presentation given to the HANPA - Houston Audubon Nature Photographers Association - on May 17, 2012

1. HANPA
May 16th, 2012
Bird Photography
by Frank Farese

2. Bird Photography
• Bio • Techniques
• Etiquette • Lighting & Flash
• Composition • Editing
• Equipment • Attractions
• Camera Settings • Bird Behavior
• Focus & Panning • Rarities

3. Nikon D300s, 300mm f/2.8, 1.7x tele-c
Gitzo 3531 XLS Tripod
RRS BH-55 Ball head
Wimberley Sidekick
Sb-800 Flash, Better Beamer
Adobe Lightroom
OnOne Photo Suite
birder.Smugmug.com
Chachalaca
Bentsen Rio Grande State Park

4. Whooping Cranes ‘Big Tree’

5. Bird Photography Etiquette
Birds come First, Do No Harm
Habitat is Precious
Birders are People too!
Emotionally Intelligent-Manners
Careful with Pishing
Use recordings wisely, if allowed
Tripods can be hazardous
Share
See Ethics at NANPA & ABA

6. Have an Open Mind
John Shaw thinks you can learn from other people’s
photographs IF you look with an open mind.
“A lot of people look at pictures and their
instant reaction is,
I could have done that.
They should be asking,
“How did they do that?”
Leave yourselves open to learning
from the photograph.”

7. Wow! Cool Shot.
You must have a really good camera.
Was it the camera
that really did all the work?

8. Left Brain, Right Brain
Techie side …
have to be the craftsman and technician
to deal with f/2.8 and all those weird
things.
Artsy side …
have to be the poet, the artist and deal
with the emotional, the impressionistic.
To succeed you need both sides engaged.

9. Edward Weston, ”Composition is……..
….…the strongest way of seeing.”
• Simplify and Exclude, then Balance
• Light-Dark, Big-Small
• Color & Tone, Warm-Cool
• Line & Form, Patterns, Texture
• Rule of Thirds, Negative Space
• Leading lines, Diagonals
• Left-Right, Up-Down, Closer-Farther
• 4th Dimension: The Right Time

32. Without the CRAFT
you will struggle
for the ART.

33. Don Giannatti
Photography is...
….Jazz with a camera.

34. Don Giannatti
Jazz musicians……
Imitate (deconstruct)
Assimilate (second nature)
then Innovate
…..thinking ahead to Improvise

35. LOVE the EQUIPMENT you have.
Master what you have!
Don’t buy a bunch of stuff until
you’ve mastered your gear.

36. “It is not the arrow that hit the target,
but rather the archer’s skill that put it there.”
-Tyson V. Rininger
You create the image.
But, gear does matter.

37. Camera Settings
Color mode-Adobe vs. sRGB
JPEG Fine, RAW-lossless,12 bit vs.14
Biggest Size

38. Camera Settings
Color mode-Adobe vs. sRGB
JPEG Fine, RAW-lossless,12 bit vs.14
Biggest Size
Continuous High Shooting Mode-FPS
White Balance-AWB, Daylight, Cloudy
Picture Modes-Standard, Portrait, Vivid

39. Camera Settings
Color mode-Adobe vs. sRGB
JPEG Fine, RAW-lossless,12 bit vs.14
Biggest Size
Continuous High Shooting Mode-FPS
White Balance-AWB, Daylight, Cloudy
Picture Modes-Standard, Portrait, Vivid
Metering Modes-Evaluative, Spot, Center
ISO-Use base 100,200 for tripod &portraits
ISO-Use 400,800 for handhelds and BIFs
Auto ISO (200-800 @ 1/500th)
Aperture Priority-Subject Distance and Size
Manual

40. FOCUS Settings
Shutter Release Priority
Release, Focus (Single Servo)
R, F, Focus & Release (Continuous AI)

41. AF-ON vs. Shutter Button
Back Button Focus
No VR/IS activation, No AE
Like Single Servo after release
Hold for Continuous Servo

