Bird Photography

Make no mistake: bird photography will test your abilities. When you're trying to fit something the size of your index finger into a frame, you'll discover that a long lens—that is, a long-reaching telephoto lens—is only part of the solution. To begin, you must have a fundamental understanding of your subject. Everything will be better if you know more about birds or a specific species. The first big benefit of your knowledge will be the safeguarding of the species’ welfare, which is of utmost importance in all wildlife photography.

The next step is to get closer to the birds. Simply put, getting close to a larger subject is the best way to get it in your viewfinder. The closer you are, regardless of the focal length of the lens, the larger the subject. The AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED is one of my favourite lenses for photographing birds at my feeders. Feeders, which provide free food and water, are the simplest way to attract birds. Take a lesson from home and go where the food is—to the shoreline, where birds feed on crabs and fish, to the desert water hole, and to the forests, where they feed on insects. In these locations, We first let our eyes do the walking.

My field lens is the AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4G ED VR, which is the ultimate lens for bird photography in the field in my opinion. If it's not long enough, I like to use the AF-S Teleconverter TC-17E II. They give me a total reach of more than 1020mm. With only a two-degree angle of view, that combination gives me a lot of control over the background: moving inches to the left or right, up or down, completely changes the background.

Flash is an important part of bird photography, but not for the reason you might think. Using an SB-900 has less to do with exposure and more to do with colour. Do you find this strange? Birds have feathers that are designed to reflect colour, but the light in which we often find them does not bring out that colour. That will be done by Flash. Nikon Speedlights' built-in flash technology makes using an SB-900, SB-800, or SB-600 practically intuitive, and, of course, with digital, you can see the results of your exposure choices right away.

The Nikon D3 and D3X cameras that I use for my bird photography are the D3 and D3X. The D3 has a frame rate advantage of nine frames per second, whereas the D3X has a large, richly detailed file. In either case, I can get immediate feedback, and I've learned that the smart digital photographer goes through the day's images that night, learning from mistakes and building on successes.

Finally, a tripod is an essential piece of equipment. My Gitzo is a 5000 series carbon fibre model. If you're going to be setting up a D3X and a 600mm NIKKOR at seashores, forests, and swamps, I'd recommend the strongest, toughest tripod you can find.

One of the most exciting photographic pursuits is bird photography. Knowledge, patience, and skill are required, but the challenges make the rewards that much sweeter.