Calling small animal/bird photographers!

[annc]

Some of you get such superb close-up shots of your pets!
Now I have (still boxed) a hybrid camera which allows manual control, please could some of you tell me the best exposures and apertures to get a good picture? I presume the exposure needs to be quite short. Mind you, I think another prerquisite which might be harder to fulfil is 'co-operative ratties!'

I suspect that much of the weekend will be taken up with reading manuals on the camera and on an MP4 player. I don't even know how to copy tracks from a CD on to my computer - I gather in is done in Windows Media Player?

All this with great thanks to my late cousin who made a little expenditure possible! I didn't go for a DSLR because of weight, size when packing and slightly shaky hands which could make changing lenses difficult.

All advice welcome!

[vawitt]

Hi, Ann. I've just started bird photography....I have a pro-sumer P&S (probably similar to the Canon you just purchased) that has a preset setting I can choose called Quick Shutter. It also shoots in burst mode (but reduced to 3MP from 10). I've had some pretty good luck in my few days of owning it. It has a manual focus but I haven't yet figured it out - I think it's a 2-handed process.

As for the MP3 player - you'll love being able to have so much music so close at hand in such a small package! If you have Windows Media Player, you can pop your CD into the computer and from the WMP menu, choose "Rip". Ripping copies the CDs to your computer. Use the settings in WMP to choose if you want MP3 or WMA format. WMA gives a smaller file size but not all MP3 players will read that format. Then you have to learn how to move the songs from computer to player - how depends on the player. Some players allow you to skip the computer step and just rip directly to your player. It's an easy process and a few minutes with your MP3 manual will get you started!

~Val

Have fun learning how to use your new toys!

[annc]

I ended up buying an Olympus SP-570UZ - the specification looks great for what I need.

Next step - Elements 6

[lexcell]

Ann,
There is no one exposure for getting great animal shots. It depends on the lens you have, whether you want the subject and background in focus or just your subject, the amount of light, your film speed, etc.
The members on this forum had a great book club going using Bryan Peterson's book Understanding Exposure which would be a great starting place.
Secondly, I would experiment when shooting with different apertures and shutter speeds to see which combination works best for you. Unfortunately film is expensive and you won't get the instant feedback of digital but, hey, we got along before digital and still learned how to take great photographs. You will want to keep a notebook or micro-recorder handy to record your exposure data so that when you look at your images you can refer back to the info to see what works and what doesn't.

[des_enzano]

Hi Ann,
I have found that photographing pets especially smaller animals, requires a fast shutter speed (or flash), good lighting and cooperative pets. I only use the flash if I am fairly close to the subject and tend to reduce the flash output as there is a danger of washing out the subject. If an animal is running around you will have more success if you photograph it when it is running towards you. (Less chance of a blurred shot)
The following is a link to a couple of photographs of mine. You can see that the dogs are heading in my direction and the lighting is good. Actually, I focused on the point where I took the photograph before calling them to jump the stile.
The photograph of the ferrets was taken with flash.
http://s129.photobucket.com/albums/p...s_enzano/Pets/
I forgot to mention the other essential - loads of patience.
Good luck,
George

[Not4wood]

I have also just started shooting birds, and I've had a hard time trying to get a good angle with the Birds at least looking somewhat my way.

Focusing is the biggest issue, and just trying to remember to keep my aperture at a good or at least a somewhat DOF. Which broken down means having a good faster ISO set so that when fast movement from both the bird and me can be captures without any blur. So when stalking your prey keep checking your exposure equation and make sure that you have a good DOF by making the aperture somewhere in the middle of the range of your lens.

A very bad attempt at a shot of a Dove. Out of Focus, movement of the Bird. I dont think it was me, I did have my VR on in my new lens.



This is a new try at a Robin, from this past weekend. Still not a great shot, but I'm getting there.

[lowbone]

When you are shooting wildlife you generally want the fastest shutter speed that your camera will provide. Birds twitch around allot and wildlife in general is unpredictable as far as movement goes. Most of us who shoot wildlife use the AV ( aperture value ) setting and set the aperture to the largest opening. By doing this you are guaranteeing that your camera will pick its fastest shutter speed. Keep in mind though that if the lighting is low that speed might not be adequate. I don't know what you are using but allot of cameras display the settings in the viewfinder. Using AV at its largest opening also helps to blur a distracting background on a DSLR. On a camera with a small sensor it will not be very effective doing that.

[Not4wood]

August 18, 2008

Update:

After returning from our great adventure from the UK, I not only was able to spot a couple of birds but also got a chance to shoot two birds that I never saw before.

Also, yesterday Sunday I had gone to Sagamore Hill (http://www.nps.gov/sahi/) to finally make it to there Sunday 9:30 AM Nature Trail walk.

Shooting birds in flight is a very difficult thing and made me absolutely nuts. I found that my new long 70-300VR lens is not long enough but what can you do. LOL

Here is one shot of the Muscovy Duck (thanks to Janet for giving me this guys name).

Muscovy Duck


Great Herron


Jackdaw


Osprey 2

[lexcell]

Photographing birds in flight is a challenge but a very rewarding one when you do nail the shot. To begin with, I agree that you want a fairly fast shutter speed so that you can capture a sharp image. But, then, as you improve your skills, try shooing at a slower shutter speed and panning with your subject. You want to get the birds eye sharp but the wings, etc can be blurred. It gives a very nice sense of motion in a still image. It's even harder to capture a good image trying the blur pan technique but it is very cool when you do get it.
I use aperture priority and set my aperture to a fairly wide opening to get a fast shutter speed. If I can't get the speed I need, then I'll bump the ISO a bit to get there.
A tip for photographing birds in flight is to begin focusing and panning before the bird is in range. This gives you time to get in focus. When the bird is in the shooting zone begin firing and once the bird is flying away release the shutter but continue panning to ensure that you do not unduly shake the camera. So, you begin the pan, start firing, stop firing and finish the panning movement. If you give yourself the extra panning on either end you will find that you are able to capture sharper images during the shooting time.

[Not4wood]

Thanks Laurie..

I have a question on what you were saying about panning. Right now I'm working on trying to get to know my Auto Focus Locking mechanism on my D80. I have the AE/AF button now set for Focus Lock. On the back of my camera I have a slide Lock for the Focus as well. Do I have this on the small white Dot for Lock or do I have it down by the capital "L" for Lock? I cant figure this out, and also do I have to use both of these methods when trying to pan a subject?

I finally have gotten around to identifying another couple of birds that I had shot at Windemere while waiting for our boat so we could board.


1 Mottled Duck:


2 Mute Swan:


3 Black-Headed Gull