I defy you to try to anticipate when a bird will leave their roost and venture forth into the world. It’s impossible to know. And it’s crazy to shoot twenty frames per second for second after second, minute after minute. I always guess, and it rarely if ever works out. Even in the best of conditions, these early flight moments are extremely difficult. Modern, bird-tracking autofocus is life changing, but low light, through foliage, taking flight images are maddening and rare, and this is why I love them so much.
I have hundreds of these images.
Empty frames where bird used to be. I keep thinking I’ll get better at this, but sometimes we never do. And that’s okay. One of the reasons I still love photography so much is because I’ve missed so many good moments over the years. This trend was the worst when I was working in journalism. All day, every day was a high stress environment. The ultimate training ground. Surrounded by professionals, editors, and competition from the competing paper. (Both papers owned by some company and working out of the same darkroom.)
Pager on hip, 911 prompts coming in hot and heavy. “We need an image in the next twenty minutes.” “If you don’t get something don’t bother coming back to the paper.” Perhaps this was more bluster than real, but it sure felt real at the time. And it got even worse when there was a high value situation like a fire, shooting or other traumatic event. When all eyes at the paper were on you. When all eyes were waiting for your take.
Nikon F4, 24mm or 35mm or 180mm. SB-24 strobe. Fujichrome 100. Do I fill? Do I push 2/3 of a stop? Do I need to gel my strobe? Am I too close? Can I get out of here when I need to get out of here? Do I have enough? Should I do more? What if they want to run a package? Rinse and repeat, day in, day out. Success and crippling failure haunting the scenes painted on the ceiling as I laid awake at night listening to the sounds of things I should be photographing.
So, ya. Birds.
Birds might seem boring to you. Birds might seem trivial, and that’s all well and dandy, but to me they are far more. They are a proving ground, as much about failure as success, and the perseverance to continue in the game. And for those of you wondering, I don’t throw these images away. Nope. I don’t throw anything away. If you are a bookmaker this will make sense. If you are an Instagrammer, disregard this entire post. These misses, and their place in my archive, serve as reminders to sharpen the blade. These serve as reminders I’m not as good as I think I am. They are reminders that equipment won’t save me. A healthy hook kick. A reminder to get out there. Try again.
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All those high-bokeh nature shots will be great for training AI. Very forward thinking.
Especially the ones without birds.
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That’s my specialty.
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Yep. When all the animals are gone I’ll be raking in credits for clean water.
Ive been chasing a Coopers Hawk for about a year and finally got something decent…. He happened to be eating a squirrel at the time and could care less about me. I’m terrifically proud of what I got though because of all the work and time invested
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Good on ya!
When it comes to Dan, he gives and he gives and he gives.
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And he taketh away.
Olympus Pro capture mode is made exactly for this. In short, you hold the shutter button halfway down while you wait for the bird to fly. Then push it the rest of the way when the bird flies. It will keep a dozen or so pictures from before you press the shutter button all the way, and 25 or so from after. you can set those numbers. voila! there is a good chance that one of them is at the exact moment you wanted. Buying a new camera, I eliminated Sony from contention because it doesn’t have this function. I bought a canon R6 mark ii only to discover that in theory it has pro capture but actually it’s way too complicated to set up in the field. i’m sure we will be seeing this on more and more cameras. Check it out. different makers call it different things.
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Holy cow. Had no idea. I know I can program mine to fire with movement, but I’m still attempting the old, flawed, human way.
I’m now curious… I wonder if people who started with film photograph differently than people who only know digital? Not saying one is better than the other. Just that, as someone who started getting into photography because I found a used Minolta (and thought ‘this thing is magic’) in a camera shop in VA too many years ago to count, I don’t come in with thousands of photos on my SD card. I take the number of photographs I want to take but I’m not hitting that shutter machine gun style. That idea that I only have so many frames in a roll is ingrained in my brain. And I’m kind of glad for it because it makes me think about what I’m doing. I might be nuts. Completely wrong in my approach. Shooting myself in the foot. I’m only just beginning to even try to make photographs with birds in them. Regardless, it is fun. I certainly enjoy the mindfulness that comes with watching a bird, trying to sync my movements to the moment.
DID the term “spray and pray” even exist before digital? Only sports photographers did that, and had the budget to do so. Imagine poring over the thousands of negatives each football game would leave you with just to (hopefully) find one decent shot…..with a photo editor breathing down your neck. Even with the equipment/budget to do so, you might likely miss the best shot while changing film rolls or bodies.
But that problem is mostly gone — a 128GB card can get you through a game…the bigger issue is having the right lens/body combo in hand at the right moment. Cameras all have limitations, they overheat, they don’t always perform.
But I’m with you. I don’t shoot like that. I look for my ideal shot, and if I have time I shoot a couple first to just see the right light, get my composition and then a couple for “coverage”. So maybe 5. And lately, all manual focus.
You use “mindfulness”, a term I much agree with. Many who are into buddhist philosophies are also into photography. And now that I have no commercial pressure, it’s what really works for me.
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News industry was who coined that, pretty sure. As a press person, you were typically only shooting the first ten minutes. And one guy would bet other photographers their paychecks based on shooting ONE FRAME.
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Typically, yes. Film photographers knew immediately the peril of overshooting with digital.
I feel your pain, Dan! I’m happy to get one or two acceptable images after shooting something for a while; “bangers”…what are those? 🙂 I love your first image the best. The red/orange…gorgeous!
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Super low percentage.
I was tempted to upgrade my Lumix S5 to the M2 with fancy auto-tracking this week to improve my hit rate when photographing birds in the dense forest. But I know it’ll be bullshit and a waste of money, and even had one Lumix/Sigma ambassador tell me privately that I’ll be disappointed.
Before pre-burst and fancy auto tracking photographers got the shot (on film!) so I’m sticking with what I’ve got.
Besides, I enjoy the experience of looking for birds more than the photographic results.
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I think using binoculars and making notes is the most enjoyable way. Or, if you can sketch what you see. Photography is fun but also puts added pressure.
No pain, No gain! When the game gets easy, it get boring. When you have reached the top, there is only one way to go, down. So, keep pushing upward and never reach the top.
You got me reeling like a philosopher with your posts, Dan!
Not entirely on topic, but wanted to recommend a book I just finished that I think you’d enjoy.
Birding to Change the World by Trish O’Kane. (https://search.worldcat.org/title/1390444155)
The Iowa Ornithologist Union (IOU) brought her in to speak at our Fall meeting. She has a great story about her own growth and how she was and is affected by birding.
Merle
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That sounds right up my alley. Thank you!