Birding Workshop with Don Freiday Sr. Part Two: Birders and their Environment

While we were out and about on the unseasonably pleasant last Sunday in January for the workshop, we were encouraged to take photos of things other than birds- in particular, of the birders themselves, and of the birders' environment.  I have done extremely little in the way of human portraiture at all.  Part of this stems from my hesitance to take photos of strangers without their permission, and the other part from my difficulties with a small amount of social anxiety.  However, legal adults out and about in public spaces such as a park or city street are fair game for photography (not so much their children).  The portrait which I am most satisfied with from that particular day is of a young man who shares my apprehensions about photographing people.  He is listening to my father's lecture intently, the morning light illuminating his face.  It's a great picture of his profile, and I just can't get enough of how crisp and clear the photo is, and how soft the lighting is.  I processed it through Lightroom to lighten the shadows under the brim of his hat, to crop out a cut-off face to his right, and I chose to put it through a yellow black and white filter to enhance the mood and classic feel of the photo.

Robert Jr, I did not watermark this photo in case you ever come across it.

Getting outside for any reason always makes me feel better about life.  One reason it never fails to cheer me up is all the beauty that can be found in any landscape.  Cape May Point State Park has a lot of appeal, but one area that tourists focused on the Jersey Shore might miss out on is the bird walk (not the boardwalk).  To the left of the hawk viewing platform is a trailhead around some marshy brackish areas where plenty of waterfowl convene, along with woodsy areas where a diverse number of other bird species can be observed.  Bringing my camera along yielded a very appealing and just barely asymmetrical photo of a pedestrian bridge over very still, mirror-like water.  The scenery put me in mind of a lovechild of Monet and Hokusai's ukiyo-e prints.  The lighting had remained soft and diffuse as we walked and photographed.  I am extremely pleased with the composition and clarity of this photo, and love the sense of peace that I feel when I look at it.

A true picture of the floating world.

Don Freiday Sr's Photography Workshop: Part 1: Birds

This female mallard was quacking in alarm as she took off from low marshy waters alongside the nature trail at Cape May Point State Park.  Her partner and other flock members were quickly behind her.

Prior to January 31st, 2016, I had never taken a good photo of a bird.

Okay, that's not entirely true.  It had been a very long time since I had taken what I consider to be a decent photo of a bird.  Interestingly, that photo was of a yellow-rumped warbler at Sandy Hook, and was taken with my old Nikon point and shoot.  On the day of my father's first official photography workshop, there were hundreds of yellow-rumped warblers that the group of birders I was with decided must be migrating in some capacity.  We attempted (some succeeding better than others) to photograph these cute little birds.  Of the two hundred odd photos that I took during the workshop, only one photo of a yellow-rumped warbler came out well.  It is not what my father deems "bird porn," that is to say- the photo is not just a spread of a male bird in breeding plumage facing either forward or sideways with no distracting bits such as habitat getting in the way.  Instead, it captures the bird as the group experienced the large flock- darting through low underbrush, flying from clump of vegetation to clump of vegetation, pausing to feed, regrouping with the others and then taking to the open sky.

"What're you looking at, punk?"

I faced a couple of challenges during the workshop.  First, I was very stubbornly determined to photograph birds, even though my lens is not ideal for doing so.  A very large bazooka, I mean, telephoto lens with excellent focus and high shutter speed is ideal for that particular goal.  Second, my father revealed to the group that I had studied art in college, and thus it was assumed that I was helping to teach the workshop and actually knew what I was doing.  While this is true to some extent, it is not perhaps to the extent that my fellow photographers imagined.  Third, the lighting conditions were changeable- from early morning strong sunlight to diffuse cloudiness, many adjustments were required while shooting manually.  I went to automatic white balance for a time to assist with the changing conditions.

This song sparrow was quite obliging as it sang in the tops of some shrubs just above eye level for the group.

Photographing birds requires a lot of patience, and a lot of being in the right place at the right time.  As for many other subjects, lighting plays an important part in the quality of photos.  Morning light is flattering on birds, just as it is on humans and horses.  While aesthetically pleasing, it may not be ideal for documentary or species identification purposes.  This illustrates why it is important to ask yourself what your goals in any type of photography are: knowing the result you are looking for helps to plan a successful shoot.  Other times, it's good just to get out with a camera and see what happens.  To progress as a photographer, this type of play can open up new horizons, especially if you are taking notes on the photos that you deem best.  And of course, being prepared (actually having your camera on you at all possible times) helps quite a bit!

I do believe that I've mentioned earlier in my blog that chickadees are my favorite species of bird.