flight photography : advice for techniques from Glenn Bartley

PHOTOGRAPHING BIRDS IN FLIGHT - 10 TIPS FOR SUCCESS...

(advice from Glenn Bartley - http://www.glennbartley.com/)

When it comes to bird photography there is nothing that I love more than capturing an intimate portrait of a bird in its natural environment. Creating an artistic photograph of a challenging bird on an appropriate perch is what I live for! With this said, there is also something thrilling and deeply satisfying about capturing an image of a bird in flight. For many bird photographers this is the ultimate goal. After all, when you think of the defining characteristic of a bird, flight generally does come to mind. This month I will share my top 10 strategies for successfully photographing birds in flight.

TOP 10 STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

Pre-Focus: If you are anticipating photographing a bird at a certain distance, pre-focus your lens (manually or by auto focusing in the area where you expect them to be). This will make it easier for you to initially find the bird in your viewfinder and allow your auto-focus to lock faster.

Continuous AF: Whatever brand you shoot with - make sure you are using the predictive AF tracking mode (Canon calls this AI Servo). In this mode you can lock focus on the flying bird from far away and then by holding the shutter button down half way the camera will constantly keep the bird in focus as it gets closer to you.


AF Sensor Selection: Depending on the brand and model of camera that you use you will have varying options for what auto-focus points are actively being used. I recommend using the center auto-focus point with some form of peripheral auto assist focus points.

Limit the Lens: Many telephoto lenses allow the user to limit the range in which the auto-focus will search. For example my 500mm lens has a setting for 10m to infinity. If I know that the flying bird is not going to come closer than 10m from me I always use this setting. Doing so means that the auto-focus doesn’t have to hunt all the way back to 4m and drastically speeds up the rate at which focus is acquired.


Ditch the Tripod: For perched birds I use a tripod 99.9% of the time. But when it comes to photographing birds in flight I highly recommend hand holding your gear. The freedom to move freely in all directions and pan comfortably will undoubtedly result in more keepers.

Study your Subject: Some birds fly in a straight line, others have undulating flight patterns. Perhaps the bird is flying in a predictable direction or towards a known location? As is the case in all types of bird photography, the more you know about your subject the better you will fare.


"Pump" the Focus: If the camera does not lock on the subject quickly, rather than simply holding down the shutter button and hoping that it finds the subject, it is much better to “pump” the shutter button until the camera locks focus. Otherwise the auto-focus will simply go back and forth between infinity and the minimum focus distance of the lens.

Practice, Practice, Practice: Ultimately, being a proficient flight photographer requires good eye to lens coordination. This skill can only be developed from practice. Start with easy and readily available targets such as gulls and herons and then move on to more challenging subjects.

where to study nature photography

One centre of study for Nature Photography is in Falmouth ...

http://www.falmouth.ac.uk/201/courses-7/undergraduate-courses-42/marine-and-natural-history-photography-bahons-degree-254.html

They also do Ph.D's!

However, at present, I do not see that it would be possible to live away from home so staying with the more general approach of the OCA seems better.

chat with Jose Navarro

It was on an OCA day at the Museum of London that I heard Jose Navarro talking about The BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition and, in particular, the winning entry that was disqualified since it came to light that the photograph had been set up.

I asked Jose what he thought about the competition as a whole and he gave me a direct answer. He considers that aesthetics have come to dominate content (not his exact words but the gist of what he said!). His point of view with which I concur is supported by the way the same subjects (the polar bear for instance) crop up year after year, each time with a different angle.

The viewer needs to see something that they are familiar with or perhaps the viewer needs to be seduced and that is best done with something familiar.

BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2011 RULES

This competition seems to be a good balance between images that require technical ability if not expertise yet also need to be relevant to the world today. Probably, it is the best competition of nature photography in the world that sets standards of quality and practice.

Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2011 competition rules - for adult entrants

1. Mission statement

1. Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year champions ethical wildlife photography – specifically the representation of the natural world as faithfully as possible, free of excessive digital manipulation, with honesty in all captioning, and total regard for the welfare of the animals and their environment.

