Is photography a natural progression from birding? (6 Viewers)

[Mannix]

When I first started birding I was happy to simply see the birds and wildlife. Then I found myself wanting to capture some of the magnificence of the birds and ended up buying a dslr with a 75-300m zoom lens (not brilliant but all the wallet could stretch to at the time). Now I don't always use the camera, often I go birding and it never comes out of the bag, but it's always there just in case that great shot arises. It got me wondering whether photography is a natural progression from birding and wildlife watching. I know there are those who are opposed to cameras but they don't make much of a noise when compared to some of the goings on in hides.
I also feel that there is a bit of a love hate relationship with photographers who are not really birders. My view on it is that we all love the wildlife and we all want to utilise it in different ways and who is to say which has preference.
So, do a lot of us progress to photography and how is that percieved by those who do not? Just wondered.

 

[Ecuadorrebel]

I was a photographer before I was a birder. Now I combine both passions. I have a friend that comes to Ecuador regularly who was a birder first. Now he uses his camera to help id birds that he sees in the field. Especially here, where you can have so many birds that look similar, it is great to have a photo to look at to see the markings that might make the difference between one species and another. For some people photography is a tool, just like a digiscope. For others photography is a way of capturing that memory. I am getting old and my memory is not as good as it use to be. Having that photo keeps me young.

 

[Azzy]

Well put Ecuadorrabel, I like to have the memory of seeing birds, and it is especially helpful for ID. Sometimes, a bird moving too quick in the field to actually see it's field marks. So getting a shot, really helps to nail it down, has saved me many times.

I have always had an interest in photography, but it was mostly for record shots, the occasional nice shot because my point and shoot really didn't cut it. But getting into birding was more than certainly the reason I purchased a DSLR. I love seeing amazing wildlife photos, I just love being in awe of them, and I wanted to be able to take photos like that, though it's more of a hobby. And the fact that I can combine it with birdwatching, is fantastic.

 

[JMomOhio]

I have always had an interest in photography, but it was mostly for record shots, the occasional nice shot because my point and shoot really didn't cut it. But getting into birding was more than certainly the reason I purchased a DSLR. I love seeing amazing wildlife photos, I just love being in awe of them, and I wanted to be able to take photos like that, though it's more of a hobby. And the fact that I can combine it with birdwatching, is fantastic.

Took the words right out of my mouth! LOL!! I've been taking pics forever, it seems, but now it's become a passion to take pics of EVERYTHING!! Wish I could afford lessons to become a PRO!

 

[Pete Mella]

There was a point where if I'd have had the money at the time I'd have gone down the DSLR route. Now I'm not so bothered - actually getting to see a bird can be tricky enough sometimes, and I'm not sure I'd want to come home from seeing a cracking bird tinged with disappointment that I couldn't manage a decent photo. Plus I don't drive and dragging bins, scope and tripod can be laborious enough, without adding a full camera kit to the equasion!

I've got a superzoom that's good enough for record shots most of the time, and that will do me for now. If I fancy getting more into photography I'll probably explore digiscoping rather than the DSLR route.

 

[Mysticete]

I know a lot of birders who are not that interested in photography. For me, I seldom go out and try to photograph birds. To me trying to get a perfect shot sometimes takes away from the pleasure of just observing the bird.

That said I also suck at photography, which doesn't encourage me.

 

[Mono]

When I sit quietly in a hide watching and waiting and listening to the shutters clicking away I do wonder what the photographers actually do with their photographs.

Sure a small percentage will sell them but what of the rest. When I get home of an evening after a visit to a local nature reserve I might chat over what I experienced with my friends and loved ones, when the photographer returns do you feverishly spark up your computer, pop the memory card in and look at those 374 images you took of the red breasted merganser that was close enough to the hide. Carefully twiddle with the RAW images add the relevent metadata and store them carefully away. And then what...

 

[Farnboro John]

Trying to get the best out of a photo (even just a balanced crop) whiles away a winter evening. Sharing with people on here (or with prints down the pub) is fun. Working out what and how to do better next time.....

ID'ing that difficult LBJ on the foreign holiday that time ran out on....

Reliving a day three years later.....

Yeah they get used. Not all of them, but I try to bin the obvious rubbish before saving the rest.

I don't take a shot every time I go out, but I hate that moment when the shot is there and the camera isn't!

John

 

[nickderry]

I can understand the desire to capture the moment of seeing a bird, but as I'm crap at photography, I sketch to do that.

