PHOTO TIPS
The Bluebird on Sumac was taken in my back yard. The Sumac (also a
food source) was a favorite landing spot, the next hop taking them to
the bird feeder filled with meal worms and currents. My camera with a
300 mm 2.8 lens with an extension tube (allowing me to get closer to
the subject than with just the 300 mm lens and focused on the top of
the Sumac) and a flash for fill light was set on a tripod not far
from the branch. A loooooong cable release was attached and ran the
distance (approximately 70 feet) from the camera to my dining room. I
sat in the comfort of my home with a pair of binoculars and when the
birds landed and assumed a pose I wanted, I snapped the picture.
Cheating? Not really. I just considered my house a large blind. The
birds were entertaining and comical. At first, each time the shutter
was tripped, the flash went off, and the motor drive whirred, the
birds would jump. Their picture had already been taken before the
jump. After just a few shots, they ignored the whole thing and
concentrated on the food. The completely blurred background is the
result of using a large aperture (f2.8) and correspondingly fast
shutter speed. Good Shooting... For other good hints about nature
photography just e-mail
us.
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