This article features a selection of handheld photographs that document tree swallows diving at the large pond at Biggar Lagoon Wetlands in Grimsby Ontario. Folks who have attempted to photograph tree swallows in flight can attest to the fact that these diminutive birds are fast and erratic flyers. I often refer to them as ‘pocket rockets’.
Category Archives: Birds in Flight
Right Place Right Time
As nature and bird photographers we sometimes overlook the importance of being in the right place at the right time. Often our attention is overly focused on camera gear. We can spend hours debating the relative merits of camera format, brand, model and lenses used. If we care about our craft we’ll invest time in skills development like our eye/hand coordination. All of that goes for naught if we aren’t at the right place at the right time to capture our images.
Appreciating Nature
For many people appreciating nature is a passion in their lives, and a cornerstone of their love of photography. Our readership family recently lost a long time member, Milton Joel Bateman. This article shares a selection of images from nature… and is dedicated to Joel and his love of nature photography.
Juvenile Bald Eagle
This article features some images of a juvenile Bald Eagle captured handheld during a recent visit to the Big Creek National Wildlife Area. Last week a friend and I were exploring some birding areas on the north east shore of Lake Erie, when we unexpectedly came upon a juvenile bald eagle.
First Swallows of 2023
This article features a selection of images of the first swallows of 2023 to arrive in our area of Southern Ontario. During the past few years I’ve spent a reasonable amount of time photographing these pocket rockets with some success… so I was looking forward to their arrival this spring.
Ducks with 40-150
This article features a selection of handheld images of ducks captured with the M.Zuiko PRO 40-150 mm f/2.8 zoom and MC-20 teleconverter. As noted in a previous article, I was not initially planning to do any bird photography on this particular day, and left my M.Zuiko 100-400 mm f/5-6.3 IS at home.
Pigeon In Close
This short article features a small selection of handheld images of a pigeon flying in close, captured with an M.Zuiko PRO 40-150mm f/2.8 zoom and MC-20 teleconverter.
I wasn’t planning to do any bird photography on the day that these photographs were created. As a result I had left my M.Zuiko 100-400mm f/5-6.3 IS at home. It was a good thing that I did.
Threading the Needle
Using threading the needle techniques can be helpful when trying to photograph small birds hopping or taking flight in amongst branches. This articles shares some recent photographs of cardinals captured proximate to the boardwalk at Hendrie Valley.
Chickadees with 75-300
This past weekend I went out to photograph some chickadees with the M.Zuiko 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7 II zoom lens. The majority of my images were created using Pro Capture H with the Pre-Shutter Frames and Frame Limiter both set to 15. I shot with a frame rate of 60 frames-per-second, using a single auto-focusing point.
Improving Bird Photography
Improving bird photography seems to be on the minds of more and more people that I meet when I’m out with my camera gear. Many folks seem to be focused on the potential benefits of buying new camera gear in terms of advancements in computational photography technologies, and enhancements to auto-focusing systems. While these factors can be important, improving bird photography can also be achieved without spending money on new camera gear.