WILDLIFE LESSON 3

Wildlife Photography Learning The “Formula For Success”

BY ROBERT LA FOLLETTE Lesson 3: Formula For Success Photographing wildlife is all about being prepared. The more you have some basic understandings of the fundamentals you are well on your way to being successful. Sometimes luck has a little to do with it but more often then not it’s those who have honed their skills that the results are greater. As we have already learned the foundations are a very big part of the formula for success and now we must take those skills and execute them to achieve the results we all desire.

There are many ways to achieve success but the key is that no two experiences will ever be the same. Whether it be the landscape, subject, weather, light or conditions, you will be constantly adjusting and compensating for your

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environment. However, if you start with a solid formula you will quickly realize that your successes will far outnumber your failures. So to get started down that road for a lifetime of great wildlife images, let’s explore the secret formula to success.

Your Settings: Each and every time I set out to capture some amazing wildlife I have a “starting point” where I adjust my settings on my camera. No matter what the conditions are, I always have my camera set up in the following (keep in mind this is for a Canon body, so if you are using a different manufacturer adjust your settings accordingly):

MODE: Priority

ISO: 400

F/STOP: 6.3

AUTO FOCUS: AI Servo

DRIVE: High-speed Continuous

Shutter Speed: 1/320s FOCUS POINT: Center Aperture: f/6.3 METERING: Evaluative ISO: 800 WHITE BALANCE: Cloudy Lens: 300mm QUALITY: RAW

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American Oystercatcher

Since I set my camera using the above formula all I need to do now is focus on the Oystercatcher. f/5.6 | ISO 100 | 1/400s

Now let’s take a look in-depth on each of those nine settings in our “Formula For Success” and why I use them:

MODE: Many have asked me why I choose Aperture Priority as opposed to Speed Priority or Manual Mode. The answer is actually quite simple. For me I want the largest aperture, or in another word, limited depth of field so that my subject is in crisp focus but the background is not.

This insures me that my subject is isolated from their background and now is the focal point in my composition. The background then becomes complimentary and doesn’t compete with my subject for my viewer’s attention.

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Gopher Tortoise

When I came across this endangered Gopher Tortoise I wanted to capture what the world looks like from his perspective. I threw on my 10-22mm lens and at 10mm I got right on the ground with him to bring him up close and personal to the viewer. f/4.0 | ISO 800 | 1/250s

ISO: I always start at ISO 400 and from there will adjust my setting depending on what my is. If it is too high I simply lower it to 200 or perhaps even 100. If I don’t have enough I then raise it to 800 or higher. Remember the rule of thumb to follow is that you need at least 1/() to effectively handhold your lens, so if you have a 400mm lens, you should always strive to have at least 1/400th second for you shutter speed to avoid camera shake. If it drops below that threshold a or will help out by stabilizing your lens and avoid camera shake. Alternatively many of the newer lenses also have Image Stabilization or Vibration Reduction, which

4 WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY LESSON 3 are also very useful when you left your tripod at home!

F/STOP: My workhorse lens is my EF 400mm 5.6L lens. Since most lenses can be soft when shot wide open (using the lowest aperture), I simply go 1/3 above that setting, which is f/6.3 for that lens. So for instance, my 70-200mm 2.8L I use f/3.2. Some may notice a difference when viewed on their computer at 100% zoom while others may not. But since all lenses get progressively sharper the higher you go in aperture 1/3 stop higher then the lowest setting ensures me that I am getting a nice sharp image and avoid any potential for softness.

AUTO FOCUS: This setting is key. Since we are shooting with a wide-open aperture our depth of field will be very limited (shallow). With longer lenses this is much more critical then with shorter lenses but the thing to remember that wildlife is ALWAYS moving. They just never sit still,no matter how hard we wish! So with that, using AI Servo (or Continuous Focus for Nikon) ensures us that we will have focus on our subject.

