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. 

Morning Fields and Forest

I cannot help but try to find or create beauty wherever I go.  There is a gem of a garden near my work.  The morning sunlight casting crisp shadows and a warm glow on the fields and forests, where chickadees and robins feed on seeds and berries, is a balm to my soul.  I like to spend my time walking there, surrounded by nature, preparing my mind for the day's challenges.  Last week, I took my camera along with me on one of these walks, and took a few good pictures.  The lighting was just gorgeous, and the autumn colors, while fading, are still strongly present.  Everything seemed so crisp, clear, and new.  An added treat were the scores of chipmunks rustling about in the forest floor.  They were very shy and would scurry to cover whenever I drew near, but I did get close to one.  I stopped and waited until it came out of hiding, staring at me as I snapped a few shots.  It "chukked" at me, a warning call, slower and softer than what you usually hear from them, until I moved position to get a different angle.  Then it ducked quickly underneath a log and hid from view.  It was a great way to start my day.

Black-capped chickadees and working from photographs

Black-capped Chickadee
pen and pencil
small leather sketchbook
Original Photo

Most of my work lately has been from photographs, and often not my own photographs.

This is for a number of reasons.  I do not yet have the financial luxury of being a full time artist, and while I do consider myself a decent photographer (I promise that I'll get some photographs of my own up here eventually), I simply have not had the time to go out and take a lot of new pictures.  As I work towards developing my technical skills as a professional artist on a very limited time budget, and I find myself curious about different breeds of horses, different poses, and different species, this means I go to the almighty Google and see what the world has to offer me.  I would really, really rather be going out into the world itself, sketchbook and camera in hand.

As an art school graduate, I know that I'm capable of creating from my own personal observation.  This alleviates some of the sting.  The photograph undergoes some transformation under my pen and pencil, and so it is not like the original; I omit scenery or other details, or imagine what's under an overexposed highlight, or simply do not have the ability to create a photo realistic image.  I am supremely thankful to those people whose photographs have helped me to create new drawings.

I do encourage artists to use photographs.  They can help you see what you might have missed in a real life observation, or solve a drawing problem.  Some subjects are difficult to capture in real life, such as birds, horses and (awake) cats.  Franz Marc and other great artists used to go to slaughter houses or literally kill birds so that they could better observe their subject.  That's not always feasible in today's age.  Hence, photographs.  Drawing from a photograph does help to learn the subject and hone your observation skills.  I am working on not "being a slave to the reference," however.

Ideally, I would work from life and from my own reference photos, and I am working on putting myself in a place where I can do just that (i.e., not commuting 2+ hours every day on top of the eight hour work day and not relying on takeout).  I want to be a full time professional artist; this blog partially details that journey.  It may be as simple (and complicated) a matter of just taking the plunge and leaving the traditional work force.  I hope to build a large enough client/fan base to be able to do just that within the next five years, or to be able to find a different job that is not so restrictive or far from home (sorry bosses).  There's always tomorrow, I tell myself comfortingly.  But the other part of me says, "The time is now!"  For the present, I do my daily sketches, write my blog, and formulate my plans and dreams.

Anyway, black-capped chickadees are one of my favorite bird species, and are prevalent in my area at this time of year.  They are vivacious, curious little creatures, and sound so cute when they say, "Chick-a-dee-dee-dee!"  Seeing them takes me away to quiet, snow-covered fields and forests, walking through the cold beauty of winter.  Even with all of the gray and cloudy weather recently, a chickadee will reliably make me smile.

Chickadee Sketch- no reference
pen
small leather sketchbook

"Chickadee Study"
pen and pencil
small leather sketchbook