Photographs taken during the Winter Break

During the break from the end of December 2011 to early January 2012 I planned to take many photographs of birds and animals in my garden. I intended several shoots:

·         Patio feeder, both close up and wider angle to catch bird movement and interaction

·         Log specially drilled to enable suet, fat and nuts to be placed in the holes – to give close ups and more natural shots of birds such as Greater Spotted Woodpecker

·         Birds feeding on the ground below the feeders

·         Pheasants and larger birds feeding on the compost heap

·         Squirrels feeding on the lawn, beneath trees, or on feeders

Over Christmas I was away so could do no garden shoots, and indeed the weather was so inclement in Cumbria I did not venture outdoors!

Upon my return home I had 6 days before I returned to work. Surely lots of time to take some interesting photos! Well, ‘best laid plans...’ my friends... For much of the time the weather was dull and damp, with insufficient light to enable my photographing birds in action. I needed good light so that I could have a reasonably low ISO – preferably 100 – 200, but 400 at a pinch. I planned to use a wide aperture to allow maximum light in to the lens, which hopefully would allow a fast shutter speed to give clearly focused images.

I did manage to take photographs on 3 days:

December 30^th.

I hoped to take photographs using the camera set on the tripod with the wireless remote to trigger the shutter. The camera was set up in my bedroom, overlooking the patio feeder. Whilst setting up, with reasonable light, the feeder attracted robins, a variety of tits and finches, nuthatches and pigeons. Once set up the birds all became incredibly shy and the only result is shown below.

Photo of 2 house sparrows taken at 11.30am

f/5.0; ISO 400;1/60^th second; focal length 202 mm

I find this a most pleasing image. The colours complement each other without being dull. The 2 birds are in focus, and each one sits approximately on a 'Rule of Thirds' intersection. The fact that both birds have been caught with their heads 'up' adds an interesting dynamic to the picture as they appear to be 'looking at' each other, enhanced by the fact that the visible eye of the upper bird is in clear focus. The circular nature of the feeder helps to keep the eye focussed onto the photo; the background is mainly pleasantly out of focus and is no distraction. The upright post which is nearly in focus also is no distraction - the colours do not distract, the lack of focus does not irritate the eye, and the vertical line helps to pull the eye from the top bird down to the paler seeds within the feeder, and thence round to the lower bird. Sparrows as a subjct matter might sound 'dull', but in fact when viewed closely these are most attractive and subtly colured birds. Finally the perspective is unusual in that I am looking down on the birds - very uncommon. The other advantage of this perspective is that the shape of the feeder becomes softer than when viewed sideways on (when it is a rectangular shape).

The time of day is important. The amount of light available during midwinter is obviously limited. Midday light is often optimal to maximise the amount of light. In addition it is a 'gentle' light (compared to that of midday in midsummer) with no harsh shadows.

December 31^st.

This was quite a dull day - low cloud and overcast. Since the photos taken of the patio feeder from my bedroom had resulted in only one success, and a possible 'spooking' of the birds, I decided to take images with the camera outside, again with the wireless remote shutter. The tripod was situated approximately 14 feet from the feeder, facing East.  I chose this because the background was a beautifully out of focus green of distant shrubs. The alternative was to have the house in the background - red bricks and white windows; a definite distraction.


The images were taken about 2.00 pm -ish
f/5.6; ISO 400; 1/60^th second; focal length 300 mm

 

 

The photographs below were taken at the same time, and are of the birds in motion. A shutter sped of 1/60th second is too slow to capture and freeze this motion. This would be an interesting shot of this feeder, but unless the light is very bright I would need to use a high ISO of possibly 1600. This would lead to a very grainy picture which I would prefer to avoid.

 

January 2nd

January 2nd was the only sunny day of the whole winter break, and I decided to take photographs of the patio feeder. Once more the remote shutter release was used.

Initially I placed the tripod much closer ( approximately 5 feet away), facing South.

f/5.6; ISO 400; 1/125^th second; focal length 300 mm

Since I felt these images were being overexposed by the highlights from the sun I moved the tripod back to its position of December 31st, angling the tripod so that no direct sun was entering the camera. 

Taken around noon:

f/5.6; ISO 400; 1/160^th second; focal length 300 mm

 

Certainly the highlights are less noticeable, but are still present.  This might become a positive feature to highlight the bright colours of the birds. 

Finally I moved the tripod into a more sheltered area, to take photographs of the log feeder.

The tripod was on the front lawn, with the camera facing South about 6 feet from the feeder. The log feeder was attached to a tree between the 2 lawns ( see later blog).

Taken around 12.30

f/5.0; ISO 400;1/80^th second; focal length 169 mm

 

 

 

This has produced some varied and fascinating images. Pictures of the great tits and nuthatches look very natural; those of 2 birds feeding would be fascinating if bothe birds were within shot; and at last images of the woodpecker - but not completely in shot! How frustrating.

I shall need to narrow the feeding area so that the birds only appear within the target area, and possibly that area needs widening. The method obviously works, and with time, patience and opportunity I feel confident that I can take those desired images of woodpeckers.