outdoor photography

Bachman's Sparrow ISO 320 | 1/800sec | f/6.3 When I took the above photograph, I was pretty sure I was going to toss it out.  The sun was in front of me and to my right, and the bird was facing in a direction such that most of its face was cast in shadow.  This is a real exposure problem.  Without exposure compensation, the bird's face would be very dark.  But if I add exposure compensation to properly expose the bird's head, I would likely blow out the highlights of the photograph, including the sunlit portions of the bird.  You can use a flash in a situation like this, but I don't--I sometimes see birds flinch and/or fly away when using a flash, and I don't want to disturb the bird.  Using Aperture Priority mode and matrix (evaluative) metering, I decided to increase my exposure by +2/3 stop and hope for the best.  It turns out that when I loaded the photo in my computer the histogram showed that I had detail in the shadows and the highli...

Snowy Egret Yesterday when I was at Jetty Park I came across a Little Blue Heron and Snowy Egret walking along the dark rocks that lined the inlet.  And the photos made me decide to do a post about exposure compensation.  How you set your exposure compensation depends in part on the metering method you use. Here are two of the more common metering methods for shooting wildlife: Spot Metering: This metering method acquires exposure values from the center "spot" of the frame.  In this method, you can put your subject in the center and adjust your exposure to make sure your subject is exposed properly.This is a good way to work, but I don't normally use it, since it's often hard to keep my subject in the center of the frame. Matrix/Evaluative Metering:  This metering method acquires exposure values from throughout the frame.  To use exposure compensation, you have to make judgments about the whole scene and adjust accordingly.  It is therefore somewha...

Eastern Towhee I haven't had as many opportunities to test out my new camera as I would like in recent days, but I did get out to Econ River Wilderness Area for about an hour.  I'm looking for ways to set my exposure improve my camera's performance in higher ISOs (really, 400 and higher). I've found that I have the most problems in the shadows, so I've tried over exposing a little more than I would otherwise, to see if this would allow me to retain more detail in the shadows.  I'm pretty happy with the results so far.  I was worried that my 50D was not going to handle ISO 400 and higher as well as my 40D, but now I think it is just as capable, even if it's less forgiving in the shadows. Eastern Towhee Eastern Towhee Brown-headed Nuthatch Brown-headed Nuthatch Other than this, I had a pretty good evening.  The Econ River WA is always beautiful, and being able to get up close and personal with Brown-headed Nuthatches and Eastern Towhees i...

Brown Thasher ISO 400, 400mm lens, 1/30sec shutter speed There are three factors that can cause blurry images: 1) improper focus, 2) subject movement, and 3) camera movement.  I'm concerned here with the third factor.  In low light situations, it's important to take extra precautions to get sharp images, especially if you aren't using an image stabilized lens or can't use a tripod,.  As a general rule of thumb, without using image stabilization, you can get a high percentage of sharp images if you can achieve a shutter speed equal to the inverse of the focal length of the lens--so if you're using a 400mm lens, you want a shutter speed of 1/400sec or faster. Image stabilization can let you achieve equally sharp images 2 or 3 stops slower--that is, 1/100sec or 1/50sec.  If you can raise the ISO to give you a shutter speed that fast, you're probably in good shape. Barred Owl ISO 800, 400mm lens, 1/60sec shutter speed With my camera I do not like ...

Black-necked Stilt Merritt Island, Black Point Dr Black-necked Stilts are one of my top three shorebirds (the others being avocets and oystercatchers).  The first time I saw one these I was mesmerized. Even though it was a long way off, I took perhaps 100 pictures of it in the hopes that just one turned out.  Since then I've seen them plenty of times when they've been relatively close.   A couple weeks ago I was at Merritt Island, and a couple were pretty close to shore  They didn't seem to mind me one bit crouched down on the shore shooting off hundreds of photos.  It's my favorite place to go to find this wonderful bird. Black-necked Stilt Merritt Island, East Gator Creek Black-necked Stilt Merritt Island, Black Point Dr Black-necked Stilt Merritt Island, Peacock's Pocket Earlier in the year, I saw one flying over Orlando Wetlands Park, where they're a little more unusual to find.  I doubt it ever landed in the park, but it flew by ...

Snowy Egret Friday morning I was at my office and I saw a couple Snowy Egrets at the pond by the parking lot.  As I was watching one, it decided to fly over the water and grab a fish off the surface of the water.  As it went, it flew in and out of sunlight.  At 8am, the sun was fairly low in the sky, creating a pleasing color to the egrets wings.  When the egret was in the shade, I had no complaints, but a little bit a sunlight makes a pretty big difference.  Here's some photos of the egret in changing light as it flew across the pond. Snowy Egret Snowy Egret Snowy Egret Snowy Egret

Great Egret This past Saturday I was at Merritt Island; I went there mostly to look for shorebirds, but I couldn't resist spending some time photographing this Great Egret.  He was perched in the trees by the road, and he was too close for me to get more than his head in the frame.  But then he took off, and he flew circles around me at least a couple times before he settled on another place to perch. Great Egret Normally when shooting birds in flight, I overexpose because the sky is often so bright that I would end up with  the bird being way too dark.  But with white birds like Great Egrets I find that I often need to underexpose a little, especially if the wings are receiving direct sunlight.  With these photos, the sun was high in the sky, and the birds face was cast in shadow.  To make matters worse, when birds are flying, what's receiving direct sunlight changes depending on whether the bird's wings are up and down.  Here, though, even ...

