds to catch this dispute between 2 male Gambel's Quail. I quickly rotated
my Wimberly tripod head, switched the apeture to F11 because I knew I would need more
depth of field to get both birds in focus and fired off a few frames. The dispute was over in
an instant and I only got 2 frames with both birds with their beaks open. Quick reactions
and the use of a Wimberly tripod head were essential to get this image. The Wimberley
head is ideal for holding a large lens such as a 500 or 600mm and being able to swing the
lens in order to react to action. If I was locked down with a ballhead, I wouldn't have been
able to move the tripod head quickly enough to get this shot as I was focused on a bird
which was on a different perch. If anybody would like to take a look at Wimberley tripod
heads, their website is www.tripodhead.com .
Black-headed Grosbeaks displaying photographed by Nate Chappell, Madera Canyon,
Arizona, May 2009. Canon MkIII 500F4 lens, 1/2500 F5.6 iso 800, evaluative metering at
-0.3, tripod, blind. We had a lot of grosbeaks coming in to the feeding station in the
canyon and I observed this courtship display quite a few times. After witnessing it and
not capturing it I decided I would try to capture the interaction. I reasoned that I would
want a fast shutter speed to stop the action so I bumped my iso up to 800, the birds
would be on the same plane on the perch so I only stopped down one stop from wide
open. I managed to get a few nice images of the interaction. These 2 shots and
settings illustrate a major tenet of mine while shooting. I typically shoot at the highest
or close to the highest iso that I can which will produce little or no noise. This
maximizes the shutter speed that I can use to stop the action. With the Canon MkIII this
is typically at iso 640 to 800, while with the 50D it is iso 320 to 400. This is not standard
operating procedure for a lot of bird photographers as many will try to lower their iso as
much as possible when shooting a perched bird, however if the bird takes off they will
more than likely miss the take off shot or it will be blurry.
Arizona, May 2009. Canon MkIII 500F4 lens, 1/2500 F5.6 iso 800, evaluative metering at
-0.3, tripod, blind. We had a lot of grosbeaks coming in to the feeding station in the
canyon and I observed this courtship display quite a few times. After witnessing it and
not capturing it I decided I would try to capture the interaction. I reasoned that I would
want a fast shutter speed to stop the action so I bumped my iso up to 800, the birds
would be on the same plane on the perch so I only stopped down one stop from wide
open. I managed to get a few nice images of the interaction. These 2 shots and
settings illustrate a major tenet of mine while shooting. I typically shoot at the highest
or close to the highest iso that I can which will produce little or no noise. This
maximizes the shutter speed that I can use to stop the action. With the Canon MkIII this
is typically at iso 640 to 800, while with the 50D it is iso 320 to 400. This is not standard
operating procedure for a lot of bird photographers as many will try to lower their iso as
much as possible when shooting a perched bird, however if the bird takes off they will
more than likely miss the take off shot or it will be blurry.
Acorn Woodpecker landing photographed May 2009 at Madera Canyon, Arizona.
Canon MkIII 500F4 lens, 1/2500 F7.1, iso 800, evaluative metering -0.7, tripod, blind.
Another technique I will use when shooting at feeding stations from blinds is to
prefocus on the main perch which is set up at the station. I will then keep my finger on
the shutter button while I take my head out from behind the viewfinder so I have better
vision and watch. When a bird starts to fly in to land, I will fire off a round of shots. Be
careful to be smooth with the shutter button or to use a cable release if you are using
this technique as without your face and hand helping to support the camera and lens
you are more likely to have some vibration. Sometimes, I will put my head back behind
the viewfinder if I have time as I fire off the round, this way I can help stabilize the lens
by pressing the back of the camera with my face and holding the barrel of the lens with
my left (non-shooting) hand.
Canon MkIII 500F4 lens, 1/2500 F7.1, iso 800, evaluative metering -0.7, tripod, blind.
Another technique I will use when shooting at feeding stations from blinds is to
prefocus on the main perch which is set up at the station. I will then keep my finger on
the shutter button while I take my head out from behind the viewfinder so I have better
vision and watch. When a bird starts to fly in to land, I will fire off a round of shots. Be
careful to be smooth with the shutter button or to use a cable release if you are using
this technique as without your face and hand helping to support the camera and lens
you are more likely to have some vibration. Sometimes, I will put my head back behind
the viewfinder if I have time as I fire off the round, this way I can help stabilize the lens
by pressing the back of the camera with my face and holding the barrel of the lens with
my left (non-shooting) hand.
White-winged Doves photographed May 2009 at Green Valley, Arizona. Canon MkIII 500F4
lens, 1/800 F10, iso 640, evaluative metering -0.3, tripod, blind. While this is not an action
shot it does illustrate the additional depth of field that is needed when shooting one more
than one bird. These birds were in slightly different planes so I knew that I would need to
stop down to get them both in sharp focus, so I went down almost 3 stops from wide open.
This is a setup shot in that we put some seed on the back side of the cactus a little bit
before sundown to try and entice some birds up there in the golden evening light. The
previous time I had been at Bill's first a male and then a female Gambel's Quail obliged.
This time it was this pair of doves.
lens, 1/800 F10, iso 640, evaluative metering -0.3, tripod, blind. While this is not an action
shot it does illustrate the additional depth of field that is needed when shooting one more
than one bird. These birds were in slightly different planes so I knew that I would need to
stop down to get them both in sharp focus, so I went down almost 3 stops from wide open.
This is a setup shot in that we put some seed on the back side of the cactus a little bit
before sundown to try and entice some birds up there in the golden evening light. The
previous time I had been at Bill's first a male and then a female Gambel's Quail obliged.
This time it was this pair of doves.
All of these shots were taken during my 3 day May workshop at Green Valley. This November we
are having another Southeast Arizona workshop from November 23-26, 2009 followed by a
Bosque del Apache workshop from November 26-29, 2009. The quail, doves and woodpeckers
will still all be around as long with plenty of other species usually including Cooper's Hawk,
Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia and many sparrow species.
To view the details of this trip click on the following link: Arizona and Bosque Workshop
are having another Southeast Arizona workshop from November 23-26, 2009 followed by a
Bosque del Apache workshop from November 26-29, 2009. The quail, doves and woodpeckers
will still all be around as long with plenty of other species usually including Cooper's Hawk,
Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia and many sparrow species.
To view the details of this trip click on the following link: Arizona and Bosque Workshop
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