2. About the competition

1. Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year (“the Competition”) is one of the most prestigious competitions of its kind, attracting entries from professional, amateur and young photographers worldwide.
2. The Competition is jointly owned by the Natural History Museum Trading Company Limited and BBC Worldwide Limited ("the Owners").
3. By encouraging innovation whilst maintaining excellence in nature photography, the Competition seeks to promote the discovery, understanding, responsibility and enjoyment of the natural world.
4. An internationally renowned panel of photography experts (“the Judges”) will select images based upon technical skill, diversity, originality and creativity of composition.
5. Prize-winning images will be showcased in the Natural History Museum’s acclaimed annual exhibition, and will also tour nationally and internationally, thereby reaching an audience of over 2.5 million worldwide (“the Exhibition”).
6. Winning images will be published within a Portfolio Book in at least 6 languages and also in a special edition of BBC Wildlife Magazine.
7. Winning images will be published on the Owners’ websites and through a variety of media as described in more detail below.

3. Terms of entry

1. It is the responsibility of each entrant to ensure that he or she has read and abided by the Competition Rules set out below.
2. By submitting an entry, each entrant agrees to the Competition Rules and warrants that his or her entry complies with the Owners’ requirements and that all image information supplied is complete, true and accurate.
3. Any entry found not to comply with the Competition Rules will be disqualified.
4. No refunds or allowances will be made in such instances.
5. The decision of the Owners, on all matters relating to the Competition, is final and binding: no negotiation will be entered into with respect to any such decision.

4. How to enter

1. The Competition is open to anyone except those involved in its organisation or employees of BBC Worldwide Limited or of the Natural History Museum or of the Sponsors.
2. Entrants to the Adult competition must be aged 18 or over on the closing date.
3. Entrants should register at www.nhm.ac.uk/wildphoto.
4. A single sum of £20.00 (“the Entry Fee”) is required per entrant.
5. Once payment has been received, entrants will be sent an Entry Code from buyonline@nhm.ac.uk.
6. Entrants will also receive competition correspondence via wildphoto@nhm.ac.uk or nhm@nhm.pmailuk.com. The Owners cannot be held responsible for emails that do not arrive due to the entrant’s email security settings or restrictions placed by their Internet service provider.
7. On receipt of an Entry Code, entrants may login and upload images via www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/wpy-entry/login.jsp.
8. Each entrant may submit a maximum of twenty (20) images in total with no more than three (3) images allowed per individual Category excluding the Special Portfolio Awards.
9. Entrants MUST submit ten (10) images to the Eric Hosking Award.
10. Entrants may submit a maximum of two (2) stories comprising six (6) images for the Wildlife Photojournalist of the Year Award.
11. No single image or similar may be entered into more than one Category.
12. Images entered into the wrong Category will be rejected.

5. What to enter

1. Originality and innovation are at the core of the Competition: images must have been taken within three (3) years of the Competition’s closing date.
2. Images of nature including wildlife, plants and fungi, landscapes, man’s impact on the environment (both positive and negative) are eligible and can be entered into the following categories:
   
   
   1. Animals in their Environment
   2. Behaviour: Birds
   3. Behaviour: Mammals
   4. Behaviour: All Other Animals
   5. Underwater World
   6. Animal Portraits
   7. In Praise of Plants and Fungi
   8. Urban Wildlife
   9. Nature in Black and White
   10. Creative Visions of Nature
   11. Wild Places
   12. Special Portfolio Award: Eric Hosking Award
   13. Special Portfolio Award: Wildlife Photojournalist of the Year
   14. Special Award: Gerald Durrell Award for Endangered Wildlife
   15. Special Award: One Earth
3. The Owners reserve the right to remove replace or re-title individual categories prior to opening the Competition annually.
4. Entries must be digital files. Scans of transparencies and negatives are also accepted. Digitally captured images should have been taken on a camera that can produce a suitable RAW file (eg *.NEF,*.CR2,*.ORF,*CRW).
5. For initial entry, images must be submitted as JPEGs, saved at quality setting 10, Adobe RGB 98, and must be 1920 pixels on the longest dimension.
6. Entrants must be able to supply a high resolution file, preferably TIFF files, suitable for printing in all media and for inclusion in the Exhibition should their image be successful. This should be 8-bit, Adobe RGB 98 at 300dpi. Images within the Exhibition will be printed to an approximate minimum of 920mms along their longest dimension.
7. Entrants must supply the RAW file or original transparency or negative for all images shortlisted for the final judging round.
8. To ensure technical compliance prior to entering, additional details are included within the Digital guidelines.