Bald Eagle On Sunday I went to Orlando Wetlands Park in search of a Vermilion Flycatcher.  It was great to see the flycatcher, but the added bonus was a bald eagle perched in a tree not far from the path I was walking on.  The  problem was the lighting.  It was a cloudy day, and I had to overexpose the bird by 1-2/3 stops to get the dark feathers properly exposed.  This made the sky even more problematic.  Here's what my first batch of photographs looked like. Bald Eagle The sky is nearly white, and on my monitor the back of the eagle's head does not stand out from the background nearly enough.  But the eagle was very close to me, so I wanted to make something out of the opportunity. As you may be able to tell from the highlights in this photo, the sun was coming from in front of me and to my right.  So I decided to walk down the path until I had the view you see in the top photograph.  This made the lighting on the eagle a little...

Great Egret A few days ago I was at Merritt Island on a bright sunny morning, and while I was photographing a Sora, a Great Egret walked by.  I noticed that, while its head was very nicely lit by the sun, the background was cast in deep shadow.  So when my Sora scurried back into the mangroves, I turned my attention to the egret.  There was so much contrast in the scene that, after exposing for the egret, the background was completely black.  This photo may look a little like it was shot in a studio or controlled environment, but other than cropping and a few minor adjustments, this image is pretty much the way I shot it at Merritt Island.  This is one fun way you can use high contrast in wildlife scenes to your advantage.

Boat-tailed Grackle When  photographers begin to learn about exposure compensation, they are usually taught to "expose for the highlights."  That is, look for the brightest part of the frame, and set your exposure to put that where you want it.  For a sunrise, I usually spot meter off a bright part of the sky near the horizon and set my exposure compensation to +1-1/3 stop (or perhaps a little more). Great Egret But with bird photography, I find this is insufficient advice for two reasons: Using your spot meter while shooting birds is impractical.  For example, when shooting a bird in flight, the sky will likely be the brightest part of the photograph, and getting the sky right may make the bird all wrong.  And moving birds have a tendency not to care whether or not they are in the part of the frame where your spot meter is collecting data. Your main concern most of the time (shooting bird silhouettes is an obvious exception), you are far more conc...

Yellow-rumped Warbler Yellow-rumped Warblers are so common here in the winter time, and I thought it would be a fun project to keep an eye out for them and photograph their various looks throughout the winter months. These warblers have a bright yellow rump, but the yellow is not always visible; for me it's easier to notice patches of yellow on the sides of the bird's chest. On the above photo, the yellow rump is barely visible, but the yellow on the sides confirms the identification. Yellow-rumped Warbler Photographically, I love this scene, not only because the warbler was out far enough on the branch to give me a nice clean background, but also because yellowish-greenish patches of color in the frame. I thought that might help the background complement the warbler. Thankfully, the bird was nearly at eye level, so I didn't have to crouch down too much. In hind sight, I might have lowered the camera a little more here, if that wouldn't clutter up the backgrou...

Ring-Billed Gull I frequently find that that the most significant factor affecting the quality of my images is the direction of light.  In the case of outdoor photography, this translates into the position of the sun relative to the position of you and your subject.  These Ring-billed Gull photographs were taken at about 8:30am with the sun behind me and to my right.  The sun's low position added a different quality to the color of the light, but it also effectively lit the underside of the bird without creating harsh shadows.  As the sun gets higher in the sky this quality of light begins to fade. Ring-Billed Gull This does not at all mean that you can't get good pictures later in the day, but you need to be concerned with how you can put yourself in a good position to use the sun to your advantage.  The image below was taken at about 11:50am, just before noon, but the sun was almost directly in front of me.  When I saw the Florida Scrub Jay I sh...

Bald Eagle Photographing birds in flight can be a challenge, and it's important to adjust for several factors quickly in order to maximize the number of photographs that are both sharp and properly exposed.  I normally shoot birds in Aperture Priority Mode , and usually I shoot wide open (at my widest aperture ), which on my lens is f/5.6.  I tend to break up how I approach shooting birds in flight in terms of four main factors. Color of the Bird Snowy Egret When shooting birds in flight, you need to take into consideration the color of the bird and use the appropriate exposure compensation to account for it. White feathers will become overexposed very easily in bright sunlight.  So if a bright bird is brightly lit, I'll under-expose by perhaps 2/3 stop .  If I'm shooting a bird with dark feathers, like an immature Bald Eagle, I'll over expose a little, especially if I need to get detail in the shadows under the wings. Position of the Sun Common Mer...