 

[Mannix]

When I sit quietly in a hide watching and waiting and listening to the shutters clicking away I do wonder what the photographers actually do with their photographs.

Sure a small percentage will sell them but what of the rest. When I get home of an evening after a visit to a local nature reserve I might chat over what I experienced with my friends and loved ones, when the photographer returns do you feverishly spark up your computer, pop the memory card in and look at those 374 images you took of the red breasted merganser that was close enough to the hide. Carefully twiddle with the RAW images add the relevent metadata and store them carefully away. And then what...

Forgive me if I suggest you sound a bit cynical mate. I can't speak for others but here's what I do. Firstly I don't take hundreds of shots of anything. One or two will do for me. Sometimes I get home from birding and the camera stays in it's bag, sometimes for months. Then one some wet and windy sunday afternoon when I am bored to tears I go upstairs and look at my photos. I crop them, maybe sharpen them and de-noise them and then choose which ones I will keep to remind me of a great day out. You might as well ask why people take pictures when they go on holiday. The subject is different that's all.
Then when I have a lot of pics I might even put them onto a dvd and set them to music so that the wife and I can look back and remember not only the birds but the good times we have shared together. So your shallow way of looking at it is in my case so very judgemental and wrong.
If anyone is interested I have put two of my videos on YouTube. As you will see, I'm no brilliant photographer but it's memories that I don't want to forget. Here are the links, second one uses my video clips.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg1HA_fC55I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jd_naB6NazA

 

[Mono]

No cynicism intended, I do indeed take photographs when on holiday as reminder or to share with others. I don't have a problem with people who want to take photos of birds, even in tight crop, devoid of context. But there are folk, obviously not you, who do bang away taking hundreds of shots. I picked the red breasted merganser as my bird because of a particular incident at the Eric Morecambe hide at Leighton Moss last winter. There was a large group of mixed waders a way away, most of the those in the hide were looking through it, there were several birds that we were attempting to reach a consensus on as regards identification. There was a chap with a DSLR and enormous lens who looked at the flock but decided it was too far away. So as the rest of us debated the finer points of 1000yd stint identification the photographer banged away on full auto taking endless shots of the only bird that was close enough to the hide, a red breasted merganser. When I got home I spent a while looking in books and on the net to clarify the mystery stint and whilst doing so I wondered what the chap was going to do with his 374 shots of the red breasted merganser...

I'm still wondering.

 

[JMomOhio]

It's all about learning and sharing for me! Everyone in my family has shown an interest in nature now due to my photos. My grandchildren love nature and like to show off in front of their friends when they can recite the name of a butterfly, bird.......etc. I do it because it's relaxing and I do it to leave something of me behind for my grandchildren when I'm gone.

 

[Alexjh1]

It's a personal preference thign really.

For me, I was interested in birding when I was little, drifted away from it, got interested in photography when I got a digital camera for my birthday one year, but then enjoying photographing wildlife, it got me back into birdwatching. I dont have an SLR (too expensive) but there days I frequently take photos first use binoculars later, especially if I've only got time for one or the other. A photo gives me a chance of IDing something later.

As for what I do with the photos, time for yet another gratuitous plug for my blog - the link to which does in my signiture - turns it into a (for me) fun variation on the challenge of spotting birds.

 

[HokkaidoStu]

when the photographer returns do you feverishly spark up your computer, pop the memory card in and look at those 374 images you took of the red breasted merganser that was close enough to the hide. Carefully twiddle with the RAW images add the relevent metadata and store them carefully away. And then what...

Man, you have just described an average night in my life............!

I shoot a lot of photos, I'm no pro, just a hobbyist. I have a blog and a dedicated website for my photos, I prints and sell a few calendars every winter and make lots of prints to give to family/friends.

If I go out birding for a long heavy day it may take me an hour or so to sort out the photos and post them on the net.

It's just a hobby, it started off as filing in time when there were no interesting birds around to watch and it kind of took over from that........

 

[Ecuadorrebel]

No cynicism intended, I do indeed take photographs when on holiday as reminder or to share with others. I don't have a problem with people who want to take photos of birds, even in tight crop, devoid of context. But there are folk, obviously not you, who do bang away taking hundreds of shots. I picked the red breasted merganser as my bird because of a particular incident at the Eric Morecambe hide at Leighton Moss last winter. There was a large group of mixed waders a way away, most of the those in the hide were looking through it, there were several birds that we were attempting to reach a consensus on as regards identification. There was a chap with a DSLR and enormous lens who looked at the flock but decided it was too far away. So as the rest of us debated the finer points of 1000yd stint identification the photographer banged away on full auto taking endless shots of the only bird that was close enough to the hide, a red breasted merganser. When I got home I spent a while looking in books and on the net to clarify the mystery stint and whilst doing so I wondered what the chap was going to do with his 374 shots of the red breasted merganser...

