Trogon Photo Tours

February 2014 Newsletter - This newsletter contains information on photographing during the mid day hours when you encounter bright sunlight.

African Golden Weaver and Dark-capped Bulbul photographed August 2013 at Mowana Lodge, Chobe, Botswana. Canon 5D3, 500F4 lens 1.4x teleconverter 1/1600 F8, iso 800, tripod, manual exposure.  I often hear photographers say something like "I only photograph early in the morning or late in the afternoon when the light is sweet".  While I like to photograph in that sweet light as well I also do a lot of photography during the mid day hours.  This image was taken about 11am on a sunny day during our Chobe, Botswana tour.  Early in the morning and later in the afternoon we were always out on a boat trip or on a game drive.  We wanted to get some images of the common small birds so I set up a small feeding station that we photographed at during the middle of the day.  After all when the participants on the tour might never make it back to the area so it is probably their only chance to photograph these birds.  Ideally I would have used some fill flash here to soften up the shadows a bit but I didn't have charged up flash batteries.  As far as the exposure here I used manual but if I had been using evaluative metering I would have dialed in about -1.0 exposure compensation.  Most of the time photographing in bright light you will want to dial in some negative exposure compensation if you are photographing with evaluative (Canon) or matrix (Nikon) metering.  As far as my thoughts on this image, it's not perfect because of the lighting but I think it's a very good image overall because of the interaction and detail on the weaver.

Knysna Turaco photographed August 2013, Wilderness, South Africa. Canon 5D3 500F4 1/3200 F7.1, iso 800, evaluative metering at 0, handheld.   This was another situation where we had a mid day photo opportunity.  We had been photographing at the feeders in Wilderness and our guide, John Tinkler went to check a local spot.  He found that there were turacos flying back and forth between fruiting trees.  He came back and fetched us and we proceeded to the location.  The action was still going on but it was around noon by the time we got there.  It was late winter so the sun wasn't directly overhead but it was quite high in the sky to our back.  What I find with flight shots in these conditions is that the views with the top side of the wings down or even better showing the full top side work out well whereas the photos with the wings up showing the underside do not turn out very well because of shadows.  This was a rare opportunity to get this species out in the open, they normally live in the dense canopy.  I suppose we could have waited until 4:30 pm and gone to the site then but the birds may well have left the area so when you have a good photo opportunity it's best to capitalize on it right away.  In this instance I photographed with no exposure compensation because I was photographing a darker bird against the bright sky.  If it hadn't been sunny I would have added positive exposure compensation to this shot.

Bald Eagle photographed June 2012, Hood Canal, WA.  Canon 7D 500F4, handheld, 1/1600 F7.1, iso 400, manual exposure.  This image was taken at just past 10am on a bright sunny day.  Top side shots often work out great even in rather harsh light because shadows are almost completely eliminated.  That was the case here.

Northern Cardinal female, photographed November 2009 at the Pond at Elephant Head, Amado, AZ (Bill Forbes's place).  Canon 1D Mark III 500F4 lens, 1/5000 F6.3, iso 640, tripod and blind.  This image was taken at around 10am on another bright sunny day.  The extra light at this time of day allows for super fast shutter speeds with a reasonable iso allowing for stop action images.  What I will often do when photographing at a place like Bill's or at Santa Clara Ranch is early in the morning focus on portraits during the time when the light is sweetest and then when the sun is up a bit more change to action photography.  To make this image I focused on the top of the perch and then changed to manual focus.  I kept my head up, not in the viewfinder and when birds looked like they were heading down to the perch I fired off a round of shots.  If you are looking through the viewfinder you will be too late to capture the flight.  I keep one arm on top of the lens when I'm doing this to help stabilize it.  This image was a top 100 NANPA Showcase selection a few years ago.

Green Honeycreeper - photographed February 2014 at Asa Wright Nature Center.  Canon 5D3 300F4 1/1600 F5.6, iso 1600, Canon 580ex at -1.3, handheld.  This shot was taken at about 3pm in the afternoon in dappled bright sunlight.  It was taken at the bird bath at Asa Wright.  The elevated bird bath there is a garish bright aqua colored stone, to make the images taken there look more natural I lined it with fallen banana leaves.  When photographing in bright contrasty light, fill flash is helpful in evening out the shadows.  I used my 300F4 lens a lot at Asa Wright as many of the subjects below the verandah are at close range and there isn't enough distance to use a 500F4 without adding an extension tube. 

Purple Roller photographed September 2008 at Waterberg National Park, Namibia.  Canon 1D Mark III, 500F4 lens, 1.4x teleconverter, 1/1600 F8, iso 640, 580ex at -1.0, better beamer, handheld.  Because of the fast shutter speed, I needed to use a fair bit of flash. This shot was taken at 11am on a bright sunny day.  I used fill flash to tame the harsh sunlight.  The better beamer was necessary as this is a good sized bird that wasn't really close.  It was by far my best Purple Roller shot from the trip and remains my best shot of this species.  If I had passed up on the shot I would have missed a beauty. In conclusion, I'm not saying it's best to photograph in mid day sun.  What I am saying is that if I'm out photographing or leading a tour or workshop and there is a good mid day photo opportunity, I certainly don't pass it up.  Skillful use of fill flash, being careful not to overexpose by dialing in negative exposure compensation when necessary and knowing which photos may turn out well in such bright conditions will help you make memorable images at times even in bright sunlight.