If your subject moves just a few inches toward or away from you and use One Shot (or Single Shot on Nikon) your subject will be out of focus since from the time you press the shutter halfway to lock and focus then fully depress the shutter to take the photo that slight delay may be all that is needed to have an out of focus image. By “tracking” your subject you avoid this and your success rate will GREATLY increase. Only when my subject is standing still or not moving will I change my auto focus to not track (One Shot) when composing my image. 5 WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY LESSON 3

Butterfly

While taking a walk in a local park I came across this beautiful butterfly as he was going from flower to flower enjoying the nectar. I used my 400mm lens but I also put on an extension tube to turn my lens into a super macro lens since with a regular macro lens I would have had to been real close and butterflies typically will fly away. f/6.3 | ISO 400 | 1/800s

DRIVE: The moment between a good and a great photograph can literally be a split second. More often then not it’s when you are not pressing the shutter button does it happen but you can avoid that by shooting in continuous mode. The purpose here is really quite simple for if you shoot a series of 3, 4 or more images in a split second you can greatly increase your chances of getting “the shot”. Each and every wildlife photograph I take is one of at least 3 since now I have the luxury of picking out the “best” shot of the series and thanks to digital I can simply toss the others.

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FOCUS POINT: If my subject is moving or flying I use my center point exclusively to track its movement. No matter how many focus points your camera may have the center point is the most sensitive for locking exposure and focus. It also makes it easier to track your subject since all you need to do is keep your subject in the middle of the frame.

Only when my subject is standing still or not moving will I change my focus point when composing my image.

METERING: Today’s does an amazing job about 90% of the time when it comes to properly exposing my image. So much research and engineering has gone into the computer inside your camera to give the photographer a great exposure very rarely will I use any other setting for metering other then evaluative which means the camera will expose the subject using the entire frame of view.

While there are also other modes such as partial, center-weight and spot metering, using evaluative works in just about every situation I have ever come across.

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Male Tiger

Even if you can’t make your way to exotic locations your local zoo is a great place to capture some amazing images that if you take the time to plan them out can look as if you were there. In this photo I paid careful attention to my background as I wanted to make sure that there was nothing to indicate that this was a captive animal and after some exploration.

I found this angle which gave me just what I was looking for and the rock gives it a real nice natural balance. f/6.3 | ISO 400 | 1/200s

WHITE BALANCE: When most users get their first digital camera or SLR they notice that they can change the white balance to just about every type of light known to man. From Average White Balance (AWB), to Shade, Cloudy, Sunny, Tungsten, Florescent, , Custom and possibly others most will try to adjust to what they feel is

8 WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY LESSON 3 the correct setting. Since shooting wildlife means you will be outdoors I set my camera to Cloudy and forget it. By doing so it will add a pleasant “warming” to my images since on most the cloudy setting is around 5700 Kelvin. For my money Average White Balance (AWB) is too cool and doesn’t have the “pop” as cloudy does.

QUALITY: It is difficult to describe the extent of the differences between RAW or JPEG, but if you imagine them in terms of elasticity for instance it is easier to understand. There is only so much "pushing and pulling" you can do to a JPEG image before you start to lose the quality of the final image. With RAW however you can push, pull, tweak and poke that much more to really get the most from an image before even saving and editing and keep the detail and quality all the way. Before you open the image into your editing program you can adjust using your RAW processing software,the following:

o Exposure +/- (increase/decrease, over/underexpose)

o Temperature / White Balance

o Shadows

o Brightness

o Contrast

o Saturation

o Sharpness

o Noise Reduction

o

If you didn't get these settings right on the camera at the time of shooting, you have another chance to get it right on your computer later on.

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If you are shooting JPG I highly encourage you to shoot in RAW for the power you have over your image when editing is far greater then working with a JPG.

Zebras

Sometime when photographing at a local zoo you just can’t find the angle or area to eliminate any distracting elements in the background. Here while I was looking for that angle I saw the adult Zebra come to her juvenile and they brushed up against one another.

It only lasted for a split second so I made the decision that the subject was more important then the background so I pressed the shutter button. Even though it didn’t come out quite as I had hoped the moment captured was worth it. f/5.6 | ISO 200 | 1/1000s

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CONCLUSION: So how does the “formula” work for you? If you follow the guidelines simply put your chances of success have greatly increased already. When photographing wildlife the moment of that award winning shot can happen in the blink of an eye so instead of fumbling with the settings on my camera I simply focus on my subject and let my camera do the rest. The only thing I monitor is my shutter speed,and nothing else. If I need more I simply increase my ISO. If it is too high I simply lower it. That’s it.

This formula also is a lifesaver when you may be shooting on days when you may go from full sun to overcast or your subject goes from being in the full sun, to partial sun, or completely in the shade. Since all I am adjusting is my ISO to either increase or decrease my shutter speed I can quickly make the change and capture the action. Also, I may be photographing a bright white Great Egret then all of a sudden a dark colored Tri- Colored Heron may catch my attention so all I would need to do is change my ISO quickly then resume photographing.

If I were shooting in Manual I would have to constantly be changing my settings thus decreasing my formula for success. The same can be said for shooting in Shutter Priority for now the camera picks the Aperture something I don’t want, especially if I want to isolate my subject from the background. Remember speed and accuracy is key here so the more time we spend following and composing our subject and not changing the settings on our cameras,the greater success we will have.

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So the next logical question is “But I did all the things you suggested however I am still not getting a good exposure of my subject!” The answer is that in some cases (remember when I said the camera gets it right about 90% of the time?) is that I need to override the suggestion of the camera’s built-in meter and use a technique called “”.

Exposure Compensation: What It Means To You

Recently at a lecture I was conducting on Bird and at the end of the presentation I opened up the floor to the attendees to some questions and answers. One of the questions from the attentive students was how I approach photographing white birds which here in Florida is quite common.

I went on to explain about using "Exposure Compensation" and it occurred to me from the reaction that few have never heard of it much less used this invaluable technique.

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Squirrel | Burrowing Owl | Common Gallinule

When you meter dark subjects and especially when the background is also dark your meter can be fooled and will try to overexpose by selecting a slow shutter speed. However by taking away light you will now expose your subject correctly. In these examples my camera wanted to use a slower shutter speed but instead I took away some light for a faster shutter speed to correctly expose my subjects the way my eyes saw the scenes. f/6.3 | ISO 200 | 1/80s

I shoot almost everything I photograph in Aperture Priority Mode (AV). I am big on depth of field and this mode gives me exactly what I desire since all I need to do is choose my depth of field the camera does all the rest for me. Keeping it simple when out in the field in my motto and the only thing I have to watch out is my shutter speed so if I notice it is too low all I do then is change my ISO to reach my desired shutter speed to freeze action eliminate camera shake when hand holding or I can lower my ISO to show implied motion with blur.

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Mute Swan

When I saw this beautiful white Mute Swan taking a dip in the water to clean it’s feathers I knew that this would be a great action photo to capture the water as he was violently spraying himself. Also throw in the fact that he was half in the sun and the other half in the shade, this was an exposure nightmare.

Since the subject was bright white my camera meter wanted to use a fast shutter speed. While this would be great to freeze the action it left the swan grey and not white. I simply used +1 EV to bring him back to white but still had sufficient shutter speed to freeze the action. f/6.3 | ISO 500 | 1/2000s

However there are times, as good as today’s modern cameras are they can be fooled. This is where EV (Exposure Compensation) is invaluable to the photographer. Simply put EV allows you to quickly underexpose (darken) or overexpose (lighten) your image. Seems pretty straightforward but until one understands the power it remains a 14 WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY LESSON 3 mystery. So now you may be asking yourself why would I ever need to do that? Doesn't the camera take a perfectly exposed image every time? The answer is yes and no.

When you press the shutter half way to obtain focus lock the camera also meters your scene and adjusts itself accordingly to take a properly exposed image. The goal here is when you look into your viewfinder you will see a meter at the bottom of your viewfinder and one that looks kind of like a gas gauge. If your gauge reads right down the middle then the camera is exposing your entire scene properly. You will also see tick marks to the left and to the right and that is the and positive direction you can go which is your exposure compensation.

Each camera is different in how you access and change your exposure manually but basically they all do the same thing. If you move that tick mark from the center (or 0), and you move it to -2, you have now underexposed your image by 2 full stops. The opposite applies if you move it to +2 for you now have overexposed images. So what you are doing is overriding your cameras metering which gives you great creative control over your photograph. You can use EV in the Programmed Auto (P) mode, as well as Shutter (TV) and Aperture Priority (AV) modes only so if you are shooting in the "Creative" modes found on today’s cameras it will not work.

In P mode, the camera will adjust the EV by changing the shutter speed and/or the aperture. In TV mode, the camera will change the aperture, and in AV mode, it will change the shutter speed. No need to worry about working in Manual mode since you control both shutter speed and aperture so in this mode you can control the EV.

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Let's take a look at a series of images of all the same subject, a Florida Fighting Conch shell, but I used EV to demonstrate what it does. All of the images were shot in Aperture Priority so all that is changing is the shutter speed:

-2 EV | -1 EV | 0 EV | +1 EV | +2 EV

So the results are that the camera adjusted my shutter speed to let in more (or less) light based on what EV setting I used. So now you may asking yourself, OK, I got that part but when do I actually need to do this? The answer is not all the time only when the scene or subject dictates it.

