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!

©2010 Birding in Maine. All Rights Reserved.

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2. School’s out, birding is back
3. BPW: The Blueberry Bandit

Hoping all week long that at least one of the weekend days would be bright and sunny, Saturday was just that. I finally had the chance to try out my new camera, a Canon 40D, that was purchased earlier in the week.

Sharon and I traveled down to Biddeford Pool area early Saturday morning for some bird watching and bird photography. We encountered Piping Plovers at Goose Rocks Beach, a Glossy Ibis at Granite Point and an early Common Tern at Fortunes Rock Beach.

While walking through Eastern Point Sanctuary, we flushed a Merlin in the woods near the gate. A Brown Thrasher was singing from the brush on the Wood Island side of the point, near an artist painting a landscape scene.

Through this week, the area around our home continues to be a hot spot for Osprey and Bald Eagles. Nearly every evening, these Raptors are everywhere. Some carrying fish, while others are looking for food. Just this morning, as the tide was coming in, Sharon and I watched an Osprey bathing just offshore.

A few new yard birds this week, including a Northern Mockingbird, Savannah Sparrow, Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, Northern Harrier, House Finch and a Yellow-Rumped Warbler. I will update the list on my 2008 Bath, Maine Yard Bird List shortly.

The following is a tally of birds seen during our birding trip to Biddeford Pool on Saturday.

Location:     Granite Point (traveling count)
Observers: John and Sharon Briggs
Observation date:     4/26/08
Notes:     Frosty and clear, temps mid 30′s, light NW winds.
Number of species:     38

Canada Goose     5
American Black Duck     7
Mallard     4
Northern Pintail     4
Green-winged Teal     2
Common Eider     16
Common Merganser     2
Common Loon     1
Double-crested Cormorant     50
Great Blue Heron     5
Great Egret     6
Snowy Egret     9
Glossy Ibis     1
Turkey Vulture     4
Red-tailed Hawk     1
American Kestrel     1
Merlin     1
Common Tern     1
Mourning Dove     3
Blue Jay     4
American Crow     16
Tree Swallow     20
Barn Swallow     1
Black-capped Chickadee     7
Ruby-crowned Kinglet     2
American Robin     13
Northern Mockingbird     9
Brown Thrasher     2
European Starling     11
American Tree Sparrow     2
Savannah Sparrow     1
Song Sparrow     5
White-throated Sparrow     1
Northern Cardinal     2
Red-winged Blackbird     4
Common Grackle     6
American Goldfinch     12
House Sparrow     9

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2

The following pictures were taken with a Canon 40D camera with an attached Canon 100-400mm L IS lense. Simply click a thumbnail image for a larger view. Comments and criticisms are greatly appreciated!

Happy birding!

©2010 Birding in Maine. All Rights Reserved.

Related posts:

1. Goose Rocks Beach Shorebirds
2. Birding Fox Island