Category Archives: Photography

Birds in Flight – Wildlife Photography Tips #17

In the realm of really great bird photographs – the National Geographic cover shots and international contest winners – the subjects are almost always shown in flight. And it makes sense: action shots are more engaging than static images, and the action of flight is the one thing that most expresses what it is to be a bird. So not surprisingly, within the world of wildlife photographers, Birds in Flight – or “BIF” – is a particular specialty with its own unique skill set.

Birds in Flight - Short-billed Dowitcher
Short-billed Dowitcher. 500mm,  f/7.1, 1/2000 sec, ISO 800.

Capturing great images of a birds in flight requires patience, skill, and judgement. I don’t claim to be anywhere close to having mastered this particular aspect of photography, but I have learned a few things along the way. Consider this a beginners’ guide to BIF.

Birds in Flight – What makes a Great Image?

Technical qualities. Needless to say, as with any great image, a BIF photo should show crisp focus, proper exposure, and enough depth of field so that the whole bird is in focus

Activity. An image of a bird in its element is good enough, but it will be more engaging if the bird is doing something recognizable – carrying prey or nesting material, taking off or coming in for a landing, feeding, engaging with other birds, etc.

Composition. As a general rule the bird should be:

  • Flying towards the photographer or seen from a side view. The rear end view of a bird flying away is rarely interesting.
  • Looking towards the viewer. For the best results the focus point should be on the nearest eye.
  • Captured with its wings and legs held in an attractive manner.

And be sure you leave some space in front of a flying bird. The image will look a bit claustrophobic if the bird does not have room to fly.

Background. A bird against a featureless white or blue sky is not as engaging as it would be with a more visually interesting background – glimpses of its habitat, for example a Northern Harrier over grassland or a Red-shouldered Hawk flying amongst the trees, or failing that at least some interesting clouds.

Books, social media posts, and blogs on photography tend to slavishly favour the convention that the background should be out of focus lest it detract attention from the subject. This is actually a stylistic choice not a rule, and you should feel free to ignore it in favour of your own personal vision.

Birds in Flight - Blue-footed Booby
Blue-footed Booby. 300mm, f/8.0, 1/1250 sec, ISO 400
Birds in Flight - Feral Pigeons
Feral Pigeons at Dough Fluhrer Park. 200mm, f/7.1, 1/1600 sec, ISO 160.

Approach

The really great photographs of birds in flight that you have seen in exhibitions and magazines are almost certainly products of a deliberate approach to photography. What I mean by that is that the photographer set out that day aiming to get a particular image. They planned the shoot, considering the light conditions they were looking for, the best background, and where the birds could most advantageously be seen.  Thus preparation put them in the best position to get what they were looking for.

That approach does not fit in well with the normal activities of birding, which usually comprise walking around and seeing the birds as they make themselves available. However there can be good opportunities on a bird walk, particularly in open country, if you adjust your camera up in advance with the settings you would need for a BIF opportunity. Almost all of the images in this article were captured while out birding.

And sometimes you can just get lucky. I am quite pleased with the Red-rumped Bush Tyrant image which came about because on a really bright day I had dialed in a fast shutter speed just to avoid overexposure.

Birds in Flight - Red-rumped Bush Tyrant
:Red-rumped Bush Tyrant. 500mm,  f/5.6, 1/1000 sec, ISO 900.
Birds in Flight - Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk. 500mm, f/7.1, 1/1600 sec, ISO 400.

Settings

The most important setting you will need to adopt for shooting birds in flight is a much faster shutter speed than you normally use. Even birds like swans or herons that appear to be slow and ponderous are actually moving quite quickly. For example, as a Mute Swan flies by, its slow cruise speed of 30kph equates to almost nine metres per second –  for a bird that is about a 1.5 metres long. Combined with the imperfect movement of your lens as you try to track the bird, at a normal shutter speed the resulting shot will be tend to be blurry, or at least not as sharp as you would want. So if you want to freeze the action and get a crisp shot you need a high shutter speed.

How high? There are two answers:

  • It depends on the bird – what it is doing, how close it is, whether it is heading towards you or across your field of vision. Experience will be your best guide in judging how fast the shutter needs to be.
  • But if in doubt, faster is always better.

Shutter Speed Guidelines for Birds in Flight

I reviewed a lot of my own BIF images when researching this article and one thing I noticed is that most of the ones I like were taken at a shutter speed of 1/1600 or higher.

For large, slow-flying or soaring birds (Canada Goose, Red-tailed Hawk) you might get away with a lower speed, particularly if the bird is in a slower phase of movement. The White-faced Ibis below is gliding in for a landing. In this case 1/800 was fast enough to catch the bird and even the water droplets falling off of it but it’s the exception rather than the rule. 1/1600 is better as a baseline – it will improve the number of “keepers” in a shooting session.

Birds in Flight - White-faced Ibis
White-faced Ibis at Erieau ON. 500mm, f/6.3, 1/800 sec, ISO 250.
Birds in Flight - American White Pelican
American White Pelican. 500mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec, ISO 1000.

Note that the closer you are to the bird the faster it will cross through your field of vision, so an even higher speed may be needed.

For smaller and/or faster-moving birds the need for speed increases. Each situation is different but as a starting point I would suggest the following minimum speeds:

  • Gulls and other medium-sized birds – 1/2000
  • Swallows, martins and small passerines (e.g. flycatchers, chickadees etc) – start at 1/3200 and be prepared to go up from there, especially if the bird is flying towards you.
  • Hummingbirds – these are a special case. When they are hovering, the best images often show a fair amount of blur of the wings while the body remains stationary (and thus in sharp focus). The blur gives the impression of how fast their wingbeat really is – up to 80 beats per second.
Birds in Flight - Bank Swallow
Bank Swallow. 500mm, f/6.3, 1/3200 sec, ISO 500.
Birds in Flight - Sapphire-spangled Emerald
Sapphire-spangled Emerald. 500mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec, ISO 4000.

Technique

Even the fastest shutter speed won’t guarantee a good image. You also need to be able to track the bird closely enough that your autofocus can achieve a lock. Modern cameras have fairly advanced abilities to achieve and maintain focus lock on a moving target, but you can help things out by developing and practicing good habits.

  • Tracking. When you are photographing a series of birds flying across your field of vision, the natural tendency is to aim at a bird as it approaches and then try to twist your body to track it along its line of flight. More experienced BIF photographers decide where they want the bird to be when they take the shot, considering background and proximity, and set there feet so that when the bird hits that point it is straight in front of them. This gives them the greatest control at the critical moment. They then wind their torso left or right to the point where the bird will first appear. It’s a simple trick but it works. The image at the top of the page was shot using this method. A series of Short-billed Dowitchers were flying across a lagoon so it was possible to predict their movement and be set up for the side-on flight shot.

  • Burst Mode. Even the best autofocus system will struggle to keep a moving target constantly in sharp focus. There will always be moments when the focus wanders a bit before the system corrects itself. You can help ensure you come away with some sharp images by firing bursts rather than single frames. To do this, set your shutter release mode to Continuous Low or Continuous High and hold the shutter release down when the bird enters your target zone.

A side benefit of firing bursts is that it also gives you a better chance of acquiring an image where the bird is doing what you want it to do – looking towards you, holding its wings in a graceful manner, etc. Note the series of unprocessed images of an Andean Gull below. This short burst took less than one second but you can see the variety of shapes and wing positions during that span. Longer bursts increase the chances of getting the shot you really want.