Here are some of the most common reasons why EV is a great way to control the exposure of your image:

1. Your camera has a tendency to over/ underexpose: Some camera models seem to have a metering problem where they may under/ overexpose all the time. One camera that comes to mind is the Nikon D2X, and most users found that setting the EV to +0.3 it would solve the problem.

2. Your need more shutter speed: I love to shoot wildlife especially birds. Anyone who has even attempted to photograph them quickly understands just how fast they are and they never sit still. Shutter speed is critical when it comes to getting a great shot. EV is great to help in situations like this, where I can simply lower my EV to boost up my shutter speed. My thought is I

16 WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY LESSON 3 would rather have a crisp, sharp image (although it may be a little dark) then one that is properly exposed yet blurry.

3. Your subject is brighter (or darker) then your background: This is the situation we all find ourselves at one point or another. Usually when we expose for our scene the camera gets it right. However, sometimes we are faced with situations where the camera is "fooled" resulting in a photograph that less then desired. The two most common scenes are when we have a very bright or very dark overall composition and this is where EV is our savior. Lets look at the first problem, where our subject is against a bright background.

To fully get the hang of when to add or takeaway light takes not only practice but knowing when comes also with experience. Take note of the amount of light you had as well as how dark or light your subject was against their background. The more you practice and experience the better you will get at it.

This is where getting it right “in camera” is key for if your image is to overexposed you will have a hard time getting back all of the lost details and the same if your image is too underexposed for now you risk introducing noise into your photograph that can show up in shadows and details.

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Juvenile Wood Stork | Great White Egret | Parrot

While spending the day in a nature preserve in Orlando, Florida I came across a multitude of different subjects, most notably the birds. For the first two images of the Wood Stork and the Great White Egret I had to take away light to retain the details in the white feathers by one-third (-0.33 EV).

For the colorful Parrot I also decided to take away one-third of light to not only retain the details of the white around his face but to also render the background black to avoid anything that may contend for my subjects attention. It was also taken during some pretty hash light so underexposing it a bit helped control it. f/8.0 | ISO 400 | 1/2000s

4. You need to keep the details: Going back to our discussion on photographing a white bird most times we see some amazing looking photos however for those with a critical eye that white bird has little to no details. This is called "blown highlights" and the rule to remember is if you blow out the image so much in portions of your image you can never get that detail back. So what

18 WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY LESSON 3 do you do now? The answer knowing that EV can come to our rescue is to take away light (or underexpose) by as much light as necessary to retain the detail yet still have a perfectly exposed image. If you take a look at one of Florida's most common white bird the Great Egret retaining detail in their feathers is a real challenge. To retain those details I usually underexpose my images sometimes by almost one full stop. If I of use the meters suggested meter reading the bird would almost always have no detail look paper white.

The same can work with dark subjects for if you don't use EV the camera will see all that "dark", and will give you a longer exposure resulting in lost details (and possibly noise). To compensate for this, by simply taking away some light it will give you all of that detail back.

5. You are photographing in less then ideal light: Sometimes we may not have the best lighting to deal with such as a cold, gray and overcast day. In situations like this most likely you will need to add light since your camera’s meter will be fooled by all of that white and grey and will try to underexpose everything. The same can be said when you have too much light, such as shooting in the full sun at mid-day where you will need to take away light since the camera will try to overexpose. Another case to keep in mind is when you are dealing with the full sun then to clouds then back to sun. It can make for a frustrating day to say the least since once you get your settings down, the light changes. This is where using Exposure Compensation in these situations gives you a huge advantage in these situations.

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Reddish Egret

Also, when photographing dark subjects such as this Reddish Egret you will need to take away light for as in this case the cameras meter sees a lot of dark there and wants to overexpose your subject.

To retain the details I again had to underexpose by two-thirds (-0.67 EV) to keep the exposure in check. f/6.3 | ISO 200 | 1/1000s

‘

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Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk | Great Horned Owl | Osprey

When photographing wildlife in less then ideal conditions especially when you have no sun or very little of it,you will need to add light to expose your images correctly. In each of these examples I had to add two full stops of light to the Hawk and one full stop of light to the Owl and the Osprey. f/6.3 | ISO 400 | 1/640s

CONCLUSION: The more you practice using EV, the more control you will have on getting a great exposure and come away with some award- winning images. So the next time you are out and photographing a subject that catches your eye, yet the result is far from what you expect, try using Exposure Compensation to control the light to get the desired results you are looking for.