42. Picture Review-OFF
Minimize CHIMPING

46. Exposure Compensation
‘Blinkies’ warning for blown out highlights
Reading Histogram

49. SHUTTER RELEASE
Single Shot
vs.
High ‘Continuous Advance’ (FPS)
CH (max) vs. CL (mid)

50. Black-and-white Warbler PA Birding Center

51. Peak of Action-Decisive Moments

52. Common Gallinules Brazos Bend State Park

53. Focus Setting Selections
Focus Area Selection
Single Point (Spot)vs. Dynamic Area Selection
(9-21-51)

55. Bobolink Columbia Bottoms, MO

56. Kestrel Addick’s Reservoir

57. Focus Setting Selections
Auto Focus
Single Servo (One Shot)
vs.
‘Continuous Servo’ (AI Servo)

58. Yellow-throated Warbler Quintana

59. Black-bellied whistling Ducks Brazos Bend State Park

60. American Oystercatcher Bryan Beach

61. Focus for BIFs
Pre-focus
Focus Range Setting
Track bird early
Focus on eye, head, or chest
‘Bump’ Focus

63. Focus for Portraits & BIFs
Move Focus Points
vs.
Focus and Recompose
White Ibis Brazos Bend SP

64. Barred Owl SFA SP

67. PRACTICE-after swallows, hawks easier
Cave Swallow Paul Rushing Park

68. juv. White-tailed Hawk Attwater NWR

69. Common Green Darner Quintana

70. Chimney Swift El Franco Lee Park

72. Get up early, Go Hungry!
Don’t eat because it’s mealtime.
Bird photographers get out early &
stay out for the gorgeous light.
(get a cooler, bring snacks)

73. Laughing Gulls Quintana

74. Snowy Plover Quintana

77. Red-shouldered Hawk Brazos Bend SP

79. Gray Days can be O.K.
Goldfinch & Chipping Sparrow

80. Hudsonian Godwit Quintana

81. Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Houston Arboretum

82. Flash can ‘light up’ feathers
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Kleb Woods

84. Orange-crowned Warbler Katy Prairie

85. Painted Bunting Quintana

86. Yellow-billed Cuckoo Kleb Woods

87. Paraque Estero Llano Grande SP

88. Barred Owl SFA SP

89. Editing
Everything stinks
till it's finished.
-Dr. Seuss

90. Least Bittern McFadden NWR

92. Black Skimmer Bolivar Flats

94. Quiet Yourself
Calmness promotes steadiness
Birds are vocal & listen
Quiet promotes Concentration
Birds get used to Camera clicks

95. Slow Down
Wild Dogs vs. Mountain Lions
The Rule of Sandwiches….
Good birds show up the minute you put
down your camera to eat your lunch.
Use the “Little Sit”, letting the birds
come by and come to you.
from “Good Birders Don’t Wear White”

96. Movements and Colors
Slowly
Indirectly
Low
Minimize Contrast
Clothes for Habitat & Birds
Use Natural Cover
Yellow-billed Cuckoo Kleb Woods

97. Use Car as a Blind
Wood Stork 290 @ Bauer Rd Pond

98. Dickcissel High Island

99. Kestrel Drying Beds, Arlington

100. American Oystercatcher Bryan Beach, Quintana

102. Black Skimmer Bolivar Flats

103. Reddish Egret Bolivar Flats

104. Osprey Aransas NWR

105. Attractions
•Feeders
•Jetties & Piers
•Boardwalks
•Ferry and Boats
•Smoke
•Rice Harvesting
•Native Plants, Trees
•Water, Drips
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
Estero Llano Grande SP

106. Altamira Oriole Bentsen Rio Grande SP

107. Cape May Warbler Quintana

108. Rose-throated Becard Bentsen Rio Grande SP

109. Great Kiskadee Bentsen Rio Grande SP

110. Cooper’s Hawk & Great Kiskadee Bentsen Rio Grande SP

111. Warren Ranch Lake KPC Platform

112. Fulvous Whistling Ducks Warren Ranch Lake

114. Bolivar Jetty

116. East winds at the Jetties, when the ships come in…
Magnificent Frigatebird Quintana Jetties

117. Charlie’s Pasture

118. Black-necked Stilt Sea Rim SP Boardwalk

119. Stilt Sandpiper Laffite’s Cove Boardwalk

120. Learn Birds and Behavior
Migration, Territoriality, Feeding,
Courting, Nesting, Fledglings
Nature Centers
classes & bird walks
Clubs-HAS, OG, TOS, Piney Woods
Nat’l Geo’s ‘Birding Essentials’
Pete Dunne’s ‘On Bird Watching’
Sibley’s ‘Bird Life & Behavior’