  • Environment. You can also use the wind to your advantage. All else being equal a bird flying into a headwind will be moving more slowly relative to the ground observer and thus easier to track.

Light

The use of fast shutter speeds significantly reduces the amount of light that reaches the camera’s sensor. In practice this means that BIF photography in low-light conditions will necessitate high ISO values with the attendant problem of excessive noise. The best results tend to come when there is full daylight but without the harsh glare of the midday sun. Days that are brightly-lit but overcast can provide excellent conditions as overly-bright highlights will be less of a problem, but in this case you will want to have something in the background other than a pale grey sky.

And if you are shooting upwards on a bright day, for example at a soaring raptor, remember that exposure compensation is your friend. Increasing your exposure by a stop or two will avoid the dreaded underwing shadow and help you bring out the colour and detail of the bird’s undersides.

Equipment

In most situations all you need to start experimenting with birds in flight photography is the camera you already have (DSLR or mirrorless) and a telephoto lens. For close range work, for example chickadees at Lemoine Point, a shorter telephoto in the 200mm range will work, otherwise you should look for a lens of at least 300mm. My article on the September Blue Bill identified some good choices at various price levels.

The only caveat is that if you start to shoot in long bursts you may need to upgrade to a faster memory card.

If you become really enthusiastic about BIF then you may eventually want to look at a tripod with a gimbal mount. I may eventually head in this direction, but at the moment I almost exclusively hand-hold my cameras so I am not in a position to recommend specific options. 

Practice

Like any other photography skill your ability to photograph birds in flight will improve with practice. Fortunately you don’t have to go far afield to work on your skills – nature has provided us with an ample supply of gulls, feral pigeons and Mallards that are abundant, easily found, and not too afraid of people. They are great subjects to work with as you start out on your BIF journey. Good shooting!

…and if you find all of this too easy, and you really want to drive yourself mad, there’s always IIF – insects in flight. 😊

Birds in Flight - Forster's Tern
Forster’s Tern. 500mm, f/6.3, 1/2500 sec, ISO 400.
Birds in Flight - Grey-headed Albatross
Grey-headed Albatross. 500mm, f/6.3, 1/1600 sec, ISO 200.

Camera Settings for Birds – Photography Tips #11

Health warning

This article contains a lot of technical information about camera settings that will only be of interest to people with relatively modern DSLR and mirrorless cameras. It contains a few amendments from the version published in Volume 69 No. 1 of The Blue Bill, the quarterly journal of the Kingston Field Naturalists.

One of the challenges of working with current DSLR and mirrorless camera bodies is the bewildering variety of options they present. What should one do when faced with the myriad of possibilities embedded in the basic camera controls for ISO, metering, shutter speed, aperture, and autofocus modes, much less the arcane stuff buried in the custom menus (53 options in my particular camera of choice)? Isn’t there a one-size-fits-all choice of settings that will let us get on with the business of photographing birds?

Well, yes and no. Readers of this series will know that I advocate learning how to control the basic functions of the camera, and particularly the big three of ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. In the most recent article I also explored the importance of understanding and applying autofocus modes. These are functions that you may need to adjust multiple times over the course of a day out, and in my experience an ability to understand these and balance between them is one of the keys of creating good images.

So there is no single answer that works in all situations. However a quick scan through the internet will turn up a number of articles proposing the “right” settings for bird photography, by which they mean the recommended baseline settings to use most of the time. This is a good approach, and (needless to say!) I have my own recommendations. This article provides a set of good choices for standard settings, and capsule explanations for why these are recommended.

In order to confirm whether they were good ones I decided to test them during two recent birding trips by sticking as closely as possible to my recommended settings throughout the trip. The captions to the images accompanying this article will note the settings used, including any deviations from the recommended ones. A Nikon D850 camera body and a NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens were used throughout.

Continue reading Camera Settings for Birds – Photography Tips #11

Algonquin Provincial Park – The hunt for winter finches

This site has been lying fallow for a few months while I have been out chasing birds. I’m going to attempt to catch up, starting with a KFN field trip to Algonquin. Algonquin Provincial Park does not quite make it into my Top Ten Birding Sites, but if there were a category for winter birding sites it would be at or near the top.

And why would one head into the frozen North in the depths of winter? To see birds, of course – it’s the primary reason for ever leaving the house. But the special winter birds don’t often show up in balmy Kingston so an annual expedition is mounted to catch up with these critters in their lairs.

Large finches

Starting with one of the true stunners of the bird world – the Evening Grosbeak. These large, intensely yellow finches would look right at home in the cloud forests of South America. They are a standard fixture in Algonquin Park in winter, best seen from the deck of the Visitor Centre where they congregate to feast at the well-stocked feeders.

Algonquin Park - Pine Grosbeak
Male Evening Grosbeak in the snow.
Female Evening Grosbeak has her eye on a seed.

Purple Finches are another Algonquin Park regular. These are on the larger and bulkier side of the finch family, and are regularly seen in ones and twos on migration. Algonquin Park attracts large flocks in the winter, also best seen at the Visitor Centre.

Algonquin Park - Purple Finch
Male Purple Finch

Crossbills are another winter target species. There are two species to be seen in Canada and they are not always easy to find. Their bills with the overlapping tips are adapted to opening the cones of evergreen trees to extract the seeds. This specialized diet means that they roam over very wide distances in search of good cone crops. Rather than having a standard breeding period like most birds, they breed when they find a good supply of cones. So crossbills are never guaranteed, but Algonquin is a good place to try and find them. As it happened we found a few small flocks of White-winged Crossbills but alas no Red Crossbills were forthcoming.

Algonquin Park - White-winged Crossbill
Male White-winged Crossbill decides to abscond with the whole cone.
His mate looks bemused.

Not very finchy finches

A hoped-for check in the box for a winter trip is the Pine Grosbeak. This is technically a finch species, though it lacks the pointy triangular bill of most finches. But it’s quite a smart-looking bird all the same. These birds can’t be counted upon in any given winter as Algonquin is at the south end of their range. We had consulted the Winter Finch Forecast and conditions looked good, but it was still great to catch sight of these chunky birds doing their thing.

Male Pine Grosbeak
And his special friend.

Smaller finches

Next in line on the sightings list are Pine Siskins. These tiny, agile finches are quite nomadic, but Algonquin Park is as close to a guaranteed site as you can find. This image shows them basking in the pale sunlight between bouts of seed-eating. As usual they were present in a large chattering flock – up to 40 at a time according to my eBird checklist.

Pine Siskins.

Redpolls are always on the winter birds must-see list, and this trip did not disappoint. Like the Pine Siskin these are small finches mostly seen in packs, but they adopt a somewhat more lively colour palette.

Common Redpoll puffed up to conserve heat.

Non-finches

It’s not all about finches. Two other winter specialty species were in our sights. The first would be easy. Canada Jays are regular breeding birds in Algonquin Park, and though they don’t frequent the Visitor Centre feeders, there are several accessible locations where they tend to hang out. And being jays, they are naturally inquisitive and will come in to investigate any invasive bipeds in their territories.

Algonquin Park - Canada Jay
Canada Jay. Note radio tracking antenna.

