Bird catching experience and shooting skills

Lead: On major photography websites, I often see many pictures of bird shooting shared by my predecessors, all of which are classic works in my own eyes. I have also explored this aspect for a long time. Some pictures of predecessors are really hard to forget, and the enthusiasm has been boiling when browsing. Sharing this article is not for friends. If the camera is ready, it will be as beautiful as those pictures on the website.

There are many unpredictable factors in bird shooting experience and shooting skills. Luck accounts for almost more than 99%, and all we can grasp is that there is less than 1% space left. How to get a beautiful picture in the remaining 1% space?

Gray-throated mountain pepper bird (male), taken in Fushan, Xindian.

The first core condition of bird shooting is not the top fuselage or lens, but patience.

Patience is the most important thing in any field of photography. Have some patience, go to the hillside and the water's edge to find and wait, and you will have a chance to photograph the target bird.

The second core condition of bird hunting is to do your homework.

Red-tailed shrike, taken in Taipei city

Birds are seasonal, regional and habitual creatures, such as the red-tailed shrike below, which is a winter migratory bird (in Taiwan Province Province). If you want to have a chance to photograph it, you will have a chance to see it in the open grass or bushes after the Mid-Autumn Festival every year and before the Tomb-Sweeping Day (Dragon Boat Festival) every other year.

He Wu, born extremely afraid of people, is a bird that Artest thinks is difficult at present. He has only one color all over his body and often doesn't know where to focus. In addition, most of these birds live by clean and pollution-free streams (that is, deep mountains), so it takes a lot of luck to shoot this bird.

So, what if you want to shoot such a bird?

Wu He's habit is to constantly move around the water's edge and in the water. Sometimes it stops on the stone, and when it is about to focus, it has already entered the water (or dived into the water); The best time to shoot is when it is out of water for 5 seconds (sometimes less than 5 seconds).

Wuhe River, taken in the Three Gorges.

This not only tests luck, but also tests the focusing and quasi-focusing ability of the camera body; I suggest that my friends, when they see the black river (and other birds) that are not afraid of people, might as well observe it for a while first, and you can see where he is used to coming from and which direction he is moving. In this way, we can boldly predict the point where the Wu River enters and exits the water, so as to get the beautiful picture we want.

The third core condition of bird hunting is observation.

When I first fell in love with bird shooting, I often pressed the shutter when I saw the shadow of the bird, and then I got a bunch of photos that looked like Qian Wenshan's red head. Unless my friends take photos to observe the records, such photos are either deleted or forgotten in the depths of the hard disk.

White-bellied crake, taken in Taipei.

White-eared thrush, taken at Xitou.

Unless you encounter rare birds and animals, you should shoot them immediately, even if the light and shadow are not beautiful enough, it has its value; Ron Artest suggested that friends should leave some time to observe when they arrive at the bird spot. I also take this time to look at the shooting conditions such as terrain, environment, sunshine and background, and see how to match them, so as to relax myself and wait for the best shooting opportunity.

The fourth core condition of bird hunting is to make good use of the environment.

Make good use of the environment, which is an extension of observation; Most wild birds are afraid of people, so it is very important to make good use of camouflage tents or site topography.

Taiwan blue magpie, taken in Yangming Mountain.

There are many kinds of birds, and the seasonal environment has been changing, and the behavior of birds in order to prolong their life is even more wonderful. Courtship, nesting, holding eggs, brooding, avoiding enemies, defense, false injury, foraging and so on, different bird species will have different styles. These biodiversity are the factors that attract many people. Going up the mountain to shoot birds, I met a rare bird bathing in the water. It would be a pity if the target was scared away because there was no proper disguise or concealment!

The fifth core condition of bird hunting is to respect nature and life.

Leading the owl, taken in Taipei.

If friends have the opportunity to see pictures of wild birds hunting, or even birds of prey preying on other birds, please don't interfere with this. The law of the jungle is also part of the natural ecological food chain.

With the above five conditions, the next thing is to prepare the camera and lens.

Due to the harsh shooting conditions of Feiyu photography (the subject is constantly moving and the light is insufficient), it is recommended to use a single barrel body with a focal length of at least 300 mm. For beginners, Artest doesn't recommend going to the top to buy top-level lenses at once. The lens at the top and the tripod add up to a heavy weight, so it is not easy to walk in the mountains and by the water with equipment for a day. It would be a pity if the enthusiasm was wiped out because of this!

How to shoot? How to set it?

Yellow-breasted green owl (male), taken at Xitou.

The general principle is that the choice of metering mode and focusing almost determines the result of the work. In order to make the subject look amazing, please try to choose oblique light in the state of smooth half light, and try not to be in the top light or backlight environment; And when focusing, focus on the bird's eyes as much as possible. Usually, the central focusing of SLR cameras is the most accurate and fast, so it is recommended to adjust the composition after focusing.

Yellow-breasted green owl (male), taken at Xitou.

Photometric mode part, recommended? Spot metering? Or? Photometry in key areas? What is the camera's original metering mode setting? Average metering? Or? Central key average metering? , if you use the latter two, it is easy to appear the following state; The background brightens, but the figure of the bird darkens.

When the light permits and the birds are stable, the aperture can be reduced appropriately.

Eight-color bird, taken in Taoyuan.

After reducing the aperture (generally at least below F7. 1, preferably below F8.0), the photos taken are much more delicate!

Fan-tailed warbler shot in Taipei (aperture F 1 1).

If you use the maximum aperture of the lens, you will often take pictures with clear eyes (or focus) and burnt body feathers. It's really embarrassing to wait for the bird to take pictures, but it didn't make the picture more perfect because of this little negligence! The eight-color bird at the bottom is only suitable for eyes, but its feathers have almost no details. What a pity!

Furthermore, the unique function of most SLR cameras: the pre-elevation of the mirror.

Shooting birds, the focal length is greater than 300mm (inclusive). In addition to proper tripod and tripod support, cable release should be used. This is just basic. If you want to make the picture quality more exquisite, please put the lens (some are camera bodies)? Anti-hand shock function? Turn off and set the camera to? Mirror pre-promotion? State. This can prevent the refractive lens in the lens from drifting because of the shock-proof function of the lens; Moreover, the slight vibration caused by the linkage between the mirror and the shutter curtain will affect the image quality. And what we should pay attention to here is, use? Mirror pre-lift setting, remember to press the shutter twice! (The first one goes up in the mirror, and the second one is to open the shutter for exposure. )

Lead-colored water thrush (male), photographed in Shanlinxi.

Finally, it is suggested to use RAW file as storage mode and reserve a large post-processing space; However, this part of Artest is not commonly used. Unless there is a plan to output large drawings or print and publish, it must be stored in a raw file. In general, it is recommended to use the largest JPG file for storage.

Lead-colored water thrush (female), photographed in Shanlinxi.

The above is Artest's bird hunting experience, and there are still shortcomings; The application of various skills, on-the-spot reaction and luck in bird shooting are very important; Friends, if you have any good ideas, please feel free to advise. Personally, it is the most important part to know and dabble in it step by step, to love nature, to love life, to enjoy beauty and a sense of accomplishment.