My Camera Gear – Canon 40 D

John Briggs — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:30:33 +0000

Some of you have asked me, “what camera equipment do you have?” Others want to know what camera settings I use when photographing birds. Do I use a tripod, or do I freehand the shots? What kind of post-processing do you do?

While I can answer most of these questions, camera settings depend on lighting, your subject and other factors. My best advice would be to practice. Experiment with various settings on your camera and get a good book that goes into detail in digital photography.

Canon 40D with 100-400mm L IS lens | Click for larger view

My equipment is shown on the left. You may think that this looks like a strange apparatus for taking pictures of birds. Let me tell you, I would be lost with out this rig!

Here is the run down on the parts of this contraption:

Links are included to the respective manufacturers

Canon40D 10.1 megapixel camera
Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 L IS USM Lens
BushHawk Shoulder Mount

I use the BushHawk to help steady the camera/lens combo. Although the lens is image stabilized, the shoulder mount helps with making things even more steady while taking the picture. The red button on the front of the mount is the focus/shutter button. I shoot in the manual mode, making my own settings. I also have a camo cover for the lens which covers the white areas of the barrel.

I use this rig when out in the field birdwatching. If I will be in a blind, or at a location where the bird action is in a limited area (such as the Osprey at Damariscotta), I will use a tripod. I most always wear camouflage.

My work-flow for post-processing is done with Photoshop CS3. I shoot my photos in the RAW format. The RAW file format is digital photography’s equivalent of a negative in film photography: it contains untouched, “raw” pixel information straight from the digital camera’s sensor.

Work-flow:

Crop
Adjust Curves/Levels if needed
Noise Reduction
Sharpening
Save in low resolution for web use

I am by no mean a professional photographer. There is plenty of room for improvement in my techniques. Each time I go out and photograph the beautiful birds that God has placed before us, I try new and different ways to capture their beauty.

Here are links to a few books that I have used to get me started:

The Art of Bird Photography by Art Morris
Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson
The Birdwatcher’s Guide to Digital Photographyby David Tipling
Photographing Wild Birdsby Chris Gomersall

As you may have noticed, the blog roll widget no longer sits in the sidebar on the right side of this page. There were too many links, making the page long and cumbersome.

You will notice in the menu bar at the top of the page that I have a link to a page that now holds the blog roll. Simply click “Birding Links” to see all of the links to my birding friends out there in the blogosphere.

Happy birding!

Atkins Bay Bald Eagles

John Briggs — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 21:30:35 +0000

With another snow storm coming Sunday, Sharon and I decided to drive to Atkins Bay this morning for some bird watching. With temperatures a little warmer than the last few mornings (-11° F. at 6:45 a.m. here at home) we arrived at Fort Popham at 7:15 a.m. and immediately spotted two adult Bald Eagles working over a fish carcass.

I parked the car in the shade with the sun behind us and got out of the car preparing to get some photos of the pair. I got into position and pulled the camera up to begin shooting, but I could not gain focus. I fiddled with the focus/shutter button on my BushHawk figuring the cold weather was causing it to fail. In the mean time, one of the Eagles departed after being harassed by several crows. (I later checked the soundings for Popham Beach for the time we were there and the temp was -2° F.)

Beginning to lose my patience, I finally got the camera to focus and photographed the remaining Eagle. It too was harassed by crows and took off and landed several times before finally giving up and flying off toward the Sequin Island lighthouse.

While at Fort Popham, we saw a flock of 200+ Cedar Waxwings with 25 Bohemian Waxwings and 11 American Robins mixed in. Just off the pier, 16 Long-tailed Ducks and 6 Buffleheads were feeding. A lone Harbor Seal was making it’s way toward the mouth of the Kennebec.

Click thumbnails for larger view

When we returned home, I watched the feeders after filling them. A Black-capped Chickadee seemed to have a black-oil sunflower seed stuck on top of its beak. (See photo below) Four Red-breasted Nuthatches are now frequenting the feeders, along with 12 plus American Tree Sparrows. And for the first time since moving here nearly one year ago, we had four European Starlings visit the feeders. A rap on the window sent them across to the other side of the bay.

Click thumbnails for larger view

Happy birding!

Birding in Maine» camera

My Camera Gear – Canon 40 D

Atkins Bay Bald Eagles