One bird that we always hope to see in Algonquin and rarely do is the elusive Black-backed Woodpecker. These birds are thinly-spread, quiet and reclusive in habits, and so black that light seems to bend around them and make them near-invisible in the deep forests where they abide.

But once in a while…

Algonquin Park - Black-backed Woodpecker
Female Black-backed Woodpecker, spotted by the eagle-eyed Christine H.

…and the usual Algonquin suspects

No winter visit would be complete without the ubiquitous Black-capped Chickadee and the Blue Jay – a bird so common we sometimes don’t notice how stunning it is.

Black-capped Chickadee
Blue Jay

Equipment notes

This was the first trip where I relied exclusively on my Nikon D850 and the new AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens. This outstanding combination is now the default set-up for birding trips. The only problem is that I now have no excuses – going forward any flaw in an image will either be down to poor camera handling or operator error. 😊

Saskatchewan – Searching for Whooping Cranes

Flushed with success from my birding visit to British Columbia, I enlisted my brother Carl in a scheme to visit Saskatchewan and find some Whooping Cranes. I meant to post a trip report before now but “events” and sheer idleness got in the way. Then I discovered that our guide, Chris Charlesworth, had posted a complete report in his blog, so rather than repeat the effort I can concentrate on the aspects of the trip that were most important to me: birds, bird photographs, good food and the delights of Saskatoon’s thriving cocktail scene.

Speaking of good food, our dinner stop on the night we arrived was the estimable La Taverna Italia. The place was busy and possibly a bit understaffed, but the food was excellent. After agonizing over the choices I opted for the spaghetti alla puttanesca and had no regrets – no punches were pulled in this fully-flavoured version of a classic dish. Carl had lasagna and pronounced it highly viable. The cocktail menu was extensive and intriguing, featuring a number of top ingredients that are only dreamed of in the People’s Republic of Ontario. I settled on a Negroni made with Hendricks gin, Punt e Mes, Campari, and a flamed orange peel garnish. It was very fine indeed.

1 October– Roaming around North of Saskatoon

Now to cut to the chase. Yes, we did hook up with the near-mythical Whooping Crane. These magnificent birds, the tallest birds in North America and one of the largest crane species, were not that long ago standing on the precipice. In 1941, after decades of habitat destruction and overhunting, there were just 21 wild birds still clinging to life. An intensive conservation programme was established and over the years the population has grown to about 800 birds. They are not out of the woods yet, but at least there are sufficient numbers now  that the species should survive a catastrophe such as a major storm.

Whoopers spend the winter in Texas and Florida but they travel up to Wood Buffalo National Park in northern Saskatchewan to breed. Our trip was cunningly planned to put us in position to see them on  their way south, and as luck would have it Chris was able to discover a flock near Marcelin on our first morning. Being wary creatures we were not able to get close enough for good photos, but we had a good long look at the beasts before moving on to other delights.

1 October – Saskatchewan birds

Saskatchewan birding - Whooping Cranes
Whooping it up in Saskatchewan. The brownish bird is a colt (a juvenile Whooper).
Saskatchewan birding
Snow Geese including a very dark “blue phase” goose, with two Ross’s Geese below.
Greater White-fronted Geese trying not to be seen.
Rusty Blackbirds on the move.
Black-billed Magpie.

Dinner that night was Cajun-style courtesy of the Bon Temps Café. I opted for a traditional Jambalaya topped with a crawdad and Carl had blackened fish. We were both quite satisfied. They too had an excellent cocktail menu so respecting the New Orleans theme we sampled Vieux Carres – a classic beverage created at the Carousel Bar of the Monteleone Hotel in 1938. Basically a slightly sweet Manhattan-variant featuring Bourbon, Cognac, Cinzano, Benedictine, and Peychaud’s and Angostura bitters, they went down well and I made a mental note to acquire some Benedictine for further experimentation.

2 October – Last Mountain Lake

Chris has described this well in his blog so I will get straight to the photos.

Saskatchewan birding - Sharp-shinned Hawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk in the early morning light.
A Brewer’s Blackbird surveys his domain.
Saskatchewan birding - Sandhill Crane migration
Waves of Sandhill Cranes.
Brown Creeper creeping.
Saskatchewan birding - Golden Eagle
Golden Eagle – an awesome bird!
Grey Partridge in a somewhat shabby setting. But hey, Grey Partridge!

After a full day of birding we had an outstanding meal at The Granary. There were plenty of meal options but prime rib au jus seemed to be their specialty and when in doubt, go for the choice that the restaurant is proudest of. It was superb, and an eight ounce serving was ample with spuds and vegetables. You will be getting the idea that Saskatoon is a cocktail drinker’s paradise and sure enough The Granary was up to the task. For a while I had been wanting to try an Aviation, an early 20th Century creation of Hugo Ensslin of New Yorks’s Hotel Wallick, but the ingredients could not be had in Ontario. So despite the myriad of choices when my eyes alit upon that one the deal was done. It’s a true cocktail-drinkers cocktail, without the crutch of simple syrup to balance off the lemon juice, and was most excellent. Now if only I could get my hands on some Crème de Violette I could make my own. Hmmm.

3 October – Shorebirds and the long road North

The early part of the day was spent running up our shorebird tally before we moved to our advance staging area in Prince Albert. We stopped at a Sobey’s to get provisions for the trip and I took the chance to duck into the Sobey’s liquor store. There were racks of cocktail ingredients the likes of which the inept LCBO would never imagine offering. Yes of course they had Crème de Violette, Carpano Antica Formula, the full Luxardo range and many other fine products. All this at an undistinguished strip mall. Sadly I only had room in my luggage for one bottle.

American Avocets on short final.
Vast flocks of Lapland Longspurs were buzzing about but they Just. Wouldn’t. Land. ☹
Saskatchewan birding
Carl surveys the scene.
Northern Harrier on patrol.
Whole flocks of stubby-necked Cackling Geese!

Unfortunately, our only dinner option in Prince Albert on a Sunday evening was Boston Pizza. They had food. After a fashion.

Mollified somewhat by an after-dinner Northern Saw-whet Owl.

4 October – Prince Albert National Park

The aim of the deployment to northern Saskatchewan was to nab some boreal forest specialties. Which we did. 😊 The chief target for me was the scarce and unobtrusive American Three-toed Woodpecker. Chris used his ninja skills to track one down and we all had good views. Life bird number 1985 for me!

Saskatchewan birding - American Three-toed Woodpecker
The woodpecker in question.
Boreal Chickadees were present but playing hard to get.
Spruce Grouse on the prowl.
A distant River Otter
Horned Lark dispatches a moth.
The mighty Raven.
Canada Jays were plentiful.

Our last dinner as a group was at Manos, a Greek restaurant in Saskatoon. As I recall I had ribs and Carl had steak, washed down by an excellent local craft ale, Great Western Brewing Original 16 Pale Ale . It was a good meal but came at the end of a long day so memories are vague.

5 October – Farewell Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan birding
Los hermanos pájaritos.

We did a bit of local birding in the morning and then resigned ourselves to the tender mercies of Air Canada and made our way home.

Saskatchewan by the numbers

Three life birds for me (Whooping Crane, Smith’s Longspur, American Three-toed Woodpecker), many more than that for Carl, Saskatchewan bird list jumps from 0 to 88, some fine meals, drinking in a lot of big sky vistas – what’s not to like?

A big shout out to Chris and Avocet Tours for a superbly-organized and highly productive tour.

