This article discusses various considerations when creating high contrast swan images and some approaches that can be used in post. When we’re out with our cameras it can be beneficial to look beyond what we are physically seeing with our eyes, and imagining a photograph in our brains.
Category Archives: Bird Photography
American Goldfinches
This article shares a selection of handheld photographs of American Goldfinches that were captured in my backyard earlier this summer. Although American Goldfinches visit periodically, we don’t typically see them with any regularity until August. By the fall most of the birds have migrated out of the area.
Surface Diving Gull
This article features a number of images of a surface diving gull captured handheld using Bird Detection AI and Pro Capture L with an E-M1X.
Golden Crowned Kinglet
Earlier this week, during a visit to the Royal Botanical Gardens, I was very fortunate to be able to capture a selection of photographs of a Golden Crowned Kinglet. These small, insect eating birds are difficult to photograph as they are constantly on the move as they dart from branch to branch looking for food.
Cooperative Green Heron
This article shares an assortment of handheld photographs of a cooperative green heron, captured during a recent visit to Hendrie Valley.
Online Birding Reference
Our thanks to one of our readers, Ray Miller, for sharing an online birding reference… ebird.org… which was helpful for me to discover some additional local birding locations. It is always helpful to communicate with other people who enjoy bird and nature photography to learn about local bird populations, seasonality etc.
DIY Bird Photo Perch
This short article shares some basic instructions on how to construct a DIY (do-it-yourself) bird photo perch. There are as many options and variations for a DIY bird photo perch as there are photographers.
Getting Better with Age
I’m still wrapping my head around my Olympus cameras getting better with age as additional capabilities are provided through firmware updates. My previous experience with other cameras was that firmware updates were mainly used to fix software bugs, not give me new capabilities at no additional cost.
When I purchased my first E-M1X I was amazed with the camera’s innovative functionality, build quality, handling and ergonomics. Having read about how Olympus would add features through software, I was anticipating that birds would be added to the E-M1X’s Intelligent Subject Tracking.
ISO Versus Shutter Speed
As photographers we often have to make trade-off decisions such as choosing ISO versus shutter speed when we’re out with our cameras. There are few hard and fast rules when it comes to these decisions, as personal skills and preferences often come into play.
Swallow Bird AI Test
This article features photographs captured as part of my swallow Bird AI test, and discusses my field testing. All images were captured handheld with and OM-D E-M1X fitted with an M.Zuiko 100-400 mm f/5-6.3 IS zoom lens, and using Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking.