Cover Story

Birds in the Rookery

by Butch Mazzuca

All Photos©2022 Butch Mazzuca, All Rights Reserved

Birds have fascinated photographers since people first began taking pictures. Their natural grace and beauty beg to be photographed, not to mention how their diversity (shape, size, behavior) has captivated nature photographers everywhere. We want to capture them fledging, singing their beautiful songs, gliding on thermals, building their nests, hunting, fighting, and feeding their young. Capturing good bird photographs requires patience, knowledge, a good sense of timing and a bit of luck.

Good bird photographers make their own luck by learning about their subject. Knowing the behavior of the species you are going to photograph is critical. What does the species eat, when does it feed, when is it’s mating season, does it have a predictable flight pattern and in what direction does the bird take off? (Hint: – most birds prefer to take off into the wind.)

The photographer doesn’t need the latest, greatest, and most expensive equipment, although a camera capable of shooting many frames per second doesn’t hurt. But any mid-range DLSR or mirrorless camera will work just fine; just be sure it’s attached to a good telephoto lens that sits atop a sturdy tripod.

Last Spring my wife and I were visiting Florida’s panhandle. We drove our new toy, a Sprinter van that we’ve named “Lonestar,” to St. George Island, where we’ve travelled each of the last four years to get away from “mud season” in the Rockies. Last year, with the added flexibility of having the van, we decided to visit St. Augustine, the oldest city in America (founded in 1565.)

I had always wanted to visit St. Augustine and even though I lived in Florida in the 60s I never did get around to visiting there. So, while I was reading up on the area, I learned of the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park. The park itself is one of Florida's oldest continuously running attractions, having opened in 1893 the park has 24 species of crocodilians, a variety of other reptiles, mammals, birds, as well as educational demonstrations. But it’s the back section of the park that garnered my interest – there, attached to the farm is a bird rookery where free-roaming local bird species such as egrets, herons, wood storks and roseate spoonbills nest and rear their young.

The park began as a minor attraction at the end of a railway running through neighboring Anastasia Island. The alligators were added at first to get tourists to buy souvenirs (aka tchotchkes) and visit a small museum that was built there, but soon the reptiles themselves became the main attraction and remain so today. As of 2012, this was the only place on earth where one can see every species of alligator, crocodile, caiman, and gharial.

While that’s all fine and good; I was there to photograph the birds in the rookery. For those who haven’t been, the park itself is very “manageable,” i.e., it covers about one acre (4,000 square meters) with the rookery comprising only about 10% of the area. There are two boardwalks in the rookery, the north-south oriented boardwalk is about 40 yards long and the east-west boardwalk is about half that. Fortunately, when we were there (April 2022 even though it was prime mating season, it wasn’t all that crowded. Best all, the park is located about 3 miles from the KOA RV Park where we stayed.

The only issue I had with the venue was the installation of new higher guard rails. Don’t bother bringing a tripod because last March a photographer was leaning over the then four-foot-high boardwalk guard rail to get his shots when his camera and tripod tumbled into the alligator infested waters in the rookery. It’s my understanding the park had to close, and retrieving the equipment was quite an ordeal. As a result, about three weeks before I arrived, the park added a two-foot-high barrier of thick wires about 4 inches apart, rendering tripods useless for any photographer under 6’ 5”, so all my shots were hand-held with many taken by shooting between the wires, which is certainly not optimum.

Bird photography, at least in this photographer’s opinion, is one of the more challenging types of wildlife photography, especially when you’re trying to make your birds stand out from the crowd. Seasoned photographers know that Impact and Visual Interest are the image characteristics that most often succeed in competitions and must be the two aspects of a bird image that hook, grab, and keep the viewer’s attention. And the best way to get impact and visual interest in an image is through …Strong Subjects, Originality and Light.

Let’s start with the easy one first – Strong Subjects. Simply stated, birds are very strong subjects when photographed properly. Next - Originality. I once had a photo judge critique what to my mind was a spectacular image of a sandhill crane in a 60-degree bank (imagine a f-18 Super-hornet rolling in on target) with its wings in

perfect position. Technically the image was spot on, and I just assumed a tack sharp bird in flight in good light would score well, but it didn’t. The judge gave it a 9 on a 10-point scale.

The judge said, “This is a beautiful capture, but each of us has seen thousands of photos of birds in flight, so what makes yours different or unique that someone will take the time to examine it?” I was very disappointed in receiving a 9, but I learned something. The judge was absolutely correct, I’ve seen thousands of photos of graceful birds in flight, so what made my image standout? The answer was nothing!