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How To Approach And Photograph Wildlife

Slow and low. That is the motto that will reward you time and time again when you go out to photograph wildlife. In order to have success you must immerse yourself in not only your environment but also your subjects. Since we are almost always much taller then our subject the one thing you want to avoid is looking down upon your subject. This view translates that you are dominant, and your subject is submissive. So how do you avoid creating an image that has the “deer in the headlight” look?

1. Change Your Perspective: I repeatedly see many photographers photograph their world from what I call the "5-foot Level". Simply put they shoot everything about five feet off the ground and wonder why they can't get a good result. If you are interested in photographing a shorebird that only stands about a foot or so off the ground you need to get down to their level to engage with your subject. The best photographs you will ever take are the ones that your point of focus is with the eyes since it is the eye contact that will draw the viewer into your photo. It also allows you to be on a more intimate level with your subject not too mention you are no longer a big threat to the subject thus they will become much more relaxed around you, sometimes even ignoring you as they go about their daily routine.

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Willet

In order to get the most dramatic wildlife images you must change your perspective. Shorebirds are a prime example of this since many are only a foot or so tall. Here I was laying in the sand and water with this Willet and captured him as he was poking into the sand looking for an evening meal.

This allowed me to blend into the environment and he paid me no mind since I was no longer a threat. f/6.3 | ISO 200 | 1/1600s

2. Compose The Scene: There is a reason why some photographs are award-winners, and others are just snapshots. The answer is simple and it is called the "". It has been around since the ancient Greeks (also called the "Greek Means"), which means the scene has been composed using this time-tested method by placing your subject in the frame so that is not dead-center but offset. It can be in the upper or lower portion of the frame and to the left or to the right. It also should have ample space around so it 23 WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY LESSON 3 is not cropped so tightly it can't "breathe", as well if your subject is looking towards the right more space should be given on the right side of the frame so it is looking into it's scene not away.

Green Tree Frog

The most critical aspect of a good wildlife photograph is in its composition. Using the “Rule of Thirds” I composed this little Green Tree Frog by placing him in the left side of the frame. When I overlay a grid we can clearly see that he is placed perfectly on the left side of the grid creating a very pleasing and balanced image.

Also since he is looking towards the right it gives us a sense that he is looking into his space.

Had I had placed him in the middle or the right side of the frame the composition would have been no where as pleasing to the eye. f/8.0 | ISO 800 | 1/30s

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3. Watch Your Backgrounds: Look for distracting elements as you compose your scene and your subject for just a slight shift left or right, up or down will eliminate any chances of a branch coming out of your subjects head or bright or dark spots that can take away from enjoying your subject. Remember, the human eye will have a natural tendency to gravitate to these objects in the background so if they are not there, we can enjoy your subject to it's fullest. Also, look for ways to compliment your subject by the of the background such as a bright red bird against a bright blue sky for example.

Remember this motto and think of it before each and every time your press your shutter button:

“The background is just as important, if not sometimes more important, then the subject itself.”

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Clouded Leopard

Photographing in zoos and other situations that are not in the wild are great since you now have access to wildlife on a much larger scale.

However, the challenges are the backgrounds, since the best images are those that look natural and have no bars, fences, doors or other man- made objects.

Here I carefully walked around the front of the display for this Clouded Leopard and found an area that gave me a very complementary green background for my subject and unless I told you, you might think that I took this photograph in some remote jungle in South America. f/5.0 | ISO 400 | 1/160s

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4. Anticipate The Action: If you know your subject you are more likely to know what will happen next. Watch your subject’s behavior patterns and study their body language and moods. In doing so you will put yourself in a great position to capture that decisive moment. If your subject is feeding take the time to study how it looks for food whether it is walking along the shoreline, grazing on a field of grass or it is flying and circling high above. If your subject is a nesting bird watch for visual cues that is may be ready to take flight to search for food for it's young or if it is teaching it's young some behaviors and see if there is a pattern that emerges so you can put yourself into position to capture that split-second moment.

5. Check The Weather: We all would love to walk out our front door and be surrounded by all kinds of wildlife but that is simply not the case. We have to go to their home, their territory, and their places where they like to feed. Some days are going to be better then others for nothing is predictable. Check the tide reports, the weather, wind and phases of the moon for all of these things will indicate the chances of find the particular type of species you are interesting in photographing.

