Is there anyone who doesn'™t take pictures of birds? Whether you go into the wilderness looking for osprey and eagles, or slog through the swamps looking for spoonbills and herons, or simply enjoy shooting the blue jays in your bird feeder, you probably have some bird photos and some helpful hints you can share, and for most of us, there are new things we can learn to improve our bird images. We also have a specialty forum about birds on UHH http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/s-112-1.html with great information.

For this thread, we'™ve invited two of our resident bird specialists, RedArrow and martinfisherphoto, to assist us with image feedback and hints about bird photography. Also helping will be Linda from Maine and Cwilson341, who have plenty of birds in their own portfolios. We'™re inviting you to post your bird images, whether you'™re looking for feedback or illustrating a point about your own shooting. Feel free to ask questions and our experts will try to help out.





Blue Heron hunting, just caught the sun on the bird, after the shot some poor frog bought it!!



Blue Heron hunting, just caught the sunlight on the bird. After the shot, some poor frog bought it.
I am no bird specialist but I'™m having to learn more about bird photography because of my dam bird project. My hints are more basic than those of our experienced bird photographers, but I'™ll share a few of them anyway. Watch for more tips from our bird specialists as we go!

1. Take the time to learn what your camera has to offer that may help out here: continuous AF, Image Stabilization options, tracking, back button focus, bracket and burst shooting choices, etc, Birds want us to know all that stuff
2. Auto ISO can be your friend but you usually need to control it by setting its upward parameter based on what you know about your camera, or you can end up with very noisy shots with poor detail.
3. Hide. Birds don'™t usually like people. So whether you're hiding in your living room with the camera on the patio controlled by remote, or whether you'™re in a duck blind, think about how the birds are going to see and hear you. Your vehicle often makes an excellent bird blind. Turn of the engine to reduce vibration and noise. Another option is to seek out places where birds are accustomed to photographers or fishermen.
4. Don'™t scrimp on your shutter speed. The biggest mistake I see people making in blurry bird photos is trying to use too low a shutter speed. Even if you have steady hands or a solid tripod, birds MOVE. They move a lot. And movement means blur.

Here's some of my birds to get us started. None of them were easy shots for me, though they might be to more practiced bird specialists. The night heron was shot from a canoe shared with a couple of restless catahoula hounds, the puffin was shot on seas so rough my only choice was to shoot off the touchscreen and pray, and the dam birds (which are never traditional bird photos) are always shot from the canted and rocky dam outflow area. Birds do challenge us! They often live in places hard for us to access, they seldom come close enough to suit us, and they are less cooperative about posing than the average toddler.

Join in, post your birds, ask your questions, and let's learn together!