I enjoy sitting in the back yard of my parents’ house watching the wildlife around the pond. It is always a relaxing place to unwind and watch the wildlife. The birds on the pond are always there and many times in abundance. This time around I had my camera to capture some of the action.
The time on the pond offered me some great bird photo practice. Each day I was on the back patio there were birds hanging around. Geese, ducks, a Cormorant, a Blue Heron, Killdeer, hummingbirds and many other small birds posed during my visits.
Equipment used for photos
Harry the Blue Heron
Yes, my mom named the Blue Heron Harry so we are sticking with it in this article as well. Harry was my most sought after winged creature around the pond.
Camera settings for shooting the blue heron photos below were:
| Still Photos | In Flight Photos |
|---|---|
| Focal Length 500mm Aperture f/7.1 Shutter Speed 1/500 ISO 1600 | Focal Length 500mm Aperture f/7.1 Shutter Speed 1/4000 ISO 5000 The ISO was increased much higher on these photos due to faster shutter speed, heavy clouds and rain. I had to overcompensate for the loss of natural light. |
The Cormorant
Camera settings for shooting the cormorant photos below were:
- Focal Length 500mm
- Aperture f/7.1
- Shutter Speed 1/4000
- ISO 1600
Ducks
Camera settings for shooting the duck photos below were:
- Focal Length 500mm
- Aperture f/7.1
- Shutter Speed 1/4000
- ISO
- 1st photo = 5000
- 2nd photo = 1600
- 3rd photo = 2500
Hummingbirds
Camera settings for shooting the hummingbird photos below were:
| 1st Four Images | Last Image |
|---|---|
| Focal Length 500mm Aperture f/7.1 Shutter Speed 1/2000 ISO 1000 | Focal Length 500mm Aperture f/7.1 Shutter Speed 1/4000 ISO 2500 |
There were a number of other birds around the pond that I didn’t get photos of.
Summary
Birds are a lot of fun to photograph and are very challenging. I just started shooting birds a few months ago and have messed up with about 95% of them. Trying to catch good shots of a bird in flight is the most difficult photography I’ve done. They fly fast and change directions very quickly. I will put together another article later discussing more about settings and how to shoot flying birds.
Let me know what you think in the comments below and be sure to rate this article.