6. Respect The Environment: When we go out to photograph wildlife we are in their world and we should respect not only them but their environment as well. This is where they sleep, eat, mate, raise their young and die so if we abuse the area around them such as leave garbage, make noise or destroy the plants and trees they depend on then they will not be around. It is also important to respect the wildlife as well for taunting, yelling, or any aggressive behavior will frighten them and they will not be a good subject to photograph if at all. Be careful where you step for you can destroy delicate and sensitive plants

27 WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY LESSON 3 that the birds and other wildlife in the area depend on to survive.

7. Keep The Sun At Your Back: This may seem obvious since we all learn early that when we photograph a subject or scene the best results are when we have a front-lit subject thanks to having the sun at our back. The key here is when you find a subject that interests you by positioning yourself by slowly moving around your subject and then putting the sun behind your back the end result will much more pleasing since you will reveal all of the details of your subject maintain higher shutter speeds, avoid lens flare, silhouettes and generally exposure problems.

8. Know Your Limits: Everyone has a comfort zone. If I were to walk up to you and get within inches of your nose you would get very uncomfortable and most likely take several steps back. The same can be said about wildlife.

Each species has an “invisible zone” that they consider being safe to them. If you cross that line the results will most likely that the subject will flee. Now the problem lies that we don’t know what the comfort limit is and how close we can get to our subject. Only from experience will we learn so pay close attention each time you are out in the field what that zone may be.

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Juvenile Black Skimmers

Everyone loves babies and when it comes to wildlife they are considered the ultimate prize since they can be a great challenge.

Photographing youngsters can be difficult for since they are still new to the world they have a completely different set of rules when it comes to approaching them. In order for me to get these extreme close-ups of these baby Black Skimmers I had to approach them very slowly and carefully. Instead of walking up then sitting down I literally had to crawl on the beach sometimes inch by inch,which took quite some time.

However the slow pace was worth it for both the parents and youngsters saw that I meant no harm and after a while they were just as curious with me as I was with them as they would dart in front of me just a few feet in from my lens. f/7.1 | ISO 200 | 1/1600s

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For instance the pair of Red-shouldered Hawks in my backyard almost pays me no attention and I have literally been within feet of them. This however came after several years of seeing me as if now they realize I mean them no harm and now ignore me. However I can’t touch them which is to be expected. When they have young however that limit is a much greater distance since they have no idea who I am.

9. Have Patience: This is probably the biggest obstacle that faces all photographers and that is having patience. When I photograph shorebirds on the beach most of the time they are usually along the waters edge going about their daily business. I just don’t run down to where they are and expect to get a fantastic shot. I stand back for quite sometime and study their behavior first. I watch to see where they might go and learn to anticipate what they might do next. Then I will slowly make my way towards them sometimes inch by inch and watch their reaction. If they start to give alarm calls or act nervous I stop. Then after waiting again I continue my movement. Eventually I make my way to put myself in a good position and just sit there and try not move as much as possible. Believe it or not after a while, they will ignore you and sometime come within just feet of you giving you some incredible close-ups.

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Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle

Don’t forget that marine animals make for great subjects such as this Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle. Now you may think I was diving in some exotic tropical sea for this image when the truth is I shot this while visiting an aquarium in Tampa, Florida.

You need patience especially since photographing wildlife underwater creates a unique challenge since water will magnify your view about 25% making everything much larger then it actually is. Also water will sometimes fool your camera on focus lock, since it will have difficulty locking onto your subject, but the rewards are well worth the efforts. f/4.5 | ISO 400 | 1/250s

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The key here is to have patience and lots of it. Sometimes it may several hours just to get one good photograph and it is those who take the time know their limits and have patience will be the ones that will be richly rewarded. Remember this: When you see a great wildlife photograph, you are only seeing the best one. What you may not realize that there were hundreds that were discarded, the photographer took several grueling hours, endured some very harsh environments, just to get that one shot.

10. Smile: Slow down, take a deep breath, relax and enjoy your time out in nature for you will quickly see the natural beauty all around us and have an opportunity to learn and see things that many will never know and it will show in your photographs.

How To Photograph Birds In Flight

Everyone has seen the photographs. A Bald Eagle soaring overheard, wings spread out, perhaps carrying a fish. Or maybe it’s a flock of Roseate Spoonbills with their brilliant pink plumage against a deep blue sky landing on the branches of some mangrove trees. These are the photographs that eventually all wildlife photographers will set out to capture only to realize that the task is much harder then they had anticipated. To capture this beauty is without a doubt exhilarating but can also create a real sense of failure. However if you use the “formula”, your chances of success greatly increase.

