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.

NOTE: Click on images to enlarge.

Many small birds like cardinals and sparrows will hide in amongst twigs and branches , especially during the winter, early spring and late fall. They often use twigs and branches as protection against raptors that are on the hunt. This behaviour can make it more difficult to capture images of these small birds taking flight or hopping.

Each of us has our own style when it comes to our bird photography. Some folks prefer unobstructed views of birds in their photographs.  Even though the cardinal in the image above is partially obscured by twigs and branches I quite like it. This photograph is number nine in a Pro Capture H run of 15 consecutive handheld images. The opening photograph in this article in number one in the same Pro Capture H run.

When small birds are positioned inside trees and shrubs it can be a challenge to acquire auto-focus on them. I always use a single, small auto-focus point as it gives me the best opportunity of threading the needle past twigs and branches. When capturing these types of images I never use continuous auto-focus.

I use single auto-focus with the first frame locking focus and exposure for the balance of the run. Many mirrorless cameras have quite fast frame rates, especially when single auto-focus is used, rather than continuous auto-focus.

When practicing ‘threading the needle’ I will often choose what appears to be an improbable image to capture, with a subject bird buried behind numerous twigs and branches.

I’ll try to find whatever small portion of the bird on which to acquire focus. If this simply isn’t possible I will try to locate a twig or branch at the same focusing distance from my camera as is the subject bird.

I always use Pro Capture H, utilizing my standard settings, i.e. Pre-Shutter Frames and Frame Limiter both set to 15, and using a frame rate of 60 frames-per-second. I love the challenge of attempting to photograph a bird taking flight when it is buried inside a bush or tree.

It is quite common for small birds to nervously jump and hop between branches and twigs. These movements represent excellent opportunities to practice eye/hand coordination. Sometimes a subject bird will make an unexpected movement. For example, I was expecting the bird in the above photograph to thrust itself forward and launch into flight.

Surprisingly it hopped almost straight up onto another branch. As photographers we often underestimate how potentially interesting these hopping motions can be.

The photograph above is a good example of an interesting ‘hop shot’ with the cardinal’s wings extended and both of its feet released from their perch.

When threading the needle it is important to anticipate the direction and angle of the subject bird’s next movement. This enables a photographer to leave room in their composition for the bird to move through the frame. Good eye/hand coordination and appropriate shutter release timing are needed for a successful image run capture.

Let’s have a look at eight images from the same fifteen image Pro Capture H run. As the run begins you’ll notice that the cardinal is in a very difficult and cluttered location. As the run unfolds the bird moves into a more open area, resulting in some decent BIF captures towards the end of the run.

Threading the needle provides a number of benefits. These include improving eye/hand coordination and shutter release timing. Learning to better anticipate a subject bird’s direction and angle of movement. And, creating images with a subject bird immersed in its environment.

Threading the needle builds our handheld skills and enables us to more easily capture images of small birds in flight when they launch from unobstructed perches.

Technical Note

Photographs were captured handheld using camera gear as noted in the EXIF data. Images were produced from RAW files using my standard process. My standard Pro Capture H settings were used for all of the images in this article. Pre-Shutter Frames and Frame Limiter were both set to 15. A single auto-focus point was used, along with 60 frames-per-second. For those readers who are interested in calculating equivalent field-of-view, multiply focal lengths for Olympus M4/3 cameras by a factor of 2. This is the 1,261 article published on this website since its original inception in 2015.

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