Trogon Photo Tours

May 2012 - This newsletter shows the images from an encounter with a Peregrine Falcon from start to finish.  It has information on how to approach birds without scaring them off and how to work with a cooperative subject when you find one.

Peregrine Falcon photographed March 2012, Damon Point State Park, Ocean Shores, WA.  Canon 7D 500mmF4 lens, 1/1600, F5, iso 320.  While returning to the car after photographing Snowy Owls this March at Ocean Shores, I turned to my right and saw this Peregrine Falcon perched on a stump on the beach.  The weather conditions were cold, overcast and very windy.  All of the shots in this series are full frame with the exception of a tiny bit of cropping to rotate 2 of the images to level.  I wanted to show you how the encounter evolved and how I was able to make the images that I did.  Obviously, this isn't a very good bird image.  This was my first image of this bird and at this point I was just making sure I got a record shot. 

After taking 3 quick shots, the first thing I did was get down low.  The bird was over the top of a rise on the other side of the beach and I thought if I tried to approach it standing up, it would probably fly away quickly.  Getting low is perhaps the most important factor in approaching birds to get close and keep them from flying off.  The reason for this is that other animals generally (and with good reason) regard humans as a threat.  The way they identify us as humans most easily is that we are the only bipedal species out there (we walk upright).  So getting down on the ground (as long as you can get back up) or getting as low as you can is key to getting close to birds and animals.  Advancing over the rise in the beach which would do 2 things for me - get me closer to the bird and get rid of the out of focus foreground.  To do so I got on my knees and crawled on the sand up to the top of the rise in the beach. 

Canon 7D, 500mmF4, 1/800 F5.6, iso 400, Av mode, evaluative metering at +0.3, handheld.  At the point I took this photo I crawled to the top of the crest of the beach and was now looking down at the Peregrine.   I wasn't close enough for a portrait but I composed this image to include a lot of the stump he was on and was going for a pleasing bird in habitat image.   I placed the bird at about the 1/3 point of each the horizontal and vertical axis.  At this point I had made a few adjustments to my camera settings, going with a little bit higher iso as I was handholding, stopping down a little bit more and adjusting the exposure.  This image was taken 15 frames and about 1 minute after my first image. 

The other 2 ways that animals recognize humans most easily is from our faces and our hands.  So I guess ideally most of the time when photographing wildlife we would have gloves on and something like a camouflage ski mask.  However, I don't find these 2 very practical as I have a harder time operating the controls on the camera when I have gloves on and I don't want to be mistaken for a bank robber, so I don't usually don a ski mask. 

7D 500mmF4 1/2500 F5.6, iso 400, Av mode, evaluative metering at 0, handheld.  This shot was taken 49 frames and 3 minutes after the last shot.  To get this image I continued to gradually crawl up to the bird on my knees, taking a few shots and then inching a few feet forward.  This gets the bird used to both the noise of your shutter and your presence.  At this point the sun had come out from behind the clouds momentarily making for some beautiful lighting.  You can see how it affected the exposure if you compare it to the other shots in this newsletter.  Some of you may be wondering why I hadn't put the teleconverter on sometime between the 2 images above.  The answer is that I thought there was a good chance that the bird would stretch it's wings as I approached or take off and I wanted to be prepared to get the stretch and/or take off shot. 

Another important thing to think about when trying to get close to birds is the clothing that you are wearing.  You should generally wear earth colored clothing - browns and greens are best.  Ideally camouflaged clothing - the type you often see hunters wearing is the best.  Mossy Oak - www.mossyoak.com - has excellent camoflauged clothing which mimics the look of a forest.  The idea with this clothing is that when the bird or animals sees you they see something which looks like a forest and if you aren't moving or are moving very slowly they are less likely to fly off.  

7D 500mmF4 1.4x teleconverter, 1/320 F8, iso 400, evaluative metering at +0.3, handheld.   After the previous image of the bird in the sun, the sun went back behind the clouds and I decided to put on my 1.4x teleconverter because I thought the bird probably wasn't going to fly as it seemed very comfortable with us.  I didn't want to approach any closer and purposely flush the bird so I added my teleconverter to get more focal length.  In this image I am standing rather than kneeling which changed the background from one of sky and water to one of sandy beach. 

The last important point regarding getting close and staying close to birds is to move slowly and deliberately.  If you are going from a sitting to a standing position or vice versa do so without making any quick moves, if your movements are slow and deliberate the bird is much more likely to stick around.

7D 500mmF4 1.4x teleconverter, 1/640 F8, iso 400, evaluative metering +0.3, handheld.  This shot was taken from the exact same position as the prior shot except that I had gone back down to a kneeling position to get the water in the background.  These 2 images show that just by changing your position or moving slightly you can get a much different background when you are working with a long lens.  It allows you to get 2 different images from the same situation. 

Canon 7D, 500mmF4, 1.4x teleconverter, 1/500 F8, iso 400, Av mode, evaluative metering +0.3.  Whenever you have a cooperative subject to work with you should be sure to shoot some vertical images as well as horizontals.  After all most magazine and book covers are vertical shots.  Prior to the previous 2 images I had taken some verticals but then realized that if I backed up slightly I would be able to fit the whole perch into the image, get the water in the background and make a pleasing vertical image.  This was my favorite image from the encounter and after this I left the bird alone and went back to my car.  The whole encounter lasted only about 10 minutes.  Thinking about this encounter later there is a part of me that thinks I should have tried to get in even closer and get some tight vertical portraits.  But at the time this bird had been so cooperative and good to me that I didn't want to force him to fly, especially in those cold, windy conditions. 

In conclusion when you are trying to approach birds in the wild without a blind or car to help you keep in mind the following things.

1. Stay as low as you can.  Animals recognize humans as a threat first and foremost from our upright form.

2. Take a few images, then advance a few steps stop and take a few more images.  This gets the bird used to both you and the sound of your shutter going off.

3. Wear camoflauged (ideal) or earth colored clothing to help blend in with the environment.

4. Move slowly weather you are walking, crawling or changing positions or lenses.

5. Do not talk or if you have to talk whisper to your shooting partner. 

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