How I Photograph Birds
Tripod shooting at the Great Salt Lake wetlands Tripod shooting is certainly not my typical method of photographing birds. My best estimate is that less than 10% of my bird photography is from a tripod. When circumstances demand it however there’s simply no substitute for a sturdy but relatively lightweight tripod and a gimbal style head, especially for shooting birds in flight with my large, heavy lens. Some folks are able to hand hold this lens for hours on end and get spectacular results. I can’t, partly due to back problems. Lens Cart Because of back problems I can’t carry my heavy lens, camera body, tripod and associated gear further than about a mile. To help solve that problem I came up with this lens cart. It’s a pull-type golf cart that I modified to be able to carry my heavy 500mm lens with attached body in the pack and my tripod with Wimberly head attaches under the “tongue” of the cart. There’s room in the pack for other assorted gear and I often hang a water bottle and extra body with my 100-400mm zoom to the pack. It’s very light and pulls effortlessly. The wheels are large enough to handle fairly rough terrain. The main limitation of this outfit is that it can’t negotiate tall vegetation or narrow paths between trees. Without this cart some of my favorite birding spots would be unavailable to me. My typical method of photographing birds This is how I do most of my shooting – from…