Here’s this week’s Bird Watch SXM column from the Weekender section of The Daily Herald. Check it out to learn how increasing your bird knowledge can improve your chances at getting great bird photos. I will be doing some bird education training this week, so we may not have updates on the blog during the week. In the meantime, check out the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds site for way more than a week’s worth of great bird info.

Nestled between Le Galion and Orient Bay, this extensive wetland area features a large salt pond and many smaller ponds. There is no observation platform, but the mudflat areas can be accessed by foot. Just be very careful in the late winter and spring to avoid stepping on very camouflaged bird nests/eggs.

This area is relatively undisturbed and is perhaps the easiest place to see the tricolored heron and little blue heron, which are often hard to see on St. Martin. Ospreys often fish over the large pond in the winter as well.

If there’s a downside, its that this is a large area to cover on foot, especially in the sun. On the plus side, there are many little spots to explore!

Here are some shots from this location:

This really is the most scenic pond on the island, and now there’s an observation platform that makes it that much easier to enjoy. If you have a friend visiting the island and you don’t take them here, you aren’t doing your job and you’re not a good friend.

Basically, this is a gorgeous spot and the best spot to take photos of birds surrounded by beautiful scenery, including mangroves, huge boulders and cactus-filled scrubland. The observation platform is constructed as a bird blind, so it is great for seeing birds without disturbing them. If the birds to fly off to the other side of the pond when you arrive, hang tight for a few minutes and they should come back. Green herons are usually up to various shenanigans on either side of the platform.

Here are some shots from this location:

This is probably the best spot on the island for close-up shots of waterfowl. There is a 225 meter wooden boardwalk through the mangrove and a large section has a wall that acts as a bird blind. Regular foot traffic from birders and many other people also makes birds a bit less shy at this pond.

There are normally plenty of egrets and a variety of shorebirds, particularly during the migratory season. The water level varies and the area is often most active when low tide leaves more exposed mudflat.

When visiting this site, it is also worthwhile to visit the beach to see more birds. In the morning, wade in the shallow water of the bay to take shots of birds on the beach with the rising sun behind you.

This pond is right beside the Pinel ferry dock in French Cul-de-sac. You should really never go to Pinel without stopping by this trail before or after to see who’s there.

Here are some shots from this location:

The Great Salt Pond is another huge pond on the island that has a rich historical heritage as a center of the salt industry. There are a number of areas to access this pond for birding, including the sand fill areas that ring much of the pond. Some of my favorite areas are in the southeastern part of the pond where the remains of salt pans provide a resting place for many birds and a nesting area for some, like the black necked stilt.

A wide variety of waterfowl can be seen at the Great Salt Pond, although there aren’t large mudflat areas that are favored by many shorebirds. The pond does tend to have many egrets, herons and ducks. Seabirds, including gulls, pelicans and frigates also forage on this pond. Like the pond in Grand Case, no matter what time of day, there is always some accessible part of the Great Salt Pond with good lighting. The many drainage ditches surrounding the pond can also be great spots to find and photograph birds.

On Saturday, October 11th from 9am-Noon, the Great Salt Pond will be the location for the 2014 Migratory Bird Festival, which will be held at the University of St. Martin. This event is free and open to all. There is more information on this website and on Facebook.

Here are some shots from this location:

The airport pond in Grand Case has a lot going for it. Although large areas have been filled in, it is still a big pond with large mudflat areas and it attracts a lot of birds. One reason I love it so much is that it’s close to home for me. I can pop by rain or shine, at any time of day. I often head down with my camera just to take some photos to take a break from what I’m doing or think about something I’m going to write. At your local pond, it is also easy to get familiar with the birds and what they are up to at different times of day.

To me, the pond is too urban to be very scenic, so I tend to stick to bird portraits. A wide variety of species utilize the pond, some in great numbers. Although there are no birding trails or observation platforms, there are a number of spots where you can see views of the pond: the canal where the pond meets the sea, at the entrance to the airport parking lot, a break in the mangroves on the main road across from the school central kitchen and just before the turn-in to Grand Case near Hungry’s Towing. These basically give you windows into the pond that will be good for photography at any time of day. Of course, there are other spots to get a view of the pond if you are willing to scramble through the mangroves!