Autofocus Modes – Wildlife Photography Tips #10

AUTOFOCUS MODES - WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS #10

All cameras manufactured in the last 30 years, with the exception of a few highly-specialized models, are capable of automatic focusing or “autofocus”.[1] Many camera models now include a range of options that can be used to optimize the autofocus effect for specific situations. This article will describe autofocus servo modes and area modes, and recommend the best choices for wildlife photographers.

Note: Different camera manufacturers use different terms to describe what are essentially the same capabilities. Because I am a Nikon user I will use Nikon terminology throughout.

On basic cameras like those in mobile phones, autofocus is always enabled. For bridge cameras, DSLRs and mirrorless cameras there is usually a switch so that users can choose whether to use automated or manual focus. Your lens or camera body should have a switch labelled AF-M or M/A-M. AF stands for autofocus and M for manual focus. Ensure that the AF-M switch is set to AF or M/A.

AF switch on Nikon 24-70mm lens.

M/A, by the way, means that the autofocus is activated but you can override it manually. This is a useful option to have when your subject is obscured, for example by foliage. The autofocus system may have a hard time finding the desired point of focus. (Remember that modern autofocus systems are “smart” to a degree, but not smart enough to understand that you want to photograph the bird and not some random twig or leaf). If you have the option to do so I recommend setting the camera to M/A so you can override the autofocus when necessary.

Once autofocus is enabled, you activate the focus system by depressing the shutter release halfway or, if you are using back-button focus, depressing the AF-On “back-button.”

There are two key sets of choices that you can make to optimize autofocus. Somewhat confusingly Nikon calls them Autofocus modes and Autofocus area modes. For the sake of clarity I will refer to them as Autofocus servo modes and Autofocus area modes.

Autofocus servo modes

There are two basic choices here. You can either lock focus on a single point, or use a tracking capability that automatically refocuses as the subject moves.

AF-S: Single servo AF

… or “One-Shot AF” for Canon cameras: This system is primarily used for stationary or slow-moving subjects. It uses a single point at the centre of the frame. When the focus system is activated – by half-pressing the shutter release or pressing the back-button – the camera will achieve and lock focus on that point.

Key point. If the camera and/or the subject moves, even if you hold the shutter release halfway down, the camera will not refocus. So small movements can lead to out-of-focus or not optimally focused images.

Note that you can customize this function using the camera menu system. There are two main options:  (a) the camera will record an image when you press the shutter release (whether it is in focus or not), or (b) the shutter will not release if the image is not in focus.

Cunning photographers (I’m looking at you Phil) have learned that you can use option b to your advantage when photographing small, fast-moving birds. If you track the bird while holding the shutter release down, an image will be recorded at the fleeting moment when the camera has the bird in focus.

AF-C: Continuous servo AF

… or AI Servo in Canon-speak: This mode is optimized for moving subjects, and is the optimal choice for moving targets. While the focus system is activated the camera will continuously refocus until the shutter is released.

Key point. With AF-C activated, when you press the shutter release the camera will attempt to record an image whether it is in focus or not. So you do need to wait a moment for autofocus to find a solution. This wait time ranges from very short (less than a second) with high-end lenses at wide aperture, to several seconds with basic telephoto lenses.

One drawback of AF-C mode is that sometimes it is not as precise as AF-S, so you have to watch carefully to ensure you don’t end up with slightly out-of-focus shots.

AF-A: Hybrid mode

This is a third option often seen on lower-end DSLRs. In this mode the camera switches between AF-S and AF-C depending on whether it thinks the subject is moving or not. AF-A is intended to give a beginner the best chance of getting a good photo. The mode is not present on higher-end camera bodies because the manufacturer assumes that users will not want to cede control of such an important decision to the camera.

So to summarize, AF-S is best for stationary targets, and AF-C for moving targets.

To choose the autofocus servo mode you should consult the manual for your camera. Nikon DSLRs are controlled by depressing the AF button on the front of the camera and then moving a control wheel until the right symbol appears in the viewfinder.

AUTOFOCUS MODES - WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS #10
AF mode button on Nikon D850.

Autofocus area modes

These options allow you to choose how the focus point is selected. In the Nikon world there are up to ten options depending on your camera body. But don’t despair: only  a few of these are really useful for wildlife photography.

  • Pinpoint
  • Single point
  • Dynamic area modes (x4)
  • 3D tracking
  • Face detection
  • Group
  • Auto-area

Pinpoint

This is a unique-to-Nikon mode that allows precise focus on a very specific point of the target. At the moment only the D850 DSLR and the Z6 and Z7 mirrorless cameras have this feature. It is not likely to be useful for wildlife photography in general, particularly since it is relatively slow to achieve focus. But it is worth considering for specific outdoor applications, e.g.  macro photography of flowers, mosses and stationary (i.e. dead) insects. Note that it is only available with AF-S mode.

Single point

This is one of the most important modes for wildlife. The camera focuses on a single point at the middle of the frame. This is the fastest and most accurate of AF modes, and is particularly good for the following situations:

  • when you have time to compose a shot (and are using back-button focus activation). This mode allows you to zero in on the most important feature – usually the eye of the subject, and then recompose the shot knowing that the focus will remain on the chosen point. This is ideal for large mammals and birds, frogs, turtles etc that are close to the observer.
  • when the lighting is poor (explanation later in this article)
  • when your target is distant and there is a chance that using an area mode (described below) will lead to inadvertently focusing on a nearby twig or stalk of grass instead of the target

9-point Dynamic area

25-point Dynamic area

72-point Dynamic area

153-point Dynamic area

The idea of these dynamic area modes is that you can choose your focus point, and then as the subject moves the camera will “dynamically” keep the subject in focus. This is a very useful capability for photographing birds in flight, as long as you are aware of one limitation. If you wish to choose a specific initial focus point you do so by cycling between available points using a joystick or a rocker wheel on the back of the camera body. Professional photographers apparently perform this juggling act but mere mortals such as myself have enough issues to deal with in tracking a fast-moving bird without trying to manually move the focus point at the same time. Perhaps the professionals are photographing slower birds… 😊

On top of that, in order to use the joystick or rocker switch with my thumb I would have to re-route focus control from the back-button back to the shutter release, and I am unwilling to give up on the advantages of the back-button.

Camera controls – Nikon D850. Note that the rocker switch is in the locked position.

However if you are happy with a random focus point these modes work well. The Sandhill Crane below was taken using 25-point dynamic area mode. These birds were landing in waves at the Lost Mountain wildlife reserve in Saskatchewan and each group passed over very quickly. At my skill level there was no scope for picking a specific focus point but the autofocus mode did a good job selecting a usable one. (FYI I believe it is the left wingtip of the second bird). There is sufficient depth of field at f/8.0 that I’m not sure the image would have been improved if I had chosen a specific focus point.

AUTOFOCUS MODES - WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS #10

Caveat

One thing to note is that the dynamic modes with larger numbers of focus points take slightly longer to achieve focus, and have an increased chance of focusing on something other than your desired subject.

But overall the dynamic modes are useful tools that are worth familiarizing yourself with. In order to use them the autofocus mode needs to be set to AF-C.

BTW the equivalent Canon term for Nikon’s dynamic modes is AF Point Expansion.

