Bird photography kindergarten

Wildlife photographers are incredible.  I have always admired them and their abilities, regardless of filming location.

The wildlife shots I am able to wrangle generally are a matter of trying to place myself in the right place at the right time, and luck.

So this week, I decided to take a new piece of equipment in hand and make an attempt to photograph scrubs jays in flight.  Knowing something about jays, from observation and from having read the story by Mark Twain about the blue jay and the acorn, they respond almost immediately to anything that vaguely resembles food.  Matter of fact, some of the first photographs I shot appeared to have huge smudges of white and yellow in them.  A closer look revealed bird seed flying out of their bills as they departed the feeder.  Jays pack so much food in during each trip to the feeder that some seed is bound to be lost in flight.

But back to the photography.   Like a fledgling bird, experimenting with and then trying to perfect the specifics of flight, I am a fledgling photographer when it comes to photographing birds in flight.  I began "bird photography kindergarten" this weekend.  What I really wanted was to photograph the backlit curved flair of the wings.  Perhaps it is due to the long tail feathers, but the jay feather configuration seems much more dramatic than that of other birds of similar size.  As you can see in the photographs below (made during six different shooting periods), each landing is divided into parts, with its own critical and intricate moves.

Patience and the ability to sit on the ground (or wherever) is certainly helpful.  Good hearing, to determine the difference in the heft and frequently of wing beats among the assorted species of birds in residence is essential.  And timing is crucial.  I began by focusing the camera, holding it and waiting for a bird to appear in the viewfinder.  Eventually, I realized I needed to anticipate the direction or place from which the birds would be flying, look in the viewfinder with one eye and scan the landscape with the other.

It is quite obvious I have yet to wear the kindergarten mortar board.  The results are not as acute or focused, nor what I would hope to eventually achieve with a heavier lens and handheld camera.  But it is a start!

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image