Here are some shots from this location:

This week in the Bird Watch SXM column we look at some of the top spots for photographing birds on the island. On the blog we’ll be looking at these featured spots in more detail, as well as some other top spots around the island that you won’t want to miss!

Single-species flocks can be great, but mixed-species groups can be wonderful, too. Perhaps I am late to this realization because I have often been focused on documenting each species individually. Anyhow, I don’t really have advice other than to embrace odd couples and motley crews. The odd man out may be the true star of your photo. And, of course, non-bird cameos can be fantastic, too.

Dynamic duos are some of my favorite bird photos. It’s the smallest group of birds possible, which makes composition more manageable. The pair can be together, evoking a couple (and sometimes they probably are a pair, or a parent and child). They can also be separated to fill out the frame. As a photographer, you get many of the benefits of multiple birds without the hassle of having too many.

While duos can be dynamic, three is often the magic number. With three you can make a “V” or a triangle (which are actually the same thing). Odd numbers, especially prime numbers, can often feel more random to us because, I don’t know, math or psychology or something. At any rate, trios, or trilogies, as the French like to call them, are a great for creating both movement and balance in a composition.

And, of course, having two or three of the same species can be very nice because it allows you to focus on the positioning without being distracted by differences in the building blocks. But, mixing up your birds gets you a very different, but also very nice result.

Rules are made to be broken. At least, sometimes they are. Here are a few photos that break rules. Do they still work? Maybe, maybe not.

Stolen thunder. The gull in the foreground was in focus and meant to be the subject, but the one in back had other thoughts. The photo is okay as-is, but would be better if there were time to refocus on the rear bird and still capture that laugh.

All bridesmaids. None of these egrets really grabs the spotlight. That’s not as noticeable because the setting on the old salt pan gives the composition some structure.

Ducks in a row. Of course, there are no ducks in this photo, but all the birds are in a row. Normally this makes for a flat and boring photo. Perhaps it does in this photo, too, but having several different species and the way the individual birds are looking left or right makes it at least a little more engaging.

Good crop, bad crop. This photo had some potential, but it was there was too much going on around the edges. The first version is my original crop from a couple years ago. It was a bit of a mess, with a bird cut though the head in the upper left and a blurry bird in the foreground pulling attention from the would-be subject by walking the the opposite direction. While writing about it, I started to see a new crop, which is the second photo. The subject is restored to a position of prominence and the birds at the top get cut off in a way that is a bit less distracting. Not a masterpiece, but a solid improvement, I think.

In a great group photo one bird will stand out as the center of attention. This is probably because the photographer picked that bird and built the shot around it. Choosing a single subject as a focal point works for groups from a few birds to dozens of birds. Once you get to hundreds of birds, you probably really have to luck out to find one that is distinctive enough to focus on, but most of the time picking a subject works.

Being the center of attention doesn’t necessarily mean being in the center of the photo. In a photo where the scene has depth, the subject bird will generally be in the foreground because it is more natural to have blurry birds in the background rather than in the front. The subject bird is often looking at the camera or doing something interesting because you focused on it and waited to capture that moment. The subject bird may be separate from the other birds in the photo.

Below are four photos that, I think, have one bird that is clearly the subject. It might not be equally obvious in each of the photos, but I think most people would agree about which bird it is. What do you think?

Did the title “Enhance!” make you think about those police/spy TV shows where they can zoom in on a blurry photo of a parking lot and read a license plate? Good, because that’s basically what I’m thinking about. A big group of birds gives you lots of composition options, and it’s usually worthwhile to try out a few of them.

Below are four photos of the same group of birds, although not all from the same angle. The differences in the end results are huge. It is a bit ironic that the photo showing the most birds is less overwhelming because it also shows large areas that have no birds. The last photo is the one where it is easiest to look at the individual birds, and it still gives the impression of a busy flock. Unfortunately it doesn’t have a strong focal point. The second to last photo actually does have a bird that stands out from the crowd, but there are so many birds you probably have to look for a moment to find it.

