a Dr t Oi sWt sN U N D E R Australia and New Zealand
PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS INTRO TO BIRDS IN FLIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY By Dean Hohn
For me, bird photography is one of the most challenging genres of photography I’ve ever tried. It can be extremely rewarding when it all comes together but it can also be one of the most frustrating when it doesn’t! I hate to think of the number of shots I’ve deleted that were just rubbish! Slowly over the past 18 months, I have concentrated on bird photography. I had taken the odd photos of birds if one presented itself, but I wasn’t dedicated to photographing them such as I have been since July 2019. It has been an interesting and steep learning curve. I’d like to share some of the things I feel are important to learn that will enable you to go from photographing perched birds to photographing birds in flight. I’m still learning, reading, and practicing while trying to understand more and more about the various birds in my area. One of the first things you need to do is learn the habits of birds and the habitats they frequent. The more you understand the habits of the birds, the easier it becomes to find, track and photograph them. I suggest you start off with larger slow flying birds and learn how to consistently track them with your camera, even if you don’t actually take a photo of them initially. The more practice you put in the better you will become at being able to track and anticipate what the bird will do in flight. Then all you have to do is track the bird and wait for the right moment to get the capture you want. I’m fortunate that I live near the sea and I’m only a block away from the river where there is no shortage of seagulls and other water birds to practice on. I am also fortunate to have multiple species of small birds that are prevalent where I live. They are quick, a challenge, and good to practice on once you are accustomed to tracking the slower birds. Some of the smaller birds are so fast you will need a camera that has an excellent autofocus tracking capability to enable you to have any chance of consistently being able to get shots of them.
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