The good news is that you don’t need to travel far to find subjects since birds are by far the most common and abundant wildlife we have around us. In your backyard, at the park, at the beach, in 32 WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY LESSON 3 the city, down the road, birds are everywhere once you start to look for them. Some of my best birds in flight photographs were taken within just a short walk of my backdoor.

Before you begin, you need to know that of all of the different types of wildlife photography you will challenge yourself with birds in flight takes lots of time, practice and patience. However the good news is that anyone willing to accept failure as part of their experience will benefit and get the ultimate action flight shot.

To get started, here are some points to learn to achieve your goals:

1. Learn to observe your subject first, and then become a photographer: Remember all those great books, DVD’s and websites we discussed that you went out and looked for add to your library? Here is where your efforts will pay dividends for not only will you be able to now quickly identify your subjects but also quickly learn how their patterns of flight. Before you even press the shutter on your camera take as much time as you need to observe their behavior. Watch them closely as after a while, you will see a pattern start to emerge that will allow you to anticipate the action. This will in turn help you know exactly where you need to be but how to get as close as you need to fill the frame with your subject. Birds are creatures of habit and will repeat many of their actions. Become one with your environment.

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Red-shouldered Hawk

If you start with larger birds, you will slowly get the hang of tracking, and anticipating their flight patterns. With this Red-shouldered Hawk they will move across the sky with a very predictable flight pattern making it easy to photograph them as they fly overhead. f/6.3 | ISO 400 | 1/3200s

2. Find larger, slower moving birds to start with: If you are just beginning to shoot birds in flight look for subjects such as pelicans, gulls or herons. Do not attempt smaller, faster birds, such as wrens, terns or warblers until you have mastered the slower ones. Larger birds don’t move as fast and you will be able to better master the skills of tracking your subject. Smaller birds are fast and can literally stop on a dime in mid-flight for no apparent reason making them much harder to track.

3. Learn to change your camera settings by touch: Your equipment is a key to success for photographing birds in flight. The better your 34 WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY LESSON 3 camera body and lens combination the better your results. Also learning how to change your setting without taking your eyes off the viewfinder will go a long way when the action is heating up. This of course takes practice but the more you practice and become one with your gear almost as if it is an extension of you the success rate will also go up dramatically.

4. Go light on the equipment: Almost every photography instructor whether in person, online or in a book will tell you in order to get sharp, crisp photographs you need to put your camera on a tripod. While I don’t disagree photographing birds in flight is no place for a tripod. Leave it at home and just take your camera and a nice, semi to long that is light enough to carry and hand hold for long periods of time is all you need.

5. Turn OFF Image Stabilizer or Vibration Reduction: Now, you may have just read that and said “What?” While image and vibration reduction is fantastic for hand holding your camera and lens for most still subjects if you leave it on when you are panning up and down, side to side, it will actually work against you and the end result will be out of focus or blurry photographs. Since this technology is designed to stabilize your lens using floating lens elements when you are following and tracking your subject it will try to keep up with you and if you are moving at a high rate of speed, it can’t, thus resulting in shots that look blurry and also it can actually slow down the focus speed of your lens.

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American Bald Eagle

The key to success in tracking birds in flight is the background. The less clutter you have the easier it will be for your camera to track your subject. Blue skies are the best since your camera will have no trouble at all as with this majestic Bald Eagle as it soars to its nest to check on its babies. f/6.3 | ISO 250 | 1/1600s

6. Put yourself into the position: While panning to follow your subject avoid sudden, erratic movement. Keep it smooth and follow through the panning while shooting. Don't stop when the shutter releases so if you spread your feet in a manner that allows you freedom of motion from side to side (almost 180 degrees) you will be able to flow your subject much more comfortably.

7. Use the “Secret Formula” for your camera settings: Almost all digital cameras today have a mode in which continuous autofocus that predicts the focus on a moving subject. With this function you press the shutter partway and the camera continually calculates where the subject will be 36 WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY LESSON 3 adjusting the focus as long as the subject stays in the autofocus area of the viewfinder. This is by far the best way to focus when you're shooting birds in flight.

