I have been having so many questions about photographing birds that I thought that I would do a post about it. Now I am not in any shape or form knowledgeable about photography this is just about what I do.
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| Photographed by seasidecottagescornwall.co.uk in the Cornish seaside garden of the luxury holiday cottage By The Seashore at Trewoon, Poldhu Cove, Mullion, Lizard |
For many years Ray and I have been fascinated by the bird and wildlife we find in our garden. We are lucky enough to have two and a half acres of garden, some formal and other parts kept semi wild (in a controlled way, I like tidiness) to give the badgers, foxes, rabbits, stoats, weasels, squirrels, toads, frogs, fish, countless types of birds and insects etc., a home and feeding ground.
We can quietly sit and watch all this from our home and various sitting areas around the garden.
The birds and badgers in particular give us endless hours of enjoyment and we feed them every day, even if we are away we arrange for them to be fed so they have come to rely on us as a source of food and a safe haven.
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| Photographed by seasidecottagescornwall.co.uk in the Cornish seaside garden of the luxury holiday cottage The Chocolate Box at Trewoon, Poldhu Cove, Mullion, Lizard |
I have bird feeders in the cottage gardens as well but the ones I shall concentrate on for this post are next to my TV room, sun room, kitchen, laundry room and boot room. All rooms that I spend a lot of my time in and are furnished in a way that means that when in the rooms I work or sit by the windows so the birds become very used to me being around.
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| Photographed by seasidecottagescornwall.co.uk in the Cornish seaside garden of the luxury holiday cottage By The Seashore at Trewoon, Poldhu Cove, Mullion, Lizard |
I am fortunate that providing I do not make a sudden or fast movement and I can walk around the feeders and the tree from which they hang without the birds flying away.
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| Photographed by seasidecottagescornwall.co.uk in the Cornish seaside garden of the luxury holiday cottage By The Seashore at Trewoon, Poldhu Cove, Mullion, Lizard |
When I fill the feeders the birds congregate in the branches waiting for them to be put back up.
This means that I have a big advantage in that I don't have to go looking for subjects they come to me. I can set up a shot and then I just need "Patience and Perseverance" to capture the right expression or stance.
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| Photographed by seasidecottagescornwall.co.uk in the Cornish seaside garden of the luxury holiday cottage By The Seashore at Trewoon, Poldhu Cove, Mullion, Lizard |
If you want to photograph your garden birds it is worth considering how you are going to create the shot. Set up a feeder where you can get a good view of it from a concealed spot such as a house window or garden shed.
Think about the time of day you will take the photographs and where the sun will be.
You can manipulate the background by using a board or cloth.
Attract as many birds as you can by putting out an assortment of food using hanging feeders, bird tables and on the ground when you are not photographing, then when you come to take the photographs remove most of the feeders which creates a queueing system so that the bird have to perch around waiting for their turn to jump onto the feeding perch.
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| Photographed by seasidecottagescornwall.co.uk in the Cornish seaside garden of the luxury holiday cottage By The Seashore at Trewoon, Poldhu Cove, Mullion, Lizard |
You can then photograph them on the perch which is a more natural setting than the feeder.
Birds can be attracted to water as well so have somewhere that they can drink. You could attract a robin onto a fork handle by smearing it with peanut butter.
You need to consider the equipment that you will need to capture the type of shots you are after.
I have been very lucky to have had expert advice from
Lara who is a professional photographer and a skilled needlewoman. It is worth checking out her blog and
photo albums.
Lara shared with me many articles that she has written for a photography magazines and when I was looking for a new camera gave me lots of tips.
I have a Panasonic Lumix which is a point and shoot and is great for when I am walking Poppy and Blue as I can carry it in my pocket and snap away whilst holding the two dogs. You never know what you are going to see when out and about.
I also use a Canon 60D for the photographs in the garden. This is mounted on a tripod and I position and focus the camera on a spot that I know a bird will use as a perch to access a feeder and wait for the bird to appear in the shot rather than look for the bird. The tripod is essential as you yourself cannot hold the camera perfectly still whilst waiting.
I have three lenses a short one for very close up work, a medium lens and a telephoto 500 mm lens. The lens I use dictates the style of the picture and how close I need to get to my subject.
I am very fortunate that I can get so close.
I do hope that this will help you in capturing good shots of the birds in your garden and remember "Patience and Perseverance".
Warm Wishes from Stitching By A Cornish Sea Shore Nicola xxx