3D-tracking

This mode is a clever bit of technology. Once you have picked a focus point it analyzes colour differences to determine which object you want to focus on, and then uses as many focus points as necessary to keep that moving object in focus. I have not experimented much with this mode but sources I trust suggest that for birds in flight it works well against a clear background such as the sky, and less well when the background is busy. For large mammals, which are generally slower moving, this mode probably works very well. And another source reports that in a large mass of fast moving birds this mode is very good at picking out one bird and tracking it. 3D tracking mode is also only available in AF-C.

Face detection

This mode is self-explanatory. It is very useful for people photography but not really geared towards wildlife.

Group

This mode is one that I use frequently. When aimed at a group – e.g. a small flock of birds – it will focus on and track the closest member of the group. It uses only the centre point and the four others that are close to centre so it achieves focus quickly and holds it well.

Auto-area

This mode takes control of the focusing process and guesses what you wish to focus on. It seems to be intended for neophyte users who want to automate the whole photography process, so that their only responsibility is to point the camera in the general direction and hope for the best. I have not tried this mode but I understand that it is fairly good at finding faces. Otherwise it tends to focus on the nearest object. This mode is not really relevant to the wildlife photographer.

Recommendations

My first recommendation is that if you want to take full advantage of the capabilities of your camera you should learn how to change AF modes and AF area modes quickly and efficiently.

In my view the most useful AF combinations for wildlife are:

For stationary targets , especially if they are distant and/or the light is poor, use AF-S/single servo mode and a single (centre) focus point. Focus on the key feature (usually the closest eye). If you are using back-button focus you can then recompose without refocusing.

For all moving targets, use AF-C mode and one of the autofocus area modes.

Of these, I would experiment with 3D tracking for slow-moving targets (large mammals, e.g.).

For faster-moving targets, use either Group or one of the dynamic area modes. Of these I would stick to 9 or 25 point for most situations.

When I am out birding I will normally have the camera set at AF-C and 25-point area mode as this gives me the best chance of getting onto a fast-moving bird.

AUTOFOCUS MODES - WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS #10
AF-C, 25-point dynamic area. Ring-billed Gull.

A note on low-light photography

Autofocus systems use areas of contrast to judge focus. If there is not enough detail (clearly defined edges) in the subject then the autofocus system will “hunt” – that is, cycle back and forth trying to establish a focus point. This explains why autofocus doesn’t work well in low light conditions – there is not enough contrast to achieve focus. So though your high-end DSLR can capture an image at astonishing ISO values, you will probably have to focus manually or accept blurry images. Or check your manual to see if your camera has an AF-Assist function that can help out.

The Blue Bill

This article originally appeared in the Blue Bill, the journal of the Kingston Field Naturalists, Volume 68, Number 4, December 2021.



[1] The term is a bit of a misnomer because it’s not really automatic – you still have to activate the autofocus system, or at least ensure that it is focusing on what you want it to. 

DEPTH OF FIELD – Wildlife Photography Tips #6

How to adjust depth of field to improve your images. This article was originally published in The Blue Bill, the journal of the Kingston Field Naturalists.

In my early days as a wildlife photographer I was happy just to get a shot of the birds, beasts and insects I came across. But it wasn’t long before I started wanting to take better photographs. Looking back critically at images from a few years ago I found that some of my photos, particularly of birds and butterflies, were not as fully in focus as I wanted them to be. It was time to get a better handle on depth of field.

Depth of field is a relatively simple concept. Basically, it’s the area in a photograph where objects are acceptably sharp. Aside from exotic specialist equipment, cameras can only focus on one point. That point, and anything else at the same distance from the camera, can be precisely in focus, but anything nearer or farther will be less than optimally focused.

That’s where “acceptably sharp” comes in. Because the reduction in sharpness happens gradually, there is a range within which objects are sharp enough that they appear to be in focus. The range between the nearest and farthest objects that are acceptably sharp is called the depth of field (DOF). So as long as your subject is within that range all will be well.

(Note that apparent sharpness changes when an image is printed in a larger format, or when the observer is closer to the image, so an image that is acceptable sharp in 5×7” format may not be when blown up to 16×20”).

Why should I care about depth of field?

Landscape photographers obsess about getting maximum depth of field, and they use highly technical concepts such calculating hyperfocal distance to work out the optimal DOF. Depth of field preview functions, available on some camera models, are also used primarily in landscape photography. Fortunately we as wildlife photographers don’t need or have time to delve into those issues because our targets are constantly moving.

For us there are two main reasons to consider depth of field: to ensure that the whole target bird, turtle or butterfly is in focus, and to make an artistic choice about how much of the background should be in focus.

So back to the challenge of getting better images. I noticed that some of my photos of birds and butterflies had insufficient depth of field: typically in images of birds taken at close range the tails would be out of focus, and for butterflies one antenna was in focus but the other one was not. (See examples below).

Depth of field - Broad-winged Skipper
Broad-winged Skipper. Right antenna out of focus.
Broad-winged Skipper and Virginia ctenucha. One insect out of focus.

To address this issue, we need to understand the two main factors that influence depth of field: aperture size and proximity to the subject. Larger apertures reduce depth of field, as does moving closer to the subject.

If you are interested in the technical explanation for why this is so, a search of the internet will bring up multiple sources. I recommend you start with Wikipedia or Cambridge in Colour. But I believe it is not necessary to understand the physics as long as you understand the effect.

Aperture

Before we begin this section let’s refresh our memories about apertures. The aperture governs the amount of light passing through the lens. Larger apertures (bigger openings) are expressed by smaller numbers. Thus f/2.8 is a large aperture, and f/11 is a small aperture. Again, you can read up on the technical reasons for this or you can just remember the differences and move on.

The images below show the differences in depth of field as aperture size changes. Notice that the point of focus (the cocktail glass) remains constant, but the objects behind it start to become fuzzy as the aperture increases (i.e. the aperture number becomes smaller).

Depth of field - examples
f/8
Depth of field - examples
f/1.8

Proximity

While increasing the aperture (changing to a lower f stop) reduces DOF in a linear manner; increasing your proximity to the subject reduces DOF as an inverse square law. So as you get closer to your subject DOF decreases radically – a major challenge for macro photography.

Butterflies and odonates present a special challenge. Because they are small the temptation is to get as close as possible. But that is where the inverse square law comes into play – get too close and your DOF will be so shallow that parts of the insect will be outside the acceptably sharp range.

So how do I fix this?

The Canada Jay photos below show DOF in action. The birds were close (the images are uncropped) and there was not a lot of light available. Image 8 is taken at an aperture of f/6.3 and the tail is not acceptably sharp. Image 9, taken one half stop up at f/7.1 is noticeably better. So in principle, when taking photos of close-in subjects a higher than normal f stop (i.e. a smaller than normal aperture) is recommended. For more distant subjects a mid-range aperture should suffice.

Canada Jay at f/6.3
Depth of field - f/7.1
Canada Jay at f/7.1

As a rule of thumb if there is enough good light available, apertures in the f/7.1 to f/8 level should give you a good chance of capturing all the details of a bird that is relatively close.

For butterflies and odonates, a search through my files shows that in general I got better images from remaining bit farther away, using a smaller aperture and letting my telephoto lens do its job.

Depth of field - f/8
White Admiral at f/8
White Peacock. f/10

If your subject is cooperative, remember that a key advantage of digital cameras is that you can check your images on the camera’s monitor and see immediately whether the depth of field is correct.