6. What NOT to enter

1. Images of family pets or farm animals or cultivated plants.
2. Images of captive animals except when illustrating an issue for inclusion in either One Earth or Wildlife Photojournalist of the Year.
3. Images created using live bait.
4. Images of animal models or other animals being exploited for profit except when illustrating an issue for inclusion in either One Earth or Wildlife Photojournalist of the Year.
5. Images of restrained animals except when illustrating an issue for inclusion in either One Earth or Wildlife Photojournalist of the Year.
6. Images that have won a prize (ie winner, runner-up or commended) in any other major competition at the time of entry.

7. Ethics

1. Entrants are responsible for ensuring full compliance with any national or international legislation, for example in the case of protected species, governing the country in which the image has been taken.
2. Images must be accompanied by copies of the relevant permits: these should be scanned and emailed, or posted to the Owners with the entrant's full name, entry code and information to which the image relates.
3. Image information supplied must be complete, true and accurate.
4. Entrants are required to be mindful of the welfare of animals at all times, to safeguard their environment, and to ensure that they do not do anything to injure or distress animals or destroy the habitat in an attempt to secure a specific image.
5. If the Owners suspect that an image has been achieved through the use of cruel or unethical practices, the entry will be disqualified.

8. Judging

1. The Chairman of the Judges and the Judges (“the Panel”) will be appointed by the Owners and will agree to terms and conditions of conduct thereby ensuring the spirit of the Competition is maintained throughout.
2. The Panel will include representatives of the Owners as well as photographic experts independent of the Owners.
3. In the event that any single Category is without an image of sufficient merit, the Owners reserve the right not to award a winning prize to that specific Category.
4. Only individual Category winners will be considered for the overall title of Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

9. Competition prizes

1. Winners and runners-up of a Category, together with commended images, will be notified via email in confidence in June and invited to attend a special Gala Awards Ceremony in October where the overall winner will be announced.
2. The title of Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year will be awarded to the single image judged to be the most striking and memorable of all the entries.
3. The overall winner of the title of Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year will receive £10,000.00.
4. Each Category winner will receive £500.00 and each runner-up will receive £250.00.
5. Special Award winners will receive £1,000.00 and each runner-up will receive £500.00.

10. Publicity

1. Each winning entrant agrees to participate in related publicity and to the use of their name and likeness for the purposes of advertising, promotion and publicity of the Competition and Exhibition without additional compensation.

11. Copyright and reproduction

1. Each entry must be the original work of the entrant and must not infringe the rights of any other party.
2. Each entrant must either be the owner of the copyright or have secured the written permission of the copyright owner to enter the image into the Competition and grant the Owners the rights detailed below.
3. The copyright in all images submitted to the Competition will remain with the copyright holder who will be credited in accordance with the Competition’s guidelines.
4. By entering the Competition, each entrant grants to the Owners a non-exclusive irrevocable licence to reproduce, publish, and communicate to the public by any means and exhibit their image and copies of their image in all media throughout the world in relation to the Competition and the Exhibition including but not limited to all use in the context of:
   1. Judging the Competition.
   2. Display in the Exhibition.
   3. Inclusion in the Portfolio Book and magazine or similar.
   4. Inclusion within interactive elements associated with the Competition and or Exhibition (now known or hereafter created) available for viewing or download from the Owners’ website.
   5. Inclusion in promotional, press and marketing materials associated with the Competition and or the Exhibition.
   6. Inclusion in merchandising associated with the Competition and or the Exhibition.
5. In some of the above circumstances, commercial opportunities may exist for winning photographers to benefit from the use of their image: where a commercial benefit is likely to arise, permission will be sought in advance and terms and conditions will be agreed.
6. Winning images will be used by the Owners for a period of eighteen (18) months from the announcement of the winners and thereafter the Owners may keep the winning images within an archive (electronic or otherwise) for a further period of five (5) years, after which permission will be sought from the photographers should their images be used in connection with the Competition and or Exhibition.

