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. 

A (quick) photoshoot with Lola

Tomorrow is the May 31 schooling show at Changewater Stables, and I have been all in a flurry getting ready to photograph it.  I successfully switched the lens, reviewed how to make ISO work for me (it may thunderstorm tomorrow, so I might have to shoot indoors), and decided to take the new camera/lens combo for a test run.  After figuring out how to combat the f/Ee error (too much aperture to handle), I had a very interested subject in Lola, the rescue mare I am leasing and retraining.  Doing portraits of horses is a bit different than taking action shots, but I feel it was a good warm up for the main event.  Enjoy my pretty horse!

"What is that clicking sound?"

"Shouldn't you be bringing me a treat or something?"

"I'm just so glamorous."

Lehigh River on the second day of spring

"Right Bank"
Nikon D300

On the second day of spring, I decided that I would go up to the highest point I could find to take a picture of Easton in the snow.  I got those photos, but while crossing the Lehigh River to drive up the mountain, I was struck by the calm beauty of the snow-laden trees reflected in the water.  For the first time in a while, I was driven by impulse to find a place to park and walked back onto the bridge for these shots.  It was cloudy, cold, and serene, even with traffic whizzing behind me.  I think that I will be listening to my intuition more frequently from now on.

"View from the Bridge"
Nikon D300

Dusting off my cameras

Dusted off the D300
digital photograph
Nikon D100

Having a little bit of time off after the holiday rush led to me dusting off the Nikon D300 which I got for Christmas last year and used... once.  It sat staring balefully at me through its lens cover, neglected for nearly an entire year, sending little tingles of guilt through me every time I glanced its way.  Both of my cameras and nearly all of my accompanying equipment are very generous gifts from my dad, who does some amazing bird photography for his own blog.  I originally pilfered his old Pentax film SLR for my photography class at Mason Gross.

One of the most important and lasting lessons from my professor, LaToya Frazier, was trying to take the shot so that little to no editing is required.  This (can sometimes) result in quality photographs, and requires patience; taking many shots as various aperture settings, compositions, and shutter speeds are adjusted; and an understanding of lighting and your subject matter.  Doing all of this with a film camera and developing my own film was both highly stressful and rewarding.  I remember sweating in the dark room, fumbling with rolls of film as I transferred them from the camera to the spool for developing, praying that I didn't wreck a few hours worth of shooting.  I felt like a wizard dodging and burning the photosensitive paper, and putting the paper through its chemical washes.  I also keenly felt the high prices of film and other equipment.  Often, I would not take more than the minimum three shots recommended per composition so that I would not have to buy as much film.

Access to a DSLR and a computer took away a lot of that stress, but also a little bit of the magic, too.  Digital photography is a boon for a hectic schedule, yet even so, my photography dropped off during my long artistic hiatus.  Of course, my battery life was nearly exhausted for my D300, so instead, I got out the D100 while I began charging the lithium batteries, which is a slightly older and heavier model.  I currently have a 77mm telescopic lens on it.  I just stuck around the house for my re-entry into photography, taking advantage of the slanting winter light streaming into my home.

Ficus Leaves
Digital photograph
Nikon D100