Trogon Photo Tours

July 2014 - This month's photography article talks about getting the low angle to improve your images.  It includes mostly images from this springs workshops in Texas.

Ruddy Turnstone - photographed May 2014, Packery Channel Park, Corpus Christi, TX.  Canon 5D3 500F4 1/3200 F5.6, iso 800.  When photographing birds on the ground I always try to get down to their level if possible.  In this image I was kneeling down so I wasn't quite at eye level with the bird but getting in that direction.  I like the sea grass setting here with the color complementing the bird.  I realize that for some photographers getting on their belly isn't an option because it is hard on your body but if you can at least get down to a sitting position it will improve your photography of birds on the ground for 2 reasons.  First you will get more intimate images with clearer backgrounds.  Secondly you will get closer to many birds as they are much less afraid of people sitting than standing.  The reason for this is that humans are largely recognized by their upright, bipedal position.  We are the only species that walks upright normally.  Birds and animals have learned to fear humans for good reason, if you are standing you will definitely be recognized as a human.  If you are sitting down, particularly if you are in camouflage or earth colored clothes you may well be disregarded. 

Dunlin photographed May 2014, Packery Channel Park, Corpus Christi, TX.  Canon 5D3 500F4 1/3200 F5.6, iso 640.  For this image I was lying on my stomach to make it.  You can see how this gives you a clearer background and I was able to get closer to the bird.  It also gives you a more intimate feeling, giving the viewer the feeling they are there with the bird in the saltmarsh. There are several ground pods/skimmer pods that you can use to support your camera with something akin to a tripod but I just balance the lens foot directly on the ground. 

Reddish Egret, white morph photographed March 2014, Mustang Island, TX.  Canon 5D3 500F4 1/5000 F7.1, iso 500, evaluative metering -1.0 to avoid blowing out whites in bright light.  This white phase Reddish Egret was literally the last bird of our March 2014 Texas workshop.  On our way back to the hotel we stopped by one of the salt water ponds by the side of the road to photograph herons and other shorebirds.  This egret was out fishing, doing his drunken sailor routine.  Upon getting to the edge of the water I got down on my knees and the bird started walking toward me.  I called everyone else over and we all managed to get some cracking shots of it.  When I took this image I was sitting cross legged on the ground.  If I had gotten lower (on my stomach) in this case I think it would have made the image worse as the bird would have intersected with the brown shoreline in the background. 

Black-throated Sparrow, juvenile photographed June 2014, Santa Clara Ranch, Texas.  Canon 5D3 500F4 1.4x 1/5000 F8, iso 1600, Gitzo Tripod, Wimberley Head.  One way to get the low angle is to photograph from photography blinds that have been dug into the ground.  Santa Clara and several other Texas ranches have blinds that are designed to get you at eye level with your subjects while at the same time remain seated and use a tripod.  We are looking into building some blinds like this in the dry Western part of Ecuador.  Some might think that the iso and shutter speed are overkill here but part of what I was trying to do was to capture these small birds in flight, also the 5D3 has very good high iso performance so there's not much of a penalty for shooting at that iso.   The high shutter speed allowed me to freeze the wing with detail here.  

Greater Roadrunner tossing cricket - Santa Clara Ranch, TX, June 2014.  Canon 5D3 500F4 1/2500 F7.1, iso 1000, Gitzo tripod, Wimberley Head.  Another example of ground level shooting from Santa Clara Ranch.  Santa Clara Ranch is excellent at any time of year.  The warmer months are the best for Roadrunner and small birds which migrate like Painted Bunting. The cooler winter months are the best for photographing raptors there.  Any time of year is great for South Texas Specialties such as Green Jay, Long-billed Thrasher and Black-crested Titmouse.  Next I am going to share a few photos from different parts of the world.

Southern Boubou, male - photographed August 2013, Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa.  Canon 5D3 500F4 1.4x 1/3200 F8, iso 800, Gitzo tripod, Wimberley Head.  This shot and the next one are from an area that we set up for bird photography near the cabins.  Many of the birds are quite tame there.  So we set up chairs in a good location near this rock.  We were hoping that birds would land on a perch that we placed above the rock and some did but the majority landed right on the rock.  Since we were shooting down a bit the background, while not terrible was a little bit busy.  Some photographers would prefer this as it shows a bit more habitat. For those of you not familiar with this species, it's in the Bush Shrike family, a group of attractive African shrikes which are now placed in their own family. 

Fiscal Flycatcher - photographed August 2013, Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa.  Canon 5D3 500F4 1.4x 1/2500 F8, iso 800, Gitzo tripod, Wimberley head.  This is the perch that we placed above the rock.  If you are sitting down in a chair as opposed to lying on your stomach, if you can get the birds to perch up above the ground you will generally get a better (smoother) background.  We held the perch using a Manfrotto Stacker Flash Stand and a Manfrotto Mini Clip Clamp.  

Orange-headed Thrush photographed January 2009, Khao Yai National Park, Thailand.  Canon 1D Mark III, 500F4 1/50 F5, iso 1000, Gitzo Tripod, Wimberley Head.  This image was made by sitting cross legged on the ground and lowering my tripod legs to as low as I possibly could.  While it's not quite the same as lying on my stomach, it's quite close.  It also gave me a lot more support shooting at that very low shutter speed which was necessary under the canopy.  Let's hope that the political situation improves in Thailand soon.