12. Liability

1. Proof of electronic submission is not proof of receipt by the Owners.
2. The Owners regret that they cannot accept liability for any loss or damage of any image entered into the Competition howsoever caused nor for any other loss or damage resulting there from.
3. The Owners regret that they cannot accept liability for the misuse of images and or failure of any third party to comply with the Competition’s credit guidelines.
4. Non-winning digital images entered into the Competition will not be retained stored or returned by the Owners after the winners are announced in October.

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article on nature photography by Parvati Nair (published in The Guardian)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cif-green/2010/aug/06/natures-frame-photography

The old adage "a picture is worth a thousand words" needs to be rethought. More importantly, a picture can have the power to move a thousand hearts and change a thousand minds. Often, photographs bring to our eyes what we may have seen many times before, but not noticed. They can shed new light on the everyday and the ordinary. They can redirect the course of our vision, so that we see, think, imagine and even, perhaps, act differently.

No doubt, one of the most pressing campaigns of our times is that for sustainability and environmental awareness. In the ruthless course of modernity, our approach to nature has been one of extraction and use. We urgently need to alter how we relate to the world around us and to re-educate ourselves in terms of the larger planetary scheme, hung, as it is, on a delicate ecological balance that is being dangerously disturbed by our many modern machinations in the name of science, technology, development and progress – and, dare I say it, capital.

Nature photography has become a potent tool in this struggle. Through it, we learn of the many others – the wondrous diversity of flora and fauna – with whom we cohabit on this planet. It is also, as the Guardian's nature photography project reveals, a medium taken up by professionals and amateurs alike. So, what role does photography play in defining our relationship with nature? What do images of nature and wildlife tell us and why do we feel compelled to view them? Who among us has never been moved to snap a sunset on the horizon, a flowing river, a blossom in spring?

Our zeal for visually representing nature has a long and complex history. The advent of photography was celebrated as a milestone in the modernist quest to capture nature better. For early photography was largely devoted to documentary purposes and, in the apparent fidelity of its representations, the camera in the 19th century exceeded the naturalist drives of painters who, during the Renaissance and early modern period, tried to explore, and so tame, nature by rendering it into art.

Photography, however, is poised on a fine borderline between documentary and art. Never just one or the other, photographs can exceed the set frame. Moreover, the photographic frame can reveal the unsettling ability to extend and include us in its space. Photography is inclusive in its mediatory role. It extends covenants.

Often, nature photography calls on modern humanity's sense of nostalgia for a harmony between man and the environment. As John Berger has rightly stated, the way we see is conditioned by our history, and so it is that we may look at nature in terms of loss. As with the many images of the recent oil spill off the coast of Florida, this can be founded in fact and so provoke a sense of culpability, a sudden awareness or questioning of our precepts and actions. Photographs lead us to rethink, to realign the frame of our understanding.

The force of photography also lies in its playfulness. And by this, I mean the many overlapping discoveries of unvoiced knowledge, feelings and imagination that we stumble upon via images. So, the flipside of loss or pathos can be a freshness of vision or a change of perspective. Above all, nature photography lends to our lives what we long ago lost in our modern abandonment of nature – the experience of wonderment, that sense of discovery, newness and awe.

Take, for example, Ernst Haas's images of dramatic skies, the elements and the seasons. His work, dramatic and inspiring, calls upon our pre-modern imaginations of the world at its most elemental, charged with a dynamic energy.

Photographs can also point out the extraordinary or magical in the seemingly irrelevant, as in Bolucevschi Vitali's prizewinning image of ants poised like dancers in stellar form. Modernised, urbanised and alienated as many of us are, photographs remind us of nature's many complexities and subtleties. Or, as in Sebastião Salgado's on-going project Genesis that is linked to an equally challenging project at the Instituto Terra to restore Brazil's Atlantic rain forest, photography marries wonderment, amazement and joy to a well-defined and articulated commitment to the planet. It melds fractures and helps envisage solidarity in our imbalanced and fractured world.

So what moves us to snap a sunset on the horizon, a flowing river, a blossom in spring? The photograph by itself is only a token of a moment gone by. Its power lies in the metaphor, for photography captures our minds more than we capture the subject.

In the case of nature photography, we discover that the battle for sustainability and environmental balance is not something fought "out there", in the distance, but one that ultimately returns us to the natural. Environmental photography matters, because it offers the lifeline of a bridge between our modern, denaturalised, mechanistic mores and the imperative of nature within and without.