Perhaps you have an amazing ability to look at a scene and conceptualize what parts of it will make the best photographic composition. I don’t have that, so I usually do two other things. In the field, I will scan the scene through my viewfinder, zooming in and even walking around to find appealing shots, taking extras just in case. At home on the computer, I spend time with what I shot, looking for images that work, and cropping or adjusting to fine tune those selections.

Whenever I am photographing birds, I take lots of photos. Even if it’s a bird sitting totally still, I may take five of the exact same shot because I’m usually near the limit of my equipment and often one of those five is going to be sharper and clearer than the others. Then I might change a setting or two and take five more of the exact same shot. If a bird is moving, I might take twenty shots to capture the moment a muddy foot comes out of the water or a beak opens to let out a cry.

I guess spray and pray is not an entirely fair way to describe this. It is a fairly deliberate process. I generally don’t take loads of photos of something I know won’t turn out well. On the other hand, I am hoping that one photo from the bunch turns out well and I usually don’t know which one it will be.

When photographing groups of birds, I take EVEN MORE photos. The chance of something being off is higher, and it is often impossible to be aware of what each bird is doing at each moment. Once you’ve composed your scene, taking loads of photos increases the chances that everything will come together in one shot.

Of course, there’s a method to this madness. As we know from the Bird Watch article, you should always have one bird that is the subject of the shot. There’s no point in shooting a lot when your primary bird isn’t cooperating, but there is good reason to take extras at that moment to get the best from your supporting actors.

I don’t have any examples of a full set because I delete perhaps 90% of the photos I take. But, for reference, here are three that I saved out of a group of 20 or 30. These were my favorites because in each shot, the birds worked together in different ways. The rest of the photos were all less interesting compositions, blurry or had other problems so they got tossed out. Surprisingly, these three images were all taken within 11 seconds, which should give you an idea of how many different compositions can happen almost instantaneously when you are photographing groups of birds.

Whatever you do, you will probably want to take more photos than usual and review them after the fact to see which ones really work the best. It is impossible to be fully aware of what several or many birds are doing all at the same time, but you can take your time to compare photos after the fact if you are taking plenty of them.

Another week, another Bird Shots column for The Weekender. This week, we take a look at group photos and how to make them work. They can be the hardest bird photos to take, but are often the most wonderful as well. Stay tuned right here for additional tips and examples throughout the week.

If you’re lucky, when you’re photographing birds you are enjoying nature and break from the trials and tribulations of the human world. If you’re on St. Martin, when you’re photographing birds, you are probably trying to find an angle where there’s no garbage in the frame. Sometimes, though, it is important to capture the mess we’ve made, since that is the island we are living on.

Just as a photo of habitat is enhanced by the presence of a bird, our own woeful neglect of nature and downright hostility to the environment is brought into sharper focus when accompanied by wildlife. It is inspiring to see life surviving in the wake of our destruction and the shame we feel is amplified.

At the same time, there are also moments when the worlds of man and nature cross paths under more congenial circumstances. The remnants of the salt pans, mostly forgotten by man and now occupied only by birds, are a favorite. It’s also a reminder that in our rush towards the future, we tend to sacrifice not only the natural world, but also the legacy of our own past.

Often, capturing habitat means showcasing specific plants and animals that are key parts of a bird’s habitat and ecosystem. Mangroves are a great example. When it comes to tropical wetlands, mangrove trees are the critical organisms providing food and shelter, giving life and form to an ecosystem.

Although they move around, a cow is part of a Cattle Egret’s habitat. They are basically giant machines that help the egrets find food. From time to time, they can be a spot to roost as well.

This is something that I rarely do in bird photography because it usually is impossible to get close enough to a bird. With a nest, however, it is something that can work. Using a very wide angle lens, you can capture a nearby subject, like this nest, while also showcasing the whole scene around the subject. It can be a really striking effect and a fantastic way to feature something within a larger context.