DOF and artistic composition

Having made the case that ensuring adequate depth of field is important, let’s now look at a situation where you may want to limit DOF. Many sports and wildlife photographers subscribe to a fetish that background detail is to be avoided at all costs as they claim it detracts from the subject. In general I believe that wildlife is best depicted in its environment, and that means there should be background detail – an animal is not an icon to be shown detached from the ecosystem it inhabits.

However there are situations where the background detail would not add any value – perhaps it’s too far away to be sharp regardless of the aperture setting, or perhaps the background is an unattractive pile of random scrub. In those cases choosing a field deep enough to just cover the subject can create an attractive effect. The Savannah Sparrow in the image below was perched on a fence with nothing behind it but long grass. In this case an aperture of f/5.6 was enough to ensure that the bird, the wire and the one leaf below it are sharp, while the background is a sea of formless colour.

A fairly distant Hooded Mountain Tanager in its environment. f/5.6
Depth of field - Savannah Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow f/5.6

Camera management for depth of field

So… let’s imagine that I have convinced you that depth of field is a thing you should consider. How should you go about controlling it?

The first step is to confirm how your camera displays the critical information: aperture, shutter speed and film speed. This information is probably displayed in your viewfinder and/or on an information panel. Check your manual to be sure, and then make a habit of keeping an eye on the aperture setting.

Modes

If you use the Programme or Automatic mode it suggests that you are relatively new to photography and need some help from the camera so you can concentrate on the subject. There is no shame here – everyone starts out using an automatic mode and those who aren’t intent on getting the best possible images can happily stay in those modes. Just be aware that by leaving all the decisions to the camera you will have no control over depth of field.

Many of the more experienced photographers use one of the semi-automatic modes: Aperture Priority (shown on the mode selector as A for Nikon cameras and Av for Canons), or Shutter Priority (S for Nikon, Tv for Canon).

In Aperture Priority mode you control the aperture setting manually. The camera will make what it thinks are necessary adjustments by changing shutter speed and (if you enable Auto ISO) film speed. If you use this mode keep a close eye on the shutter speed. For wildlife (or plants if there is a breeze) you should use shutter speeds below 1/500 sec with extreme caution. Motion blur will ruin any image regardless of how well you have judged the depth of field. If you are in Aperture Priority mode and need more shutter speed you can select higher film speeds (ISO) until you reach a point where the camera boosts shutter speed to compensate.

In Shutter Priority mode you essentially give up control of the aperture setting. If there is not enough available light your camera will default to a wide open aperture setting regardless of what you might want to see from a depth of field perspective, though in fairness most of the affordable telephoto lenses have base apertures of f/5.6 or more so even wide open there will still be some depth to the image. Again, increasing film speed will eventually cause the camera to compensate by stopping down the aperture.

There is a way to balance all elements of the light triangle – aperture, shutter speed and ISO – yourself to ensure that you can make the best decision under the circumstances. It involves taking the plunge into Manual mode – a topic for a future post.

Some random final notes

  • If macro photography is your thing, one way to get around the issue of very shallow depth of field is to invest in a camera that allows focus stacking. This process involves taking a large number of images of the subject with the focus point moved slightly between each image. These images are then “stacked” using software to yield a single image that is in crisp focus from one end to the other. I have seen some amazing insect and flower images taken using focus stacking. One consideration, though, is that the subject has to remain completely immobile (which usually means it needs to be dead).
  • Smaller apertures lead to greater depth of field, but only up to a point. Using apertures of f/11 and above can bring diffraction into play. Without delving into the technical explanation, the bottom line is that diffraction can seriously degrade the sharpness of your image. So more isn’t always better.
  • The notion that telephoto lenses have inherently shallow depth of field is a common myth that is repeated by many supposedly expert sites. A more accurate statement is that telephoto lenses appear to have a shallow depth of field because of the distribution of sharpness. Telephoto lenses tend to have an even distribution of acceptable sharpness in front of and behind the focus point, whereas for wide angle lenses the bias is tilted to the areas behind the focus point. In landscape photography this is an advantage because it creates a more gradual fading away of sharpness towards the horizon. But the bottom line is that a given aperture (e.g. f/5.6) will give the same depth of field with any focal length of lens.
  • Finally, it is a fact that the size of the sensor on your camera affects DOF. Counterintuitively, the large sensor of a full frame camera will develop a shallower depth of field at a given f stop than a camera with a cropped sensor. This is an interesting factoid, but one that’s not particularly relevant to wildlife photography. If I were in the market for a new camera body I can think of a lot of factors that I would consider before I got down to that one.
I am acceptably sharp.

Post-Processing – Wildlife Photography Tips #5

In the previous post of this series I explained what happens in a digital camera – how a batch of photons is converted into a digital file. This post will cover how to use that file to create an image which can be displayed electronically or printed. This activity is called post-processing, because the initial processing of the image is done by software within the camera.

For wildlife photography, I believe the aim of post-processing is to produce a final image that replicates what you saw as closely as possible. And by “what you saw” I mean what you saw with your eyes through your binoculars, and not what the camera thinks you saw. Modern cameras are extremely capable, but their abilities are vastly inferior to those of the eye, especially the eye aided by precision optics. Occasionally the camera will manage to capture an image exactly the way you wanted it, but most of the time, especially in wildlife photography, the raw material produced by the camera will need some help.

The above images show the out-of-the-box version (Dusky Antbird 1) and the final version after post-processing (Dusky Antbird 2). Which would you prefer?

Continue reading Post-Processing – Wildlife Photography Tips #5

The Raw and the Cooked – Choosing an Image File Format – Wildlife Photography Tips #4

This article was also published in The Blue Bill, the Quarterly Journal of the Kingston Field Naturalists, Volume 67, No 2, June 2020.

JPEG vs Raw
Rufous-capped Antthrush at ISO 8000

I started this article intending to talk about post- processing – the business of editing your wildlife images. But I rapidly realized that it is too big a subject to deal with at once, so I’m going to break it into manageable chunks.

How the Camera Creates an Image

The first stage of the journey requires us to look at what happens when you snap the shutter. In the days of film cameras it was relatively straightforward – light passed through the lens and onto a film of celluloid or plastic. Light-sensitive chemicals on the film reacted to the exposure, producing a negative or a slide.

Digital cameras use a different process to capture an image. As photographers we need to have a basic understanding of how this works so we can understand how the different image file formats work.

In very simple terms, in a digital camera the light is focused on a sensor, which is a grid made up of very small photosites. Each photosite contains a diode that converts light into digital information. In simplistic terms the diode counts the number of photons that fall onto it while the shutter is open, and the circuitry in the photosite coverts that information into a numerical value.

In order to provide a digital image that matches the level of detail and colour that the eye can see, a camera sensor needs to contain millions of these photosites. This density of information allows a digital image to be at least as good as an image from a film camera. But it also explains why digital image files tend to be very large. Each of those millions of photosites generates a numerical value expressed as a byte of between 12 and 24 bits. To give you an idea of how that adds up, with my current camera set to the highest resolution the information stored by those photosites totals 62 million bytes of data for a single image.

Image Formats

JPEG vs Raw

The camera’s onboard processors convert those digital values into an image file. There are two main formats for an image file – JPEG and Raw. These formats take very different approaches to the challenge of storing all this data. In simple terms, JPEG transforms data within the camera to produce a finished image, while Raw stores all the information and the user then processes the information at a workstation. Each approach has its the pros and cons. I want to briefly illustrate the difference so you can make an informed choice about which format to use.