I'm still wondering.

I understand your frustration Mono,

In photography, just as in many hobbies, there are some very rude people. When I take photos I am normally by myself, or possibly with a friend. Few times have I used a hide, and when I have I have tried to be courteous to those around me. But there are those who have tunnel vision and think only of what they are doing. A few months ago I was in a hide taking photos of some Toucans. There was a couple from New Zealand there also, but there camera was not giving them a good quality image. I was able to email them some photos and we have since become friends.

Not all of my photographs are "sale" quality. Some I do sell, others I share with friends and family, which includes my birding family here and those who visit my blog. There are many birds that I have seen only once and have only memories. There are others that I have seen many times and photographed many times, but I still enjoy seeing them again because I may get a photo that is even better.

Those who take their hobby seriously will consider the feelings of those around them. Those who take themselves seriously don't know there are people around them.

 

[Pete Mella]

Sorry if I've misunderstood, but how is the person Mono describes rude in any way, Equadorrebel? He just wanted to photograph a red-breasted merganser, not squint at distant waders. Wading through hundreds of photos of a single duck may not be our cup of tea, but it's his camera, his hobby, and he's not doing any harm. So what if he's not interested in the same birds as the rest of the hide? I agree it's a shame that some photographers are seemingly more interested in getting good shots than actually learning about birds (hence the frequent "ID this excellent photo because while I spend all my time in bird hides with a £2K camera I can't be bothered to look in a fieldguide" posts on the Q&A forums here ) but each to their own at the end of the day.

The only time it starts to get annoying is if they're hogging seats during busy times - but that goes for birders as well as photographers.

 

[Mannix]

There definitely seems to be a "them and us" thing about this topic.

 

[Mannix]

I agree it's a shame that some photographers are seemingly more interested in getting good shots than actually learning about birds (hence the frequent "ID this excellent photo because while I spend all my time in bird hides with a £2K camera I can't be bothered to look in a fieldguide" posts on the Q&A forums here

Lol, I totally agree with you there Pete. There is one person who posts very regularly on the Q&A section with everything from a Dunnock to a Blackbird. It's almost as if they just don't want to learn what it is they are photographing, which to my mind begs the question "then why do it"?

 

[Ecuadorrebel]

Sorry if I've misunderstood, but how is the person Mono describes rude in any way, Equadorrebel? He just wanted to photograph a red-breasted merganser, not squint at distant waders. Wading through hundreds of photos of a single duck may not be our cup of tea, but it's his camera, his hobby, and he's not doing any harm. So what if he's not interested in the same birds as the rest of the hide? I agree it's a shame that some photographers are seemingly more interested in getting good shots than actually learning about birds (hence the frequent "ID this excellent photo because while I spend all my time in bird hides with a £2K camera I can't be bothered to look in a fieldguide" posts on the Q&A forums here ) but each to their own at the end of the day.

The only time it starts to get annoying is if they're hogging seats during busy times.

No problem Pete, maybe I am coming down on this photographer too hard. But apparently the clicking of the shutter was disturbing Mono, and possibly others in the hide. I take a lot of photos of a single bird in hopes of getting that one that is perfect. But on those occasions when there are others around me, I do notice that they will look at me when they hear the shutter whirring. I look at this as a distraction to them and I try to tone it down. There are hundreds of birders that come here for the first and possibly only time in their life. I live here and can always return to an area. I want their one time to be as enjoyable as possible.

 

[Pete Mella]

No problem Pete, maybe I am coming down on this photographer too hard. But apparently the clicking of the shutter was disturbing Mono, and possibly others in the hide. I take a lot of photos of a single bird in hopes of getting that one that is perfect. But on those occasions when there are others around me, I do notice that they will look at me when they hear the shutter whirring. I look at this as a distraction to them and I try to tone it down. There are hundreds of birders that come here for the first and possibly only time in their life. I live here and can always return to an area. I want their one time to be as enjoyable as possible.

That does sound like a model way to behave, and very commendable indeed! I must say I've never had too much of a problem with photographers making shutter noise myself, especially in a lively hide with ID discussion going on, but I suppose others may have different opinions of that.