Suppose you want to include habitat as a second subject in a bird photo, but also want to keep your photo simple: what’s the minimum you need to capture? There isn’t a specific answer to that question, but it is something to keep in mind. Composing a photo is often a battle between simplicity and complexity. Too many details can be overwhelming, but oversimplifying can skip details that tell a story.

I think this photo brings in habitat as a second subject with a minimum of ornamentation. It tells us about the Gray Kingbird’s habit of perching in open spaces where it can spot flying insects to eat, and it tells us how comfortable this species is in urban areas. The crossed lines are a key part of the visual composition, drawing attention to them in a way that a single line doesn’t. I have many photos of birds on a line, and they really don’t seem to be about the line in the same way.

In addition to habitat in general being a second subject, specific phenomena can be a second subject, too. Below are a couple examples of photos that are about birds and also about the influx of sargassum that has hit the Caribbean several times in the last few years. This has been a significant occurrence, impacting both man and nature. Sargassum is important to shorebirds at the moment, and shorebirds help tell the story of sargassum and its impact.

There are plenty of other opportunities to combine birds with events or phenomena to create engaging images. Trees without leaves or dry pond beds can tell us about seasonal changes and unusual droughts. I wish I had spent more time photographing cattle egrets as they fed on grasshoppers trying to escape from this brush fire. The presence of a bird is really more evocative than photos of the flames themselves.

Sure, it’s obvious, but the easiest way to turn a bird’s habitat into the second subject of a photo is to zoom out and let the habitat fill the photo. The ratio of bird to habitat can send a strong signal about your intention for the photo. Below are two pairs of photos showcasing the same scene in a different way. When zoomed in to focus on the birds, you actually don’t see the pond (egret photo) or the mangroves (group of birds photo). When zoomed out, the individual birds can become very small. Sometimes one will be clearly stronger than the other. Sometimes both photos work, but for different reasons.

It’s also worth mentioning that it is really easy to get caught up in getting that perfect close-up shot of a bird. Often, that shot is the most powerful one you can get. But sometimes it’s worth it to zoom out and capture a broader perspective. Luckily, there’s no rule against doing both!

This week we look at habitat as a second subject in bird photos. Here’s the article from The Daily Herald’s Weekender, and we will also be posting additional thoughts and examples here on the blog throughout the week.

By human element, I am unfortunately not referring to actual people. I am talking trash. On St. Martin, it is a huge problem. There are obviously huge downsides to having litter all over the island that go beyond the inconvenience of having trash in the background of one’s bird photos. That said, having trash in the background of my bird photos drives me crazy. I’m already trying to get the right angle for the light and the background, must I also worry constantly about trash in my photos? Yes.

This Yellow-crowned Night Heron was doing something really cool looking in front of a background that really wasn’t great anyways. Still, the trash in the background is really vexing, particularly the plastic bottle at the bird’s neck. Once you notice it, it can’t be unseen.

It was amazing to see a Great Egret spear a tilapia and prepare to eat it. Apparently not a big fan of being photographed while eating, the egret walked in front of a PVC pipe, ensuring that all the photos would be ruined.

I took a bunch of photos of some Common Gallinule chicks and their mom. Most of the time, I struggled to keep garbage out of the frame, or confined to a corner where it could be cropped out. Sometimes, though, I think it is important to leave the styrofoam chunks and plastic bottles in the photo. After all, they were there.

In terms of practical advice, always keep an eye out for trash. It can be surprisingly easy to overlook in the moment when you are focused on a bird. If you can’t get trash out of the frame entirely, at least try to get it away from the bird, by moving your position or waiting for the bird to move on a bit. That way, if you do end up editing it out in Photoshop, your are working your editing magic in an area of the photo that isn’t the main focus of the image.

Backgrounds don’t have to be plain to be pleasing, but sometimes they’re just too busy to work. For example, the two photos below are similar in many ways. They both have a bird and quite a bit of vegetation, and the vegetation has a lot of detail. Aesthetically, though, the Glossy Ibis is lost while the young Snowy Egret is clearly the focus of the image.

