Bird Photography

Bird photography is one of the more popular types of photography. A lot of my photographer friends just love it. Me, not so much. Don’t interpret that to mean I think there is anything wrong with bird photography. That’s because that is not my intention at all. There are lots of different kinds of photography, birds just don’t excite me. No doubt, many would say the same about the types I enjoy.

Despite this, I made my first serious attempt at bird photography during a recent road trip to the Texas Hill Country. I was with 3 friends who are all avid bird photographers. Successful photography with a group requires some give and take. Sometimes we shot landscapes and abandoned buildings which I like. Likewise, sometimes we photographed birds which they liked.

It’s good to try new things; to expand your boundaries. Doing so can teach you new skills and techniques which can sometimes be useful in your favorite types of photography. For example, I gained experience in shooting fast moving subjects in varied lighting conditions. Who knows? You just might enjoy it. As a result, it could become one of your favorites. However, in this case it didn’t convert me into a bird photographer. But it was fun and educational nonetheless.

The Strange Thing About Bird Identification

Rant warning! For some reason bird photography often seems to be more about ornithology than it is about photography. Every time you show a picture of a bird, people stumble all over themselves to be the first to give you its proper name. Additionally whoever comes in second in this “contest”, will up the ante by telling you all about the migration, feeding and mating habits of the bird. I often get the impression that some people photograph birds in the hope that they’ll get a chance to demonstrate their knowledge about the bird. All this is great if you’re in to that kind of thing. If your not, it is rather annoying quite frankly.

For me, bird photography is about enjoying the beauty of nature and trying to capture it in a photograph. As a result, all of the other ornithology information is a distraction. If it flies, than it is probably a bird. If it has red coloring than it’s a red bird. Simple as that. That’s all the identification I need. For instance, summer tanager, cardinal, scarlet tanager, or a vermilion flycatcher – to me they’re all simply red birds. I’m with Bill Shakespeare on this kind of thing. End of rant. 😉

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
William Shakespeare – Romeo and Juliet

Bird Photos

If you want to talk about bird photography, let’s talk composition, exposure, post-processing, or even what was my intent. However, if you want to talk ornithology, we can talk names and habits etc. We just don’t have to always mix the two!

Because this is a photography blog I should show the results of my attempt at bird photography. In addition, I know that if I don’t include the proper name of each bird someone will be compelled to inflect that knowledge upon me. To keep it simple, I’ve included the proper name (which I got from someone else) so nobody has to get upset.

There are a lot of unwritten rules regarding nature/bird photography. All of these are based on the documentary/ornithological reason for taking the photo. As I’ve said before, we “end up with a certain uniformity and sameness in our photos and in comparison, to others.” Sadly, this is true in my photos below. My point is just that it doesn’t always have to be that way. After all, it’s good to open your mind to other possibilities.