I recently vacationed for four days in the Great Smoky Mountains of eastern Tennessee to photograph black bears. But while looking for bears, I kept being distracted by the birds of the Smokies. The first bird to sidetrack me was an eastern kingbird. While I have photographed this bird before, this one seemed to pose… Read more »
George Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak, once said, “Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.” Last month I added eastern wood pewee to my backyard bird list. The encounter was very brief, but… Read more »
I like to look for bird behavior in photographing birds and create images that tell a story and can almost speak for themselves. I look for images that will speak to the viewer. Ansel Adams once said, “Photography, as a powerful medium of expression and communications, offers an infinite variety of perception, interpretation, and execution.”… Read more »
Many bird photographers, visual as they are, focus on learning to identify birds by sight. But I am finding that learning to identify birds by sound can be a useful tool, too. On a recent bird photography outing, I ran into a fellow photographer while I was looking for birds at a local lake. My… Read more »
Low key bird photography, like high key, is a great way to add drama to your photos and create an instant piece of bird art. Contrast is an essential part of low key photography. Here’s the scenario for a low key bird image: early morning or late afternoon with the sun on the horizon and… Read more »
With all the birding festivals and hotspots closed this year while we are all sheltering in place, my chances of photographing a new warbler species this spring were slim. Many months ago I had made plans to be at Magee Marsh, on the western shores of Lake Erie in northwestern Ohio, almost every weekend in… Read more »
Great blue herons have long been one of my favorite birds to photograph. Not only the great blue, but all herons have always intrigued me. I think I have photographed all of the North American herons except the yellow-crowned night-heron. A few days ago, while photographing at my favorite lake, I crossed paths with a… Read more »
I have been asked if, as a photographer, I have a studio. My answer is always, “Yes, I do. The outdoors is my studio.” As we have been sheltering in place for a month now, I decided to organize my backyard studio. I have 28 trees in my studio: 24 oaks, 2 shagbark hickories, 1… Read more »
The warblers are coming! The warblers are coming! Okay, I’m not Paul Revere, but I have five helpful tips that will help you prepare to photograph the warblers that are coming this spring. 1. Pre-focus Most species of warblers are very active, and finding one perched ready for a photo is nearly impossible. But by… Read more »
Photographing birds in flight can be challenging, but attempting it on a cloudy day brings a whole new realm of hurdles. One cloudy day while photographing birds in flight with a photographer friend, I expressed discontent with my images. “I can’t get an exposure of the bird without blowing out the sky to white,” I… Read more »