Black Skimmer

Shorebirds, songbirds and hummingbirds are by far the toughest to photograph in flight since they are small, fly quickly and can change their direction on a dime. Here lots of practice is key as with this beautiful Black Skimmer but if you follow the “Formula for Success” you will succeed. f/6.3 | ISO 400 | 1/3200s

Use the center AF point only for this is the fastest and best way to obtain focus on the bird's eye especially on larger birds. For smaller, faster- moving birds, you can use multiple focus points. This will allow the camera to choose an AF point from an array covering a wide area of the frame. On some models you can use as many as 51 focus

37 WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY LESSON 3 points. Keep in mind that multipoint focus performs well on solid backgrounds such as blue skies but doesn't work as effectively on varied backgrounds such as trees, grasses or a very busy background.

Also, by using your High-speed continuous mode, depending on the camera you can capture 3, 4 or sometimes up to 20 images during one burst which will help raise your chances of success of getting a great photograph that is sharp, properly exposed, and composed well.

8. Take in consideration the sun and wind: Sunlight is crucial. Late afternoon and early morning are the best times to shoot when the slanting light makes it easier to catch reflected sunlight in the bird's eye. This is what makes the bird look alive in a photo. Have the sun behind you at all times with the subject in front of you. Wind is also an important factor, since it will affect the bird's flight pattern. When they take off for flight birds always fly into the wind. So keep the wind at your back if you want the bird to face you as it comes in for a landing.

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Royal Terns

Don’t overlook the possibility to include more then one subject in your composition such as these two Royal Terns as they were flying along the shoreline looking and diving for fish in the surf. They usually will travel with others and can really add some dimension to your composition if you include two or more to your photograph. f/6.3 | ISO 400 | 1/4000s

9. Practice, practice, practice and practice some more: Photographing birds in flight are far from an easy task. You may have a high failure rate in the beginning but if you're persistent and go back again and again you will definitely get better at it. I know when I speak from experience that it can be downright frustrating and even after years of doing it I still come home with many out of focus, nothing in the frame, clipped wings, feet and sometimes some things I have yet to identify! But if you enjoy the experience, think positive, and keep at it you will have some amazing birds in

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flight photographs that really show off the beauty of these wonderful subjects.

10. Smile and have fun: Did I mention that?

CONCLUSION: With this simple, yet very effective “Formula For Success” you are now fully armed with the technical, logical and methods for capture just about any wildlife subjects that interest you. Whether they are in your home, in your backyard, at the zoo, on a safari, in the wild in the water, on land or in the air, by taking all the points we discovered you now have raised the bar and increase your success rate dramatically. Now that we have all these amazing images sometimes we need to further enhance them in our “digital ”. With the advancements in every photographer can now tweak, enhance and correct mistakes using their computer, software and knowledge in the comfort of their home. Stay tuned as next week we explore the final chapter in creating amazing wildlife photographs!

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Where Do You Go From Here

Over the past three weeks we have learned a lot of information on how to find, photograph and enjoy wildlife. The most exciting aspect of this type of photography is that is always changing from day-to-day, month-to-month and season-to- season. There are always subjects in the world around us whether they are in out backyard, across town at the zoo or perhaps waiting for you to discover in a national park.

The beauty that you can capture is virtually endless and no matter what each and every time will be completely different and a new experience. Of all of the advice and knowledge I have the one thing I hope you take from wildlife photography is to enjoy it for we as photographers are seeing the world few ever get the chance to see and experience but you can express your world though your photography. Don’t give up for trust me I know how frustrating it can be but the rewards are well worth the effort if you keep at and keep practicing your skills.

But the fun isn’t over, for now we have all those images on our camera the final step is to process them and in our final lesson we will look at some simple and effective tips and tricks to take your images to the next level!

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LESSON THREE: ASSIGNMENT

For our third assignment I want to raise the bar even higher. I want you to photograph a species that you have struggled with the most in the past whether it is because of exposure, composition or movement.

For your second photograph I want to see you photograph a subject that you used to “Formula For Success”.

For your third I want to see you photograph a subject in motion, either a bird or mammal. Subjects are completely up to you! Please also include the following information and specifications when you photographed your subject:

Camera Lens: ______

Focal Length: ______

ISO: ______

Aperture: ______

Shutter Speed: ______

Shutter Speed: 1/200s Notes: ______Aperture: f/5

ISO: 200 Also any other information you find will be useful such as Lens: 100mm if you used a tripod, extension tubes, teleconverter, what you had hoped to achieve, if the subject was wild or in captivity etc.

The more information you provide the better it will be for me to give you a great critique!

Happy !

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