JPEG

JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) has emerged as the standard format for most photography tasks. For virtually all digital cameras JPEG is the default format, so if you have not been experimenting with the settings menu you are almost certainly shooting JPEG.

The JPEG format was developed to allow onboard compression of digital images. If you recall that figure of 62 million bytes you will see why for many applications there is a need to compress digital images.

Large files are problematic for several reasons:

  • They demand large storage capacity on your camera’s memory card
  • They take more time to write to the memory card, which can limit the number of images you can take in quick succession
  • They take up a lot of room on the storage drives of your PC, laptop, or mobile device
  • They require a lot of bandwidth to transmit, so websites will be slow to load and sharing is tedious

To avoid these problems the JPEG format compresses the raw information gathered by your camera sensor and then transforms it into a finished image. This image is stored on your camera’s memory card.

JPEG Advantages

For many uses JPEG format is ideal:

  • JPEG images are small enough to be easily viewable and shareable.*
  • Virtually all devices and software are compatible with JPEG files.
  • The simple image editing software available on your cell phone, tablet or computer is designed to use JPEG images.
  • JPEG is supported by HTML, the language used in creating web pages.

*Note: JPEG files can be created using different compression levels. Lower compression levels lead to better quality but also larger file size. JPEG Fine files are the least compressed (4:1) but therefore the largest. At about 10MB each in the Large size they are not easily shareable.

JPEG Disadvantages

However, there are limitations to JPEG that you should consider. Most of these limitations result from the way the JPEG algorithm compresses the image file size.

The process by which JPEG compresses a file is highly technical bordering on incomprehensible, but in the simplest possible terms it reduces the size of the file by calculating average values for 8×8 blocks of photosites (thus each block replaces 64 sets of information with one). It then reduces the level of information about colour. Based on the understanding that humans have difficulty discerning small variations of colour, JPEG looks for areas that have similar hues and replaces these small variations with a single average colour.

This process can result in a much smaller image file, but the key thing to remember about the JPEG conversion process is that once the image is created any information that the conversion algorithm considered unnecessary is lost and unrecoverable.

This is why JPEG is classified as a “lossy” format. As noted, a certain amount of information is discarded when the image is originally created. Moreover, each time you recompress the image, by making a change and then re-saving it, some additional information is irrecoverably lost. And if you crop an image – for example to provide a close-up view – the parts of the image that you cropped out are lost forever.

A further implication of JPEG is that, because it produces a final image, the camera settings in use when the image was taken are “baked in”. If you realize afterwards that you had the wrong white balance or picture control settings for example it may not be possible to correct the image.

Raw

Raw is a generic term for a file that saves all of the information from an image, with only minimal processing. This information needs to be converted and edited at a workstation before an image is produced.

Raw format is not available on all cameras. All modern digital single lens reflex cameras (DSLRs) and mirrorless cameras can shoot Raw, but only a minority of bridge cameras have the capability and point-and-shoot cameras generally do not.

Raw Disadvantages

There are several disadvantages to shooting in Raw:

  • Raw files are big. With the camera set-up I currently use, each image file is about 29MB. So a 64GB card will hold about 1,300 Raw files instead of 13,000 JPEGs.
  • You need to process your Raw files at home in order to generate finished images. This is time-consuming compared to the instant image generated by JPEG.
  • To process the files you need specialized image editing software (though note that you can download free editing software from your camera manufacturer – all the major camera brands provide this).
  • Each camera manufacturer has its own a proprietary standard, so a for example a CRW file from a Canon camera is not compatible with a NEF file a Nikon generates.
  • For Raw files to be printed, shared on a mobile device or posted on the internet you need to create and export a JPEG image.

So why do most professional wildlife photographers shoot in Raw?

Raw Advantages

Lossless. Raw files are lossless. All the information your camera gathered is available to you. Nothing is averaged out or approximated. As an example, an 8-bit JPEG image is limited to about 16.8 million colours, whereas a 12-bit Raw image can show up to 68.7 billion. What this means in the real world is that you will get more even transition between colours, without the possibility of the pixilation that sometime happens with JPEG (remember that JPEG averages out colours into larger blocks).

Non-destructive. The adjustments you make in post-processing do not change the original file. All changes are saved in a separate hidden file called a sidecar. So regardless of how much you crop and adjust an image, you always have the original file available. With JPEG every significant change degrades the image, and things that are cropped out cannot be recovered.

Settings are not baked in. With Raw you have complete ability to adjust most of the camera settings during post-processing, including exposure, white balance, sharpening, colour gamut, picture control, and contrast.

Greater dynamic range. Raw files are typically created in 12 or 14-bit format, compared to 8-bit for JPEG. This may not seem like a big numerical difference, but remember we are looking at a file made up of millions of bytes. The math is somewhat beyond my ken, but the impact is that in each stop of a camera’s dynamic range there is far more information space available in a Raw file. At the bottom end of the dynamic range – areas of deep shadow in a photograph – there are 65 times as many gradations in a Raw file as in a JPEG.

This has important implications for wildlife photographers. We often find ourselves trying to capture images in areas where there is both bright light and deep shadow. Using JPEG, those shadows will tend to be featureless dark blobs, whereas with Raw we will be able to see the same details that our eyes would see.

Moreover, the greater ability of Raw to capture detail in shadow allows us to apply shadow reduction – a very useful capability that I will talk about in future articles on post-processing.

Exposure Correction

But perhaps the most striking advantage comes when we shoot images at incorrect exposures. The perfect photographer would never do this, but for the rest of us there will be numerous situations were we have the camera set up for bright daylight only to have a momentary glimpse of a bird – and typically it’s a good one – peeping out of a dark corner.

The higher dynamic range of the Raw format means we can correct a badly underexposed shot in post-processing and end up with a good image.

Consider this example. I deliberately underexposed this shot of an American Goldfinch in my garden.  I did this as an experiment, so please ignore the uninteresting composition. The camera took two simultaneous images – one in Raw and one in JPEG Fine.

Original image

The images were very dark – I had to increase exposure by about four stops. But the results are clear. The quality of the Raw image is pretty good: there is full feather detail and the colours look right . The JPEG image on the other hand is dreadful. The colour is over-saturated, green blobs have appeared in the breast and belly plumage, and the whole bird looks flat and dull.

Recommendations

If you have read this far, you have probably realized that I am a fan of the Raw format. I believe that in wildlife photography the aim is should be to produce an image that replicates as closely as possible how the creature (bird/animal/plant/butterfly/reptile) looked in the wild. I have found that using Raw format and carefully post-processing the image gives me the best chance of doing that. And there is an element of craftsmanship involved that I find appealing – I prefer to make my own choices rather than having the camera make decisions on my behalf. I am also not worried about file size given that hard drive storage capacity has become increasingly inexpensive.

So is there an argument for using JPEG? The fact remains that some very good images have been created using JPEG. You may well decide that you prefer the simplicity and efficiency of JPEG. If so, I would recommend that you use the lowest compression setting: JPEG Fine. This setting creates a 4:1 compression, so the files are still fairly large, but at 4:1 you will not see any of the artifacts or errors that can creep in at higher compression ratios.

