For the past three weeks or so I've been out doing bird photography, and I'm absolutely loving it.
I've been out as often as I can, several times a week, sometimes several times a day; lots of practice, getting my eye in, and thoroughly enjoying the process.
To begin with it was all about the technical side.
New kit, new way of working.
I've very recently switched to Canon, so I'm now using the Canon EOS R5 Mark II, with a 400mm f/2.8 that Canon sent me to play with, along with a 1.4x teleconverter.
To begin with there was a heck of a lot to get my head round with it (initially) being so very different to portrait photography, where I'd kind of set things up and that was it. With this you're having to react to what's happening right in front of you, thinking about the light and what the bird's doing all at once and changing settings quickly 'on the fly'.
When the bird's still, and it's a big bird rather than a little one, I'll slow the shutter down to around 1/200 sec. When things start to look like they're about to happen, or the day gets a bit later and brighter, I'll bring it up to 1/2500 to 1/3000 sec. Sometimes a little more, especially for something like a kingfisher, or a heron about to strike into the water after a fish.
Now though, I've relaxed into it.
The settings have stopped being the thing I'm thinking about, which now has started to free me up to really "see" what's in front of me.
What I mean by that is that I've spent years shooting portraits and composites, and it turns out now I'm treating the birds exactly the same way.
I'm not just after a record shot of a Heron or a Stonechat (I'm determined to get the Kingfisher), I'm looking for the light, the pose, the background, the whole picture; the same as I do when taking portraits.
What I'm really enjoying though is just being out in nature and taking my time.
No rush.
If I get some shots then fabulous; if I don't ... it matters not.
I'm loving the anticipation of what could happen, and I'm starting to really feel immersed in the environment.
I'm learning the sounds of the birds and getting to know which ones they are. I'll hear one, think I know what it is, and then when it appears and I've got it right, I'm almost punching the air 😃
Now this isn't going to replace what I do, but it's certainly going to be a big part of me.
I think it's good for me.
I love being out by the sea taking seascapes; that's almost a bit of medicine, and I genuinely think this is going to go the same way.
Anyway, what about you ...
What do you think and feel when you go out doing this kind of thing? Is it purely the photography, or do you feel some other benefits from it too?