In the case of these photos, I think there are two main differences. First, the vegetation in the ibis photo is closer in color and darkness to the bird itself. Second, the vegetation behind the ibis is closer, so it is more in focus. The egret clearly stands out from the vegetation, and the grass behind the egret’s head is more distant and blurry, allowing the detail of the egrets head to stand out.

Here are two images of a Spotted Sandpiper with a crab in its bill. I don’t think this one really needs a lot of comment. Its a fidgety, fast-moving bird, and even with the leaf, the image is less than ideal. Without the leaf, though, you really can’t tell what’s going on at all. It could be a break in the clouds or a spot of shadow, but when a background isn’t cooperating, keep an eye out for your yellow leaf. Alternately, if you’re doing your best just to track a moving subject, you can take a lot of photos and then sort through them afterwards for the background that works the best.

In addition to finding plain backgrounds to direct focus towards your subject, you can also use backgrounds that divide the scene into multiple spaces. Exactly how you divide the scene gets into questions of composition: how the scene is balanced, using the contrast in backgrounds to lead the viewer through the photo, etc. Without going down that road too far, I wanted to share some examples of backgrounds that divide a photo into different spaces.

The division between rocky coastline and the sea in this photo showcases the habitat of these Ruddy Turnstones, while also making them stand out. Also, you can imagine them being camouflaged, but they aren’t actually hidden in the photo.

A Laughing Gull stands on the pondfill sand near the Great Salt Pond. There’s a lot of contrast in this photo. The body of the gull stands out against the blue of the pond, while its feet stand out against the sand. (Note: The blue of the Great Salt Pond? Crazy, I know. It must have been some trick of the light.)

In this photo, piles of dry sargassum create a flowing band of sand around a Killdeer.

When using backgrounds to divide space, ideally you can create spaces that enhance the balance of the image and draw attention to the subject. You can see a clear difference in the two examples below. The Sandwich Tern seems to coast above the sloping hill (although the hill is actually far in the background), while the Great Egret is caught, a bit awkwardly, at the border of sky and hills.

It is worth noting that I am not at the ninja level of bird photography, anticipating when flying birds may align with distant hills. But, whether you are moving or your subject is moving, look out for angles that showcase a bird in the right spot on a divided background.

Plain backgrounds bring attention to the bird you’re photographing. There are definitely cases where background elements add to the photo, but there are also many in which busy backgrounds crowd and overwhelm the subject. For bird photos, especially in the Caribbean, sky and water are probably two of the most common plain backgrounds, but there are plenty of others if you look out for them.

A blue sky is visually pleasing, offers superb contrast, and, even when the subject is perching, reminds us that birds are creatures of the sky.

Cloudy skies, on the other hand, are usually not nearly as pleasing. They can also make it harder to get a good exposure when a dark bird is backed by a bright, white cloud. Sometimes it is possible to shoot from a different position so there is some blue sky behind the subject.

Water can be a fantastic background. Up close, it may be mostly plain, but with ripples that convey a sense of movement.

Water in the far background can blur into washes of color that give the background some texture.

Very still water can also provide a reflection of the subject, surrounded by otherwise empty space.

Vegetation can be relatively plain as well. In this example, much of the vegetation is out of focus, creating a soft green background. Even the parts that are in focus have a relatively consistent yellow-green color that contrasts well with the bird.

Solid stone backgrounds probably aren’t as easy to come by, but they can do a great job highlighting a subject.

Manmade backgrounds can work, too. This dove was walking along with a yellow building in the background. Urban settings often make for busy, distracting backgrounds, but there are exceptions, and they may include colors that aren’t so easy to find in the wild.

In this week’s column, we talk about backgrounds. Sometimes, at their best, they go unnoticed. As a photographer, paying attention to what’s behind your subject is key for many reasons. Enjoy the article from today’s Daily Herald Weekender, and follow along on the blog this week as we dig deeper!