Then and there I made up my mind that the next time I photographed birds, I would do so with the goal of creating impact and visual interest, and two sure ways to do that was great light and interesting perspectives (originality?).

At the same time, the most important thing to keep in mind when shooting birds is exposure. This is kind of like the wedding photographer who has to capture the detail in both the lace of a white bridal gown and in the detail of the black satin lapels of the groom’s tuxedo.

Let’s talk about settings beginning with ISO. Many of the truly good bird photographers I know shoot in manual and change their settings regularly throughout the shoot. I’m far from a pro so I use Auto ISO with exposure compensation, which with white birds or dark birds with white bellies means 2-3 stops underexposed from the metered reading. Since I always expose for the white/bright bellies of the birds, I check my histogram after every shot (btw, I always use the blinkies.)

Next is Shutter Speed – this is a personal choice but as the old expression goes, “If your image isn’t sharp, you don’t have a photograph.” So, depending upon the situation I usually shoot birds between 1/2000th and 1/3200th second. And with regard to depth of field, well obviously that depends upon background, foreground, etc., but I like being prepared when/if the subject spreads its wings, so I usually begin any bird shoot at f11.

Bird habitat is replete with distractions, i.e., random twigs, grasses, vines, branches, brambles, etc., that seldom add interest to a photo, in fact, quite the opposite. Few things are more disheartening than having a great shot ruined by a branch leading the viewer’s eye out of the frame or eye-grabbing grasses in the corner of the frame that are difficult to remove in post.

When I’m shooting birds, what do I look for? First, I wait for the subject to perform. Preening is something birds do on a regular basis, and it makes for a far more interesting image than if the bird is simply perched. I no longer shoot ‘perched’ birds – they’re boring. Other gestures and actions, e.g., courtship rituals, fighting, feeding, wings flapping, bathing all make for excellent captures.

A friend of mine and excellent bird photographer is an advocate of shooting birds in flight shortly after sunrise and before sunset. Front light provides a warm wash of color that’s spectacular and dramatic. Meanwhile, sidelight provides texture and reveals the lighted and shadow side of your subject. Clouds can provide gorgeous soft color, and silhouetted images of the birds in flight make dramatic photographs.

But here’s a caveat, when photographing birds that are primarily white, you’ll sometimes get the reflections of the ambient colors, so be sure to adjust for white balance in post. And here’s a “quick tip” – in cloudy conditions white plumage tends to lose detail.

Compositionally the same ‘rules’ that apply to general photography apply here, i.e., avoid placing the bird in the center of the image. Whether you’re creating flight shots or images of the birds in their environment, an off-center placement is stronger. If you fill the frame with a vertical subject, try placing the eye in the upper portion of the frame, perhaps on a power point (we all use the rule of thirds, right?) When creating a horizontal image, place the bird on the left or right side of the frame depending which way its head is turned – 95% of the time you’ll want more space in front of the bird.

Ansel Adams told us, “The single most important component of a camera is the 12 inches behind it.” So, do like the pros do, and prepare yourself mentally. Tom Brady doesn’t walk on the playing field without a game plan; the biggest part of a CEO’s job is creating a business plan, stunt men pre-visualize their moves, surgeons do it before making an incision. As photographers, we should do it before we press the shutter. As my friend Russ expounds, “Think about all the tricks you’ve learned over time, think about all the techniques you’ve absorbed, think about all the hours you’ve reflected on.” Before pressing the shutter, ask yourself , “What is it that I’m trying to accomplish? Where’s the impact in this scene? Where’s the visual interest? And if after taking a few shots you see that the image is a bit too contrasty, give some thought to converting to monochrome. Even though I shoot and do my post in color, I always check the finished product to see what it might look like monochrome.

We plan on heading back to St. Augustine and the rookery next year, and for those interested, while the park’s regular hours are from 9:00 AM until sunset 365 days a year, for a fee of $90, photographers are allowed into the park at 8:00 AM when the sun’s light and direction are the best for photography. Happy Shooting!

Before pressing the shutter, ask yourself , “What is it that I’m trying to accomplish? Where’s the impact in this scene? Where’s the visual interest? And if after taking a few shots you see that the image is a bit too contrasty, give some thought to converting to monochrome. Even though I shoot and do my post in color, I always check the finished product to see what it might look like monochrome.

We plan on heading back to St. Augustine and the rookery next year, and for those interested, while the park’s regular hours are from 9:00 AM until sunset 365 days a year, for a fee of $90, photographers are allowed into the park at 8:00 AM when the sun’s light and direction are the best for photography. Happy Shooting! Butch Mazzuca bmazz68@icloud.com

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