I am slowly developing my own style of bird photography. It is essentially based on portraits of garden birds taken in a somewhat controlled environment, utilising an attractive perch and subdued background. I use flash to give enough light to stop movement and to give sufficient depth of field.
I am, of course, limited to the birds that visit the garden, but my intention is to do justice to those that do.
This photo represents everything I am trying to achieve. I don’t mind admitting that I am proud of it.
After spending all morning trying in vain to get some shots of birds in flight, I set everything up again specifically to get a Blackcap in profile. The perch was set up to one side of the feeder, so that the bird would be side on, and the camera settings were altered to give the maximum quality. The Blackcap is very obliging as he likes to land on the perch before hopping over to the feeder, whereas most other birds tend to fly directly to the feeder. The hardest part is forcing myself to wait until he is sitting exactly as I want him before pressing the shutter. As I am using HSS flash, the flash units take about three seconds to recycle, so I only get one chance before he moves.
I would love to get a wider variety of birds, but until I do, I will continue to enjoy sharing my hobby with my usual feathered friends.
I am, of course, limited to the birds that visit the garden, but my intention is to do justice to those that do.
This photo represents everything I am trying to achieve. I don’t mind admitting that I am proud of it.
After spending all morning trying in vain to get some shots of birds in flight, I set everything up again specifically to get a Blackcap in profile. The perch was set up to one side of the feeder, so that the bird would be side on, and the camera settings were altered to give the maximum quality. The Blackcap is very obliging as he likes to land on the perch before hopping over to the feeder, whereas most other birds tend to fly directly to the feeder. The hardest part is forcing myself to wait until he is sitting exactly as I want him before pressing the shutter. As I am using HSS flash, the flash units take about three seconds to recycle, so I only get one chance before he moves.
I would love to get a wider variety of birds, but until I do, I will continue to enjoy sharing my hobby with my usual feathered friends.
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