As a bonus, here’s another shot of the turnstone on the pier in Grand Case:

We have focused primarily on natural light, which is usually the most practical light for bird photos. In some cases, however, using a flash can also be helpful. Normally it requires a strong flash used at a relatively close distance. Flash technique is a complex subject on its own, and one about which I know little, but here are a few cases where a flash can come in handy.

At night flash may be your only option. It may not give you a photo that you’ll treasure for its artistic merits, but you might want to document interesting nocturnal activity. It is probably worth mentioning that focusing in the dark can be tricky, and you may only have one shot before your subject flies away, so make it count!

During the day, at close range, a little bit of flash can be used to augment the natural light that is available. In this situation, the best result is usually a photo where it isn’t obvious that flash was used at all. This can be especially useful if your subject is backlit.

The reflection of the flash can highlight iridescence in a bird’s feathers. On St. Martin, this is particularly useful for our hummingbirds.

Different times of day provide different light. Sometimes these differences are so strong the viewer of a photo can instantly envision the time of day the photo was taken. Of course, don’t forget that in the early morning and evening hours the light is coming from the east or west, so plan your shooting location accordingly!

Around sunrise, the light is warm and soft.

In the midday sun, light can be bright and harsh, with strong contrasts and shadows.

Evening brings a return of warm colors.

Partial lighting can be a blessing or a curse. Often it is caused by strongly directional light, like the sun at midday, or light that is partially blocked by vegetation or other obstructions. It cause some areas of a photo to be over or under exposed, or at least make it challenging to get the right exposure. On the other hand, it can be used to create very interesting photos.

Partial lighting can make a subject stand out from the background.

Strong shadows can also highlight forms.

Small amounts of direct light can also function like spotlights, highlighting a bird or a part of a bird. They can also convey a sense of place, such as a shady forest pierced with small rays of light.

Taking bird photos on an overcast day can be a little tricky because you may not have as much light to work with. On the other hand, there can also be a few advantages.

Natural light on a cloudy day tends to be cooler, so it can really bring out rich greens and blues. This can be especially good for photos that include foliage. Cloudy conditions are essentially the opposite of the golden hour around sunrise and sunset when light is warmest.

On a cloudy day, shadows are weaker. This can be good or bad depending on the situation. Strong shadows can make for striking photos, but the even lighting on cloudy days means less worrying about over or under exposing parts of your photo.

Overcast days can also set the stage for some unusual images. The surface of this pond appears white because it is reflecting a cloudy sky. Birds themselves may also look or behave differently in different weather, and it is valuable to document this.

Silhouettes aren’t particularly useful for documenting wildlife, so they’re not something I have a lot of experience doing. Still, they can be something interesting to try when the lighting pretty much guarantees you can’t do anything else.

This snowy egret was walking right through the reflection of sunlight on a pond, a situation where there’s no way to get a “proper” photo of it. The result is a failed experiment. The execution isn’t great, but it does seem to show that it would be possible to a very interesting photo this way.

This immature grackle was photographed with just enough foreground light to create a regular portrait or a silhouette depending on the post-processing. It can be good to remember that an underexposed photo that can’t be “saved” as a traditional portrait might make a good silhouette.

Having the subject illuminated from behind can be a very nice effect. Out in the wild it can be tricky, compared to using backlighting in a studio setting where the photographer is controlling the light from light from all directions. The main benefit of backlighting is achieving a nice glow around the edge of the subject, and the main drawback is having most of the subject in the shade, sometimes making it difficult to see details.

Here are a few examples of backlighting. The cattle egret photo works the best, because the backlighting really brings out the details of the feathers around the head and creates a strong contrast with the dark background. There is also enough light to see the bird clearly.

The immature yellow-crowned night heron doesn’t gain as much from being backlit, but doesn’t really lose anything either.

The snowy egret with the small fish in its mouth loses quite a bit of detail and the backlighting doesn’t really make the image more appealing.

Overall, backlighting is fun to experiment and can achieve some very nice results, but it would take a better photographer than me to consistently use it to great effect.

