The Challenges of Photographing Birds in Flight in Low Light

Photographing birds in flight in relatively low light (dusk, dawn, cloudy conditions etc) isn’t easy.  In addition to the expected challenge of locking focus onto a fast and often erratically moving target, in low light you have the problem of getting enough shutter speed to get a moving subject sharp.   A potential solution to the problem is “opening up” – increasing the size of the aperture, which is the same as reducing the f-number – say as in changing your setting from f/7.1 to f/5.6.   This lets more light into the camera in the same amount of time, allowing for an increase in shutter speed to freeze the motion of the bird.  Opening up however has another effect – reducing depth of field, so less of your subject is likely to be tack sharp.  Another potential solution is to increase ISO.  Increasing ISO in digital cameras has the effect of seeming to increase the sensitivity of the camera’s sensor to light so that faster shutter speeds can be used but the downside to increasing ISO is that it can increase digital noise in the image. Sometimes in bird photography fantastic opportunities with birds in flight present themselves in less than ideal light.  Your best chance at an acceptable image under those conditions is to understand the interplay between your camera settings – how changing aperture affects shutter speed and depth of field and how changing ISO affects shutter speed and the production of digital noise.      Male Northern Harrier, 1/1250 @ f/11, ISO 800 It’s not often I get a…

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American Kestrel – The Killing Bite

I have watched American Kestrels consume their prey up close many times.  Usually that prey has been a vole but occasionally it’s been a small bird or mouse.  But until this day the prey had always been already dead when I arrived on the scene.  It was cold and snowy when I spotted this male kestrel with a mouse (I was surprised it wasn’t a vole) that was still very much alive.   As a side note I want to add here that this kestrel was not baited.  Many photographs are taken of raptors when they’ve been baited by mice (they can be bought at pet stores) that have been provided as an enticement by the photographer.  That was not the case here – I do not bait.       Male kestrel with live mouse It was obvious that the mouse was alive because it was struggling slightly, its tail was twitching and its eyes were open.  In my experience these birds often prefer a more stable perch than this while they eat their meal – something like a fencepost or pole that provides some kind of platform from which to eat.  So I didn’t think he would eat the mouse here and I was right.  He gave me time for a few quick shots and then flew off to another perch.     Kestrel on second perch He didn’t go far however and I was able to approach him again.  This next perch was also precarious to eat from because the wind was blowing and both perch and bird were swaying in the breeze. …

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Canvasback – Feeding and Fighting Behavior

In April of 2008 I photographed some interesting Canvasback feeding and fighting behaviors at a local pond.   At the time I was still a relative novice at bird photography so I’ll say up front that this blog post is more about the behaviors than it is about image quality.  The almost white plumage and dark head made for a tricky exposure for a beginner and there was a significant issue with specular highlights caused by reflections off of the shiny mud.      Dive, eyes open On this day there was one drake feeding quite close to me and I was very interested in the whole process.  He would continually dive down to the muck at the bottom of the pond and come up with his head completely covered in thick dark mud.  Sometimes he would dive with his eyes open, like this.       Dive, eyes closed And other times he would dive with his eyes closed.  Either way, mud and grit in the eyes never seemed to be a problem for him.       Ol’ Muddy Head 1 When he would emerge, this is what he would look like.      Ol’ Muddy Head 2  And this.  It never failed – a true mud facial.  Canvasbacks are often referred to as the “aristocrats of ducks” but it’s hard to look very aristocratic with a face full of mud.      Shakin’ the mud off Occasionally he would try to shake as much of the mud off as possible but it never seemed to change the look of him…

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Burrowing Owls – Clowns of the Bird World

  Of the many bird species I’ve photographed, Burrowing Owls by far show the most “personality”.  Their repertoire of silly antics, funny poses, stretches, yawns and grooming behaviors are a photographers dream.  And once they feel comfortable in your presence they will often allow you to photograph them for a very long time without flying off or retreating to their burrow.  But you have to find them first… The antics of juveniles are even more exaggerated than those of adults.  Most of the images I will present here are of juveniles.  Some of the shots were taken in less than ideal conditions (harsh light, shadows, clutter) but I think they illustrate the goofball personalities of these birds well. Giving the photographer a suspicious look It’s difficult to resist being anthropomorphic (ascribing human emotion or motivation to non-human species) when it comes to Burrowing Owls so I won’t even try.  This juvenile looks very suspicious of me but in reality I suspect that it was only curious.   Wing-stretch with lifted foot, or “They went that-a-way!”    Topsy  turvy owl Juveniles practice their parallax skills regularly.  It involves bobbing and twisting their heads so their eyes can view an object (in this case me) from different positions.  This allows them to better determine distance to that object.   I’m sure it’s serious business for the owls but to us it can sure look silly.  And adorable.  Reaction to sudden and unexpected rain One sunny and hot August morning I was photographing a pair of juveniles when a single cloud passed overhead and…

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Barn Owls in Flight

Flight shots of Barn Owls are very difficult to get because these birds are almost strictly nocturnal and typically fly and hunt only at night.  Photographing birds in flight in the dark or very low light is virtually impossible without using artificial lighting methods which I will not do for ethical reasons. Barn Owl in flight during in full daylight   I had never even seen a Barn Owl in flight until the winter of 2007-08.  That unusually frigid winter began early and brought more snow than usual to the valleys of Utah.  Suddenly, during January and much of February, Barn Owls were hunting the marshes close to the Great Salt Lake during daytime – sometimes until 10 or 11 AM.  Their usual strategy was to hunt for voles (very similar to mice) along the edges of Phragmites growth in the wetlands.  Typically it was very cold on those mornings – often between 0 and +20 degrees Farenheit which made it very uncomfortable standing outside in front of a tripod mounted camera for hours on end!  I very nearly lost some digits to frostbite many times but I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.    Barn Owl hunting voles along frosty Phragmites edges I usually preferred to get Phragmites in the backgrounds of my flight shots if possible because they make such a nice backdrop.  In the photo above, there had been heavy fog with sub freezing temperatures so literally everything was covered with a heavy coating of frost.  A magical setting.        Barn Owl skimming Phragmites in background Sometimes the…

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