121. Identification
Snow Geese vs. Ross’s Geese Aransas NWR

122. They See Us First
Purple Gallinule BBSP

123. Kelp Gull Quintana

124. Breeding
Least Terns Bryan Beach

125. Kestrels El Franco Lee Park

126. Scissor-tailed Flycatchers Katy Prairie

127. Pileated Woodpeckers Bear Creek Park

128. Dickcissel Columbia Bottoms

129. Reddish Egret Bolivar Flats

130. Cattle Egret Smith Oaks

131. Red-shouldered Hawk San Jacinto Monument

132. Horned Larks Paul Rushing Park

133. Black Skimmers Bolivar Flats

134. Great Egret High Island Rookery

135. Great Egret High Island Rookery

136. Red-headed Woodpeckers Kleb Woods

137. Wilson’s Plover Pelican Island

138. Black-necked Stilt Paul Rushing Park

139. Fledglings create Opportunities
Great-crested Flycatchers Russ Pittman Park, Bellaire

140. Black-bellied Whistling Ducks BBSP

141. Tree Swallows Brazos Bend State Park

142. Tree Swallows Brazos Bend State Park

143. Tree Swallows Brazos Bend State Park

144. Pileated Woodpeckers Montgomery County

145. Pileated Woodpeckers Montgomery County

147. Feeding Styles
Black Skimmer & Avocets Bolivar Jetty at Flats

148. Canada Warbler Bear Creek Park

149. Finish the Meal First
Black-crowned Night-Heron Brazos Bend SP

150. Robin Tower Grove Park

151. Anhinga BBSP

152. Fork-tailed Flycatcher Galveston Island SP

153. Eastern Kingbird El Franco Lee Park

154. Vermilion Flycatcher Skillern Unit-Anahuac NWR

155. Cedar Waxwings Smith Oaks-High Island

156. Rose-breasted Grosbeak Lafitte’s Cove

157. Red-headed Woodpecker Bear Creek Park

158. Pileated Woodpecker Bear Creek Park

159. Wilson’s Phalaropes Pelican Island

160. Kestrel Addick’s Reservoir

161. Sandwich Tern Bolivar Flats

162. Brown Pelican Quintana Lagoon

163. Brown Creeper Kleb Woods

164. Red-breasted Nuthatch Yard

165. Brown-headed Nuthatch Kleb Woods

166. Great Egret Lafitte’s Cove

167. Reddish Egret Bolivar Flats

168. Ruddy Turnstone Bolivar Flats

169. Rock Wren Anzalduas Park-Mission

170. Northern Harrier Katy Prairie

171. Swainson’s Hawk Katy Prairie

172. Gull-billed Tern Brazoria NWR

173. Osprey Quintana Lagoon

174. Osprey Quintana Lagoon

175. Ruby-throated Hummingbird Kleb Woods

176. Mississippi Kite Washington on the Brazos SP

177. White-tailed Kite Galveston-Lafitte’s Cove

178. White-tailed Kite Mad Island Marsh Preserve

179. White-tailed Kite Mad Island Marsh Preserve

180. Red-shouldered Hawk Yard

181. Flocks
Avocets & White Pelicans Bolivar Jetty at Flats

182. Blue-winged, Green Winged Teal & N. Shovelers Paul Rushing Park

183. Royal Terns & Black Terns Bolivar Flats

184. Sandhill Cranes Formosa Tejano Wetlands

185. Laughing Gulls Corpus Christi City Dump

186. Your Yard
‘naive’ Yellow-crowned Night Heron Deerfield Village subdivision

187. Mockingbird Yard

188. Local Hot Spots:
ELM
Kleb Woods Nature Preserve
Brazos Bend State Park
The Katy Prairie
KPC Warren Ranch Lake, etc
Paul Rushing Park
Attwater PC NWR
Lake Houston SP
Jesse Jones Park
Quintana
Bolivar Peninsula
San Bernard NWR
High Island
Spring Creek Greenway Ntr Ctr
Anahuac NWR
Bear Creek Park
Bellaire Nature Discovery Center
W.G. Jones Forest

189. Repetitive Places
Brown-headed Nuthatch Moccasin Marsh, Kleb Woods

190. Grasshopper Sparrow Attwater PC NWR

191. Chase Rarities
N. Jacana Choke Canyon S.P.

193. N. Wheatear Amish Farm, Bee County

196. Little Gull Port Aransas Jetty

197. Yellow-faced Grassquit Goose island

198. Prairie Warbler Galveston-Corps Woods

199. Black-legged Kittiwake Galveston Ferry Landing

200. Sabine’s Gull Galveston Ferry Landing

201. The Next one is Best!
Always expect the next one to be the best one.
“The way to think about
photography is that the next frame
you shoot will be the definitive one.
Take another shot and always
believe that the one you haven’t
taken will be even better.”
John Shaw

202. Thank You!
frankfarese.com
fjfarese@gmail.com