Even if it’s just sunlight, you are using light with every photo you take. You’re also making decisions about how you use that light, whether you’re thinking about them or not. We delve into light in today’s Bird Watch SXM column, and all week on the blog.

Back in the day, before SD cards, cameras used a kind of memory stick that usually came in a little canister and they called it film. Different kinds of film had different speeds, indicating how much light it needed for exposure. “Faster” film required less light, but was grainier and “slow” film required more light but had better quality.

Today, digital cameras usually have a setting called ISO which controls the sensitivity of the sensor. Although the technology is totally different, the effect is the same. Lower ISO gives better image quality, using higher ISO lets you get photos in lower light (or with a faster shutter speed), but makes your images noisier.

ISO is one area in which cameras vary widely. Newer cameras are much better at taking decent images at higher ISO and cameras with small sensors, like point and shoot cameras, are often pretty bad (although also improving every year). For this reason, I can’t specify the proper ISO. In general, though, use low ISO if you can, and test your camera to see what ISO settings still produce usable images.

Also, keep in mind, if you are cropping an image, high-ISO noise will be much more noticeable, and if you do lots of adjustments to your photos on the computer, many of these, like sharpening, may make high-ISO noise even more apparent. And, of course, if you are making images primarily for sharing in low resolution online, noise from using a high ISO may not be visible at all.

I propose that aperture, the size of the hole where light is entering the camera, is the least important setting for this type of photography. Having a big opening lets lots of light in, which is great if you are only opening the shutter for a very short moment of time. However, there are some downsides to this.

First, most lenses are “soft” when you shoot them “wide open.” In normal speech, it means if you have the aperture open all the way, your images will not be as sharp. The best sharpness usually starts a couple “stops” smaller than the maximum.

Wider apertures also give less depth of field. Sometimes photographers limit the depth of field intentionally so only a small amount of the photo is in focus, but this isn’t necessarily a good idea for bird photography. For birds, it is often nice if the eye and the bill are both in focus. A very small depth of field also means that any slight error or movement and your subject may be out of that narrow in-focus band. Because of physics (optics specifically) cameras with smaller sensors, like any point and shoot camera, will have greater depth of field, so this is only really an issue for cameras with large sensors like DSLRs.

That said, one can get great photos even at the widest aperture. The loss of sharpness won’t be as much of a problem as blurriness from a photo with a shutter speed that is too slow. If I have enough light I will always try to shoot a few stops down, but this is the first thing I compromise when I don’t have enough light.

As a side note, the difference between the two images in this post is much easier to see at full size. This also means that if you are primarily taking photos to share online, the aperture you’re using probably won’t matter.

Of all the camera settings, shutter speed is probably the most important when you are zoomed in. Normally, when I’m photographing birds, I use shutter priority, meaning I set the shutter speed I want/need and let the camera adjust the aperture to get the right exposure. The shutter speed is the amount of time the shutter is open and light is reaching your camera sensor (or film). The faster the speed, the more you can freeze motion, either yours or your subject’s.

One rule of thumb is to have a shutter speed the inverse of the length of you lens in millimeters. By this measure, when I’m maxing out my zoom lens at 400mm, my shutter speed should be 1/400th of a second. Some cameras/lenses have image stabilization, which reduces the impact of your movement. This allows you to reduce your shutter speed if your subject isn’t moving.

You can figure out what shutter speed works for you with a little bit of testing. When you look at an image, if everything is blurry, that’s your motion. If only your subject is blurry, that’s probably their motion. Find the shutter speed that lets you consistently take clear photos when zoomed in.

If it freezes your motion and the motion of your subject, why not just use a super fast shutter speed all the time? A fast shutter speed doesn’t let in much light, so you need a bright day or you need to adjust your aperature and ISO to get a good exposure. Although the other settings are not necessarily as crucial, they are also important, as we will find out.

The zooming is an important part of bird photography, and this week in the Bird Watch column and here on the blog, we take a look at how to get the best photos when you are using your zoom.