Digital Bird Photography - A Comprehensive Tutorial

Familiar with traditional photography but confused by megapixels, white balance, electronic sensors, and all the other jargon associated with digital photography? Clear up the confusion, learn about the equipment and techniques, and get back to what's important - taking great pictures.

This book provides an introduction to bird photography using a digital SLR. Learn about digital equipment and the common characteristics of both digital and film. This book also covers the unique advantages of the digital medium, and the photographic techniques, "fieldcraft", and post-processing techniques that are used to produce stunning images of the creatures that share our world.

With a full-colour, liberally illustrated interior, this book is an essential addition to any photographer's library!

Several years so, while out taking pictures in the local park with my brand new Nikon Digital SLR, I came across a peculiar black and white ringed bird. Being out seeking pictures of opportunity, I zoomed out to 120 mm on my all-purpose zoom lens, and angled to get closer. Within a few minutes, I managed to get within 10 or 15 feet of the weary bird, and followed it around for an hour snapping shots. Reviewing the pictures later, I saw a lot of grass, and a bird that barely filled an eighth of the frame. With six megapixels to play with, that was fine - until I saw the pictures that others were getting. That started me on an odyssey that continues to this day - the search to perfect the art of bird photography. It s a goal I will never reach, but I m certainly enjoying the journey.

Within the week, after doing a small amount of research on the internet, I was off to the camera store in the search for more reach from a lens. I came home with a base-level 300 mm lens. There started a frustrating few weeks. Reviewing fuzzy picture after fuzzy picture, I was back on the internet for more research, and bothering a more experienced friend of my brother s for tips.

In short order I wound up back at the camera store looking for a monopod and a tripod, and for a better lens. I then proceeded to spend hours upon hours again reviewing fuzzy pictures, but with the occasional sharp one thrown in. Slowly I was learning some technique.

Since that day, I ve graduated to longer, image stabilized lenses, added flashes and light meters, and completely changed the camera system I use. I ve scoured the internet for information, learned a whole lot more about birds, spent more time on photography forums than I like to think about, and annoyed a legion of more experienced wildlife photographers with dumb questions. I ve bought a Kayak and chest waders, camp stools and camouflage, and a dismaying array of other gear. Slowly, I ve learned what works, what doesn t, and met some great people along the way. I ve had a Red-Tailed Hawk attack my fuzzy black sock-clad foot as I poked my lens out of my balcony door to take pictures of it, and been dive-bombed by Tree Swallows or more occasions than I like. Such experiences have been amazing and I wouldn t trade it for the world.

If I d known at the time what the future held, I might have run screaming from that hungry little Killdeer! But I m glad we met, and hope he has a long and fruitful life. Having a few years of experience under my belt, I ve now graduated to answering more questions than I ask. This book is the sum of what I ve painstakingly learned to date, from digital basics, to taking pictures, to post-processing techniques and mounting. Be warned, however, that the learning continues and will for a long, long time. While the techniques detailed here work well, I continue to learn new ones and adapt the old ones. That s part of what makes it fun. Imagine what it would be like if you went out and came back with perfect shots each time! It might seem like utopia at the start, but it would quickly become boring. As in so many things, it s the challenge that makes it worthwhile.

I hope that you enjoy the craft of bird photography as much as I do, and hope that the information and techniques in this book help to make it a more rewarding experience. Enjoy!

As an aside, all the pictures in this book were taken in or around Guelph in Wellington County, Ontario. While not one of the premier birding locations in North America, it does serve to illustrate that birds are just everywhere. One doesn t have to travel very far for photo opportunities!