Bird%20Photography - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Bird%20Photography

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Bird Photography by KK Hui ARPS Bird Photography Why Bird Photography? Ethics of Bird Photography What Makes a Good Bird Photo? Equipment Considerations Techniques ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Bird%20Photography


1
Bird Photography
  • by
  • KK Hui ARPS

2
Bird Photography
  1. Why Bird Photography?
  2. Ethics of Bird Photography
  3. What Makes a Good Bird Photo?
  4. Equipment Considerations
  5. Techniques
  6. References

3
1. Why Bird Photography?
  • creation of fine art images for display,
    publication or sales
  • documentation/ record for rarities
  • study of plumage and behavior
  • other personal reasons (for example, memories of
    birding trips)

4
2. Ethics of Bird Photography
  • Birds and its habitat are more important than
    photo
  • don't stress birds by getting too close
  • don't distribute the nests
  • don't create a path for predators to follow to a
    nest
  • other good common sense be observed

5
3. What Makes a Good Bird Photo?
  • basically its the one that meets the needs of
    the photographer
  • attention to the basic qualities of the
    photograph proper technique and good composition
  • Technical factors exposure, sharpness, accurate
    color, details
  • Aesthetic Factors lighting, composition,
    background, decisive moment, artistic feel
    consideration, habitat surrounding
  • the photographer's technical and artistic
    abilities

6
4. Equipment Considerations
  • Inappropriate equipment can limit the results
    ...
  • 35mm SLR format for superb optical quality and
    portability
  • Auto focus, motor drive, TTL exposure modes
  • Choice of digital and/or film SLR
  • Camera Support

7
4.1 Equipment Considerations (contd)
  • choice of lenses focal length, max aperture, min
    focusing distance, converter/extension tubes
    compatibility
  • 400/5.6 AF lens - good choice for portability and
    hand held flight shots. Highly usable with 1.4x
    to make an usable 560/8 lens in good light
  • 300/2.8 AF lens - for versatility (works well
    with 1.4x or 2x converters) and portability
  • 500/4 or 600/4 AF lens lens of choice for bird
    photography
  • avoid mirror lens

8
4.2 Equipment Considerations (contd)
  • Camera support
  • rigid tripod eg Gitzo 1325CF, 1548CF
  • Wimberley Head gimbal type
  • quick release system for mounting lens to tripod
    head use of "Arca-Swiss" style plates

9
4.3 Equipment Considerations (contd)
  • Other Accessories
  • Tele converters - 1.4x and 2x
  • Extension tubes - 12mm, 25mm
  • Electronic TTL Flash Unit
  • Better Beamer flash extender

10
Techniques
  • Long lens technique
  • Shooting Film - choices
  • Shooting Digital - DSLR
  • Getting Close
  • Exposure
  • Lighting
  • Composition
  • Decisive Moment and Timing

11
Long Lens Techniques
  • Use a sturdy tripod whenever possible. Tighten
    all controls knobs   
  • Ensure tripod can handle the weight of your
    camera, lens, tripod head and other accessories
    with plenty of margin.
  • Wimberley Head is preferred to Ball Head
  • Use your arms, hands and face as vibration
    dampening
  • Use Image Stabilization (IS) or Vibration
    Reduction (VR) if available
  • Use faster film, MLU self timer cable release

12
Film Choice
  • Slide Film Fuji Provia 100F
  • original first generation images for sharpness,
    contrast and colors
  • a reference for printing
  • pushability by 1 to 2 EV stops (E-6)
  • Print Film Fuji Superia 200, 400, REALA, NPH
  • - retain max retrievable highlight and shadow
    detail
  • wider exposure latitude /- 3 EV stops
  • widely available and processing (C-41)

13
Shooting Digital - DSLR
  • RAW Format
  • Photoshop CS version 8
  • Curves Levels
  • Image Sharpening Filter
  • Web Presentation

14
DSLR Shooting Format - RAW
  • RAW format provides a "digital negative"
  • Retain the maximum amount of data in your images
  • Use Software to convert RAW files e.g. Adobe
    Photoshop CS, File Viewer Utility, Capture One
    etc.
  • On to Photoshop for final processing

15
Photoshop CS
  • Powerful and flexible
  • Work in 16 bit TIFF image
  • Run NeatImage for noise removal if necessary
  • Perform levels curve adjustments to maximize
    the tonal range
  • Add sharpening as needed using the unsharp mask,
    USM, filter

16
Levels Adjustment
17
Curves Adjustment
18
Summary on Level/Curve Adjustments
  1. Use Levels before Curve to clip off the flat
    parts of the histogram.
  2. If you intend to use Curves for tonal control,
    don't shift the gray point (gamma) in Levels you
    will unnecessarily lose information.
  3. Use an S curve to increase contrast in the
    midtones.
  4. Push up the midpoint of an S curve to brighten an
    underexposed picture, while nailing down the
    shadows with a control point to the left.
  5. Pull down the midpoint of an S curve to darken an
    overexposed picture, while nailing down the
    highlights with a control point to the right.

19
Image Sharpening Filter
  • Selective sharpening
  • Make use of magic wand for part selection and
    only apply sharpening to it
  • Leave the background alone
  • Avoid the formation of halos at interfaces with
    high contrast
  • Use 100-150(A)/0.6-1.0(R)/2-6(T) for most images

20
For Web Presentation
  • Downsize using the Bicubic algorithm to a size of
    600 or 640 pixels on the longest size at 72dpi
  • Change the color space to sRGB (Image -gt Mode -gt
    Convert to Profile) at this point if you've been
    working in AdobeRGB
  • For print, upsize to the target size at 300dpi

21
Further Reading (I)
  • Adobe Photoshop 7.0/CS by Martin Evening
  • Real World Photoshop 7 by David Blatner Bruce
    Fraser
  • The Complete Reference Photoshop 7 by Greenberg
    McGraw Hill

22
Further Reading (II)
  • Art Morris - The Art of Bird Photography, Amphoto
  • John Shaw - Nature Photographer's Complete Guide
    to Professional Field Techniques, Amphoto
  • Outdoor Photographer magazine
  • NatureScapes.net
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