See the sun

I've been listening to the music of Pete Murray a lot lately, hence the title for this blog entry. It's the title of his second album (2005) and thought it appropriate for this image of a Crested Tit in warm light.

After the very encouraging results from last week, I tried again to create interesting photos of the songbirds at the forest feeder. This time, however, the ambient light levels were simply too high to try for rimlight shots. Given the restriction of the sync speed of my radio triggers (about 1/125s), it was not possible to eliminate the ambient light completely, not even at F16 and ISO100.

So I tried for a different moody effect. By underexposing the ambient light at about two stops and using a gelled flash as a backlight, I could simulate the effect of a nice sunrise. To me, the result resembles on of those sepia colored photos from the old box. I like the effect.

Some people have commented that by using flash, I have crossed the border and have left the realm of nature photography. To me, that is nonsense. Lots of photographers use fillflash to open up shadows. I just chose to place the fill flash behind the subject instead of on-camera. And also: the birds are still completely free to decide if they want to act as a model (well-paid, I must say) or not. If you are of another opinion, please feel free to comment on this blog entry.

Crested Tit; Canon 1D Mark III w. 70-200/4; 1/80s at F16 and ISO 200; Tripod and a single wireless flash.

Lighting on the edge

After the less than fortunate experiences of the Friday, I allowed myself another photography session on Sundaymorning. As the weather was drab again, it thought it would be a good idea to try some studio lighting techniques on the birds.

I took a single flash and my recently acquired wireless Ebay-triggers. I had tried them before with little success. Either the flash would not fire at all, or the flash would not sync, which means it went off but did not show on the photograph. With new batteries the successrate increased, but not yet enough to my liking.

The goal I had set for myself was to make a photograph that showes only the outlines of a bird, but enough to make the bird species easily recognizable. For that, I needed to put the so-called rimlighting technique to good use. A good thing I had thoroughly studied studio lighting techniques in the recent past!

I did not get many opportunities to actually push the trigger, and from the 6 shots or so I took in 4 hours, only one was good enough. With birds other than the Crested Tit shown here, the outlines do not show clearly enough, which is vital to the succes of such an image. These rimlit shots seem to work best with furry mammals. I don't think there are many bird species other than the Crested Tit that will provide good results. But I will try again, and any interesting results will be posted here.

Crested Tit; Canon 1D Mark III w. 70-200/4; 1/125s at F16 and ISO 400; Tripod and a single wireless flash.

Friday the 12th

I have never had any bad experiences with the number 13. On the contrary, some very good things happened to me in the past on the 13th, even on Friday the 13th. Friday the 12th, however, is a completely different story it seems.

It started with the weather forecast. Friday should be a nice and sunny day, the rest of the weekend was to be cloudy. So I arrived at a local lake before dawn to photograph ducks at first light. I froze my bottom off, waiting for a sunrise that never came. It was a very drab morning, so I resorted to some panblur shots.

On the way home, my car got a puncture. I spent the rest of the icy morning on a sandy forest road to exchange tyres. Finally home, I somehow managed to hit my neck with the carwindow. It still hurts... In the mail was a very nice letter from the authorities, politely asking me to transfer some money for a speeding offence. Nice.

Luckily, the evening brought better news. The award ceremony of the Argus competiton took place in Bornem and my image of a singing blackbird on a streetlight was awarded a honorable mention. Others did even better: Peter Baas won a category, as did Mike Testroote. Agnes Bax won the price of the audience with her amazing shot of two fighting foxes. Big congrats to all!!!

Northern Shoveler couple; Canon 1D Mark III w. 500/4 IS; 1/30s at F4 and ISO 400; Tripod from waterside.

Yet another Tit

The last Tit out of the party of five I want to introduce to you is the Coal Tit.
It was the last Tit to arrive at the feeding station (after the Great Tit, Blue Tit, Willow Tit and Crested Tit), but it is making up for that with a big appetite and by being around all day, every day.

But inspite of the almost continuous presence of the Coal Tits, they have proven to be very difficult to get a good (and sharp) photo of. Other birds often make their presence known by making a lot of noise. Coal Tits don't. Other birds often perch for a split second before diving onto the food. Coal Tits don't.

Other birds often use the same route to the food. Coal Tits don't. Other birds often eat their goodies very close to the food source. Coal Tits don't. You get the idea.

I told you before about the rather wet surroundings my hide is built in. Last weekend, the groundwater level had risen to knee-height. I was happy to have brought a big bucket so I could bring back the water level to more convenient heights. The bad thing is the high water level has made the soil underneath my seat crumble. It won't be long before the seat will collapse. I sincerely hope I won't be there to witness that fact and get a wet bottom in the process.

Coal Tit; Canon 1D Mark III w. 500/4 IS; 1/100s at F4 and ISO 800; Tripod from permanent hide.

Cold & Wet

Last week, I wrote about the increasing number of tit species that visit my forest feeding station (aptly renamed the Titty Inn) and how I hoped to be able to photograph Willow Tit and Coal Tit anywhere soon.

Well, things worked out better and sooner than I could have hoped for. Willow Tits have a bigger appetite for the sunflower seeds than any other bird species around, they just keep coming back for more. The Coal Tit that timidly watched the feeding frenzy from the safety of a spruce last week, now has found the confidence to book a table in the garden of the Titty Inn and has even invited a friend for dinner.

I find it very funny to watch the behaviour of the various tit species and how they go together (or don't). Great Tits don't like Blue Tits and Blue Tits hate Great Tits. Crested Tits cannot stand Coal Tits and Coal Tits try to avoid Crested Tits. Willow Tits couldn't care less and happily move between their cousins.

Unfortunately, the groundwater level in my hide increases with the number of birds. I already had to wear Wellingtons to keep my feet dry, but now the water level has reached 20cm. Sometimes I forget about the water and cross my legs, therewith providing the icy water free access to the inside of my Wellingtons. Nobody said it was easy to be a nature photographer...

Willow Tit; Canon 1D Mark III w. 500/4 IS; 1/125s at F4 and ISO 400; Tripod from permanent hide.