More Bird Photography Tips

Wednesday 12 December 2018, 20:49 by Wilfried Solarz | 9,309 views | 13 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

In April this year, I wrote an article with 17 bird photography tips. This article continues where that one left off, with different 'models'.

All the photos were taken in 2017. Below are some photos I took, with descriptions of how they came about.

Grey Heron

The Grey Heron has a regular spot by a small waterfall. There are lots of small fish there. You might think that would not be very productive. Yet it catches a great many fish. Because the heron almost always does this in the same way, you can anticipate it well.

It picks up a fish and throws it into the air like a seasoned pancake flipper. It then works it into its mouth upside down. At that moment, let burst mode do its work and choose the best photo.

Blonde Buzzard

The Blonde Buzzard stayed put long enough for me to take up position. I made sure the light was behind me and used a meadow/woodland as the background. I set my camera to a fast shutter speed and waited for it to take off.

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtails and tulips are great fun every year. They are less predictable, but they still give you plenty of opportunities if you have found a good spot.

Black-necked Grebe

The young grebes spend their first few weeks between their mother's or father's feathers. The other parent is then constantly busy catching fish and feeding the young. I prefer a low viewpoint and the light behind me if you want to capture this well.

Male Montagu's Harrier

This species often flies the same route. I set myself up for a flight photo, set a fast shutter speed and overexpose by at least one stop. Then it is a matter of waiting for luck.

Red-backed Shrike (male)

In this case, I was given a tip about this spot. I have no other details about how I took the photo, apart from the fact that I waited for it to arrive and sit where you would like to photograph it.

Kingfishers

A stick had been placed not far from their nest, along with a hide (the address can be provided on request). The female regularly comes to the stick to receive a fish. Exposure depends greatly on the weather at the time.

Barn Owl

You rarely see a Barn Owl in the Netherlands during the day. Here I used a lighting setup. The photo was partly staged by offering food.

I used an ISO value of 2000 to get a shutter speed of 1/100th of a second. Far from ideal, of course, but if the owl stays still for a moment and you support the camera properly, it can just work. The address is available on request, just as with the little owls.

Purper Heron

There is a heron colony in the Weeribben area near Steenwijk every year. The herons fly back and forth to feed their young. Great fun to photograph if you like action. In terms of exposure, it makes quite a difference whether they are flying against the light or with the light.

To compensate, this photo was overexposed by 1.7 stops. You can often see this in the photo because of the white background.

Little Owls

Little owls are great fun to photograph for half a day. The owls know where to find food, but they also go out on their own. Reacting quickly is the key here.

To be honest, this is not the most difficult way to photograph them because you often get several chances, giving you plenty of opportunity to experiment with the settings.

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Dit artikel is voor het laatst bijgewerkt op 12 december 2018.
De eerste publicatiedatum is zondag 17 september 2017, 13:31.

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About the author

Wilfried Solarz is een self-made amateurfotograaf. De meeste kennis heeft hij proefondervindelijk opgedaan en door veel vragen te stellen aan experts. Wilfried heeft een grote passie voor natuurfotografie en dan met name vogels.

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13 comments

Theo wrote on Sunday 17 September 2017 at 15:31 | reply
Mooie uitleg Wilfred, en prachtige foto's. Geduld hebben, dat is het belangrijkste.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

guest wrote on Sunday 17 September 2017 at 16:37 | reply
Schitterende foto's maak jij altijd. Tijd en geduld heb jij zeker.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

geerjanssen wrote on Tuesday 19 September 2017 at 11:19 | reply
Top Platen, Wilfried mag van mij meer laten zien.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Maas wrote on Tuesday 19 September 2017 at 11:42 | reply
Zeer fraaie foto's , maar met zo'n lens kan het bijna niet fout gaan et de close up's
Het kost een paar centen maar dan heb je ook wat. Ha Ha
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

guest wrote on Tuesday 19 September 2017 at 14:44 | reply
Prachtige foto's waar ik graag jaloers op ben, maar zo'n lens kan ik never nooit betalen dus zal ik ook never nooit zulke foto's kunnen maken. alternatief is dus maar tussen de vogels gaan liggen haha maar complimenten voor de prachtige foto's hoor.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Peter Das wrote on Tuesday 19 September 2017 at 18:17 | reply
Wilfried, hartelijk dank voor het delen van de prachtige foto's en voor de informatie over de camerasettings. De foto's zijn weer bijzonder aantrekkelijk, mede door de actie. Ik weet dat je veel tijd in je hobby steekt en bovendien veel geduld hebt. Dat moet ook wel anders kun je nooit het door jou beoogde resultaat halen. Heel veel plezier en voldoening met je hobby..
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

guest wrote on Tuesday 19 September 2017 at 18:32 | reply
Complimenten voor deze bijzonder mooie foto's!
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Anne Van der Kelen wrote on Tuesday 19 September 2017 at 19:32 | reply
Prachtige foto's ,ik wil er graag meer van zien !
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

s e knol wrote on Tuesday 19 September 2017 at 20:20 | reply
super wat een mooie foto's
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

yzewyn wrote on Wednesday 20 September 2017 at 04:21 | reply
De moeite waard om te lezen! en te zien! bedankt Wilfried.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Thea wrote on Wednesday 20 September 2017 at 20:22 | reply
Mooie foto's zou graag het adres willen waar de ijsvogels zitten
heb ze nog nooit in het echt gezien
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

guest wrote on Wednesday 20 September 2017 at 23:42 | reply
Hoi Thea, stuur mij maar even een mailtje. wilfried2@upcmail.nl
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Mabotje wrote on Wednesday 27 September 2017 at 19:46 | reply
Werkelijk prachtige foto's, ik geniet ontzettende van zulke foto's. Blijft op mijn bucket-list staan ook ooit zoiets moois te kunnen fotograferen.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

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