I thought that I would start explaining some of the technicalities of the photography set up I am using to take photos of garden birds while I sit inside with my feet up.
The first useful bit of kit I use is a remote shutter release. I have just bought a new one called the Aodelan Pebble. It works really well and hangs around my neck, so I know where it is all the time.
The camera is then mounted on a tripod about 12 feet away from the perch. The perch is actually a twig or thick branch fastened to another, old tripod with cable ties and with the cut end in a tin can with water in it, which is again fastened to the tripod stem with cable ties.
The camera is zoomed in to fill the frame sufficiently and then focused manually on the branch. I have found that it is important to do it in this order, as altering the zoom can also alter the focussing.
The next, important “secret” is the use of an artificial background. I have experimented with painted boards and dyed cloth before settling on a poster type print of foliage taken completely out of focus. It is important to use matt paper for these and I prefer A1 size posters on outdoor paper. They are not cheap to buy, but 5 of them give a good variety of backgrounds.
The background print is then attached to a board with bulldog clips and hung from a lighting stand about 5 feet behind the perch. The stand has to be pegged down if there is the possibility of any wind, as it blows over easily.
There is one more, absolutely vital element to my system. That is flash. All my photos are taken with flash. I am not going to explain it all in this post, as it needs a post of its own, as it is all a bit complicated.
Until then, here are two photos taken this afternoon with this set up as I lie out in my caravan, looking out onto the decking.
The first useful bit of kit I use is a remote shutter release. I have just bought a new one called the Aodelan Pebble. It works really well and hangs around my neck, so I know where it is all the time.
The camera is then mounted on a tripod about 12 feet away from the perch. The perch is actually a twig or thick branch fastened to another, old tripod with cable ties and with the cut end in a tin can with water in it, which is again fastened to the tripod stem with cable ties.
The camera is zoomed in to fill the frame sufficiently and then focused manually on the branch. I have found that it is important to do it in this order, as altering the zoom can also alter the focussing.
The next, important “secret” is the use of an artificial background. I have experimented with painted boards and dyed cloth before settling on a poster type print of foliage taken completely out of focus. It is important to use matt paper for these and I prefer A1 size posters on outdoor paper. They are not cheap to buy, but 5 of them give a good variety of backgrounds.
The background print is then attached to a board with bulldog clips and hung from a lighting stand about 5 feet behind the perch. The stand has to be pegged down if there is the possibility of any wind, as it blows over easily.
There is one more, absolutely vital element to my system. That is flash. All my photos are taken with flash. I am not going to explain it all in this post, as it needs a post of its own, as it is all a bit complicated.
Until then, here are two photos taken this afternoon with this set up as I lie out in my caravan, looking out onto the decking.
