Swampfrog's Oregon Photography Tour

[swampfrog]

[swampfrog]

[happyone]

I don't want to swell your head or anything, but I am always in awe when you post your pics!

[swampfrog]

I don't want to swell your head or anything, but I am always in awe when you post your pics!

Thanks! My head is not swelling too much. I continue to get better, but getting better means learning from those who are better. Like with any hobby, seeing the results of the true masters is humbling.

[swampfrog]

[swampfrog]

A lot from the same subjects today, but they were particularly cooperative and gave us quite a few interesting looks.

[swampfrog]

[Pelado]

How is it that all these animals are staring at you all the time?

[swampfrog]

How is it that all these animals are staring at you all the time?

Sometimes, it's just a matter of tracking with the camera and not pushing the shutter release unless they are staring. Birds in particular.

With the larger animals, what you don't see is the the crazy naturalist waving his hat, slamming the car door, clapping, and sometimes sending his kid out in the street to jump up and down.

He also uses his phone to play bird calls and uses a "pishing" vocalization that freezes them momentarily.

Also, some luck.

[swampfrog]

One of my favorite sequences so far.

[swampfrog]

[swampfrog]

Killdeer have a very interesting nesting strategy. Right out in the open with camouflaged shell patterns. Then they give you the broken wing behavior to lead you away from the nest.

[wuapinmon]

I look at your bird photos the same way I used to marvel at Daryl Strawberry ripping homeruns down the rightfield line at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium when I was a boy. He'd hit a 400-foot homerun every pitch in batting practice, and then he'd usually hit one during a game. It seemed effortless. I have never, ever taken a photo like the ones you do. I do not believe that I ever could, even with the same optics and body. You generally try to demure about your photos, that anyone could take them, but the natural talent with your practiced hand/eye are gifted. Gifted.

[swampfrog]

I look at your bird photos the same way I used to marvel at Daryl Strawberry ripping homeruns down the rightfield line at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium when I was a boy. He'd hit a 400-foot homerun every pitch in batting practice, and then he'd usually hit one during a game. It seemed effortless. I have never, ever taken a photo like the ones you do. I do not believe that I ever could, even with the same optics and body. You generally try to demure about your photos, that anyone could take them, but the natural talent with your practiced hand/eye are gifted. Gifted.

You could. I'm pretty fast at this point, practice helps. It's essentially true that I could likely produce more consistently and a higher rate, however anyone with access to a 400mm f/5.6 or greater lens and almost any recent DSLR (last 4 years, even 10 years) can produce fantastic nature photos. It takes some training via instruction or youtube, and some basic editing skills, but nothing that couldn't be taught in a couple of hours.

For example, birds. Take the basic full body portrait. I didn't discover any of the following, all youtube.



Shoot RAW. Put the camera in continuous autofocus mode. Let it auto expose (for now), set for the widest aperture (or somewhere f/4 - f/7.1). Make sure you're above at 1/350 (faster for twitchy birds) of a second by setting ISO as necessary. Frame the bird so that the eye is in the upper 1/3 of the frame. Put 3 times the distance in front of the bird as behind it. Get a focus point on the eye (you do have to learn how to move your focus points--sometimes quickly). Take multiple pictures. Use one where the head is just slightly turned towards you 3-5 degrees. When possible, shoot in overcast conditions. Otherwise try to get the sun directly behind you (even when overcast this is helpful). Done. Some basic editing is all that is left.

[swampfrog]

Some HDR work in the round barn. Need to try this again some day, should have taken off the polarizer. I think I can get better results.