Other topics in this series

Wildlife Photography Tips #1 – Exposure Compensation

Wildlife Photography Tips #2 – Shutter Speed

Wildlife Photography Tips #3 – Back-Button Focus

Lists, Taxonomy and the Black-capped Donacobius

I have been posting a bird of the day on Facebook, aiming to give friends something attractive to look at amidst the gloom of Covid news. Today’s bird is the Black-capped Donacobius, a rather charismatic bird that resides primarily in wetlands of the Amazon and Orinoco basins.

Lists, listing and the Black-capped Donacobius

Explaining why this bird came to mind involves delving a bit into the obsessive world of bird listing, which I concluded was a bit excessive for the lighthearted intent of a social media post. So for those who might want to increase their knowledge of the eccentric subculture of birding, here is the story.

Lists and Listing

Birders, if they have bitten hard enough on the hook, tend eventually to develop into listers. The most common manifestation is the life list, which is just what it says on the tin: a list of all the birds one has seen. Deeper forms of the obsession manifest themselves in year lists, month lists, and day lists, not to mention country lists, province or state lists, and so on.

I remember in my early days heading out to Somerset in hopes of seeing a Short-eared Owl that had been hanging around a certain field. I arrive at the place and within a few minutes the beast appeared. It was a life bird for me and I was happily watching it for a while when I noticed two other birders down the road who seemed somewhat discontented. I went over to tell them that the views were better from my vantage point, but they were not mollified. It emerged that they needed the bird for their Oxfordshire year list but it was stubbornly staying on the Somerset side of the fence.

Continue reading Lists, Taxonomy and the Black-capped Donacobius

Back-Button focus – Wildlife Photography Tips #3

This article was also published in The Blue Bill, the Quarterly Journal of the Kingston Field Naturalists, Volume 67, No 1, March 2020.

If I had to pick a single technique that made a dramatic improvement to my capability as a wildlife photographer, I would choose Back-button Focus. It’s a technique used by professional wildlife and sports photographers, and can help you take your photography to a higher level.

It starts with the recognition that crisp focus is perhaps the single most important quality of a good photograph.

Autofocus

Because focus is so central to photography, camera manufacturers have developed ways to make it easier to get an in-focus image. Any camera produced in the last 20 years has the ability to focus automatically – indeed autofocus is the default option, and may have to be turned off if you wish to focus manually.

Autofocus is engaged when you press down on the shutter release. This happens so quickly some beginning photographers don’t even realize it is happening, but with practise most people learn that if they depress the shutter release halfway they can focus the camera without taking a picture.

Back-button focus

For most types of photography having the autofocus engage when you press the shutter release makes life easier – a single action both focuses the image and releases the shutter. Wildlife photography, though, has its own requirements and many wildlife photographers find that the simple shutter release/autofocus approach actually creates problems.

Instead they use back-button focus, where the autofocus function is disconnected from the shutter release and assigned to a different button.

I am not going to explain how to do this. Each camera system has its own way of assigning buttons, and you will need to consult your manual to learn how to make the change on your camera. Instead, I am going to explain why you might want to make this change.

Targets obscured by foliage

If you have spent any time trying to photograph birds in the wild I am sure you will have had this experience. You are trying to capture an image of a bird roosting in a tree within a tangle of branches, twigs and leaves. You can see the bird clearly, but frustration creeps in because each time you take a shot the camera focuses on a different one of the surrounding twigs and only occasionally on the bird.

For all the capabilities of modern autofocus systems, remember that they are not actually intelligent – they try to guess what you want to focus on but they are frequently wrong.

Back-button focus in wildlife photography
My eye sees the bird, but the camera decides that I want to focus on a vine.

Using back-button focus can solve this problem. You centre your camera on the bird and engage the focus. You may have to do this a number of times until the focus point is actually on the bird. In cases where there is a lot of background clutter you may even have to use manual focus. But the key point is this: once you are focused on the right point you can shoot as many images as you want without the camera trying to refocus each time. As long as you stay at approximately the same distance from the bird it will remain in focus. The camera will not be able to “help” by randomly changing the focus point.

Back-button focus in wildlife photography
Now that’s better. Sooty-capped Hermit, nr Monterrey, Casanare, Colombia, 5 Feb 2020

And even if you have to move slightly to get a better angle, if you engage autofocus again it will most likely zero in on the bird because it will be the closest object to the focus point.

I think you will find that once you try this technique you will be reluctant to go back to shutter release focus. Time that you might have wasted in focusing and refocusing can be spent on adjusting ISO and shutter speed and choosing the right moment to shoot.

Focus and reframe

Wildlife photographers often find that they want the focus point of an image to be off-centre. There are two main situations where this occurs:

Large or close-in target

Say you have a chance to see a Moose at fairly close range. You want to capture the whole beast in an image, without cutting off its tail or legs. But you also want your focus point to be on the eye, as tends to create the most compelling image. And not surprisingly, the Moose’s eye is at one side of the image.

Composition

You have a bird in your sights but you want to frame the image so that the bird is off-centre. You might want to better show its within its habitat, or to give it some open space in front of it, or just because people are more attracted to images where the main points of interest are off-centre.[1]

In these situations back-button focus is your friend. It allows you to focus on the desired point, and then without changing focus reframe the image by moving the camera until you get the result you want.

Back-button focus in wildlife photography
Purple Finch surveys his domain. Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada, 19 Jun 2019

Note that landscape and portrait photographers deal with this need by manually adjusting the camera’s focus point. In principle this would also work for wildlife photographers, but in my experience the focus and reframe method is much more intuitive and much faster to use. For subjects that tend to move suddenly and unpredictably I think it provides better results. Moreover it allows you to set your camera adjusted to centre point focus, which is the most accurate autofocus mode.

Continuous autofocus

For moving targets, such as a bird in flight, holding down the back button allows you to keep it continuously in focus while you wait the right moment to shoot – such as when it banks to show its upper wings. You can also hold focus on a stationary target, and you will be in focus when it pounces, takes off, or otherwise moves suddenly. Without holding focus the camera will need to refocus at the critical moment, with unpredictable results.

Back-button focus in wildlife photography
Battle is joined. Greater Prairie Chicken, Nebraska, USA, 2 Apr 2017

In principle you could also accomplish this by holding the shutter release halfway down, but in the real world of wildlife photography, where you will often be wearing gloves and your hands may be stiff from the cold, using a separate button removes the need for such fine motor control.

Of course you could just “spray and pray”, firing off twenty images at high speed and hoping one of them works. As long as you don’t mind everyone nearby assuming that you are clueless. 😊

Back-button focus – further advantages

While the above points are the key reasons for adopting back-button focus, there are a few minor advantages as well:

If you are using manual focus, you won’t then risk spoiling your own efforts when it’s time to press the shutter release.

Use of back-button focus reduces battery drain somewhat. Unlike shutter release focus it doesn’t automatically engage the lens’s image stabilization/vibration reduction motors.

The downsides?

Back-button focus is possible on most DSLRs and mirrorless cameras, but it may not be possible if you are using a bridge or superzoom camera. Check your manual to see if you can use this function.

And if you ask someone to take a picture using your camera, don’t expect great results. You can explain carefully the need to press the focus button and then press the shutter release, but I find that most people don’t “get” this and the images tend to be out of focus.

Other topics in this series

Wildlife Photography Tips #1 – Exposure Compensation

Wildlife Photography Tips #2 – Shutter Speed


[1] See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds