Photographing birds

Birds can be one of the most rewarding and frustrating forms of photography, they are always on the move, fast, small and extremely skittish.

I do however have a couple of tips that can make your life a little easier when it comes to photographing birds.

Patience is probably key, you will be waiting for long periods at a time and you will definitely miss a lot of shots, yet with patience you will eventually get the shot you want.

You need direct sunlight for a clear sharp image, as birds are continuously on the move and demand good light.

Be still and wait for the bird to approach you, the closer the bird is, the sharper your image and the more still you are the more chance you have of it approaching you.

Your camera will have to be set on continuous / rapid shooting, out of 10 frames you may get one really good photo.

Remember focusing on the eye.

Capture action, a bird in flight, eating or bathing is always more interesting. Unless you have colour on your side, colour always makes up for lack of action.

Birds are incredible to photograph, they will test your patience and ability...but always remember to just enjoy it.

Wildlife for beginners 2/2

wildlife for beginners continued will deal with understanding wildlife, their movements and composition (framing the animal). How to use these to your advantage and create simple yet beautiful wildlife portraits.

Why is it necessary to understand what you shooting? well by understanding certain animal behaviours you will be able to predict their movement. Animal behaviour is key to capturing that perfect photo, and if you cannot predict or anticipate their movements, the possibility is that you most probably will miss the shot.

The best way to learn is to observe; it means spending time with animals, watching animal documentaries, or researching wildlife photographers.

Animals move and interact, it is that movement and interaction that makes your image a little more interesting; be it a couple of zebra drinking at the watering hole, two giraffe crossing necks or animals eating, playing, biting, chasing, jumping, flying etc.

The direction the animal faces can change an image completely, and leaving directional space in your photograph gives your otherwise normal/generic image a bit of depth.

Wildlife for the beginner 1/2

Usually when asking my students which form of photography they prefer the most, 8 out of 10 times it will be wildlife. I don't blame anyone for loving wildlife photography, because as a subject they are flawless in behaviour and emotion, brilliantly photogenic.

There are however a couple of tips for the beginner enthusiast I would like to share.

(All photographs were taken in the Pilanesberg National Park, South Africa)

Firstly, respect the wildlife and if on a safari with a guide, respect the guide. It is quite understandable that you want the best shot possible, but remember you are limited by what the animal or guide is permitting. For instance, when shooting, use the available light, don't shoot with flash as it will irritate the animal. 

Secondly, because you are limited to the animals movements, you need patience and a lot of shots. You can wait for hours to get the right image or you may only have a moment to capture an image. Your camera should always be set to fire multiple shots in a moment, especially when it comes to an animal in motion.

"The light of the body is the eye: If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shalbe full of light." Matthew 6:22 KJV (1611)

Thirdly, capture the eyes, as they are the windows to the soul.

Usually when shooting wildlife you are shooting with a telephoto lens and a wide aperture, leaving you with an extremely narrow depth of field, so if all you keep in complete focus is a small part of the animal, let it be the eye (90% of the time)

Remember to have fun, and if you did not get the shot, there is always a next time.

Travel photography

Before travelling what is the one thing you make sure you don't forget to pack? your camera. It does not matter if you are a professional, amateur, beginner or just someone who wants to capture their holiday, most people love taking photographs of their holiday.

The photographs included were taken while in Swaziland and Dubai.

So where does one start? with the camera. If you have an SLR camera I must be honest and say you are a little better off than the person equipped only with a compact. This however does not mean you will not get incredible images, you will just be slightly limited.

For instance, I never suggest using "compact zoom" as it lowers your image quality considerably. Whereas with a SLR you have the ability to interchange your lenses, from wide to long and even faster lenses when needed. When travelling I find using a 200mm / f2.8 the most effective; it gets in nice and tight without bothering the subject and allows for low light opportunities.

The reason I love travel photography is because I get to mix it up a bit, from people to buildings, from landscape to indigenous wildlife and the list can go on. You get to capture your experience as the traveller as well as the lifestyle of the locals.

I have two suggestions; firstly respect the locals and the country you are visiting, you are a guest. Secondly you do not have to be in every photograph. The people who you will be sharing the photographs with know you were there and will most probably appreciate the photographs more if you were not in every one of them.

Travel safe and enjoy capturing memories.

Black and White continued: Journalistic Style

Capturing photographs for journalistic purposes are fun, but tricky. Even a little scary if unprepared. There is so much one can say when it comes to photographing in a journalistic style (Black and white), but I'm going to try and keep it simple for the beginner photographer.

(All photographs were taken in Zanzibar Stonetown)

My purpose was to capture the look and feel of not only Stonetown, but it's people as well. However, I had to remember people are not buildings and need to be respected. Many photographers seem to lose their basic manners when out on the street, please keep in mind your camera does not give you any more rights than those of your "subjects".

Before taking a photograph of a stranger, ask permission, if they say no, politely smile and accept. Many photographers keep some one/five dollar bills handy as a small token of thanks if the "subject" agreed to a photograph being taken of them.

As for the technical bits, I may be frowned upon by many photographers, but when it comes to photographing for the purpose of capturing a place in all it's beauty, break the rules now and then. Yes, try and remember the basics, rule of thirds,  keep your images well exposed, framed and sharp, yet if you shoot an image at a crazy angle and it is blurred, it may just be what you need, especially in black and white.

Try everything; shoot wide, get in close, change lenses, go low, shoot from above and regularly change shooting angles. Adjust your settings for movement blur or depth of field for portraits of single subjects. Manage your available light to benefit your image at all times. This does not mean never use flash, remember, try everything.

Anticipate, there is always something on the move in a city, be it a delivery man running past or a scooter shooting by. You may not even have time to focus your camera, shoot anyway, you may just get the shot.

as for processing, a nice tip is adding vignetting to your black and white images, darkening the edges completes your image.

Most of all, be patient and enjoy!

Simplify continued, 5 easy tips

Photography is rapidly becoming one of the number one hobbies for most people, big or small, boy or girl. Previously I mentioned how photography can be quite intimidating, yet when kept simple you find out how easy and fun it can be. It is very easy to find reasons why you can not take a good photo. For instance, your camera is not good enough or not understanding the technical terminology. I have been taking photos for a number of years now and am still learning new ways in taking photos and new ways in understanding my camera, hence the reason I am inviting you on my little blog journey, it is way more fun when you realise that even those “good” photographers are still learning everyday, so why not learn with them.
I have 5 easy tips for you, as a beginner, grasping these tips will shoot your standard of photography to a whole new level. It will take some time to fully grasp it, but take your time and enjoy the results.

1. find the right moment and always be ready for that photo moment; being a new photographer you most probably already have your camera with you at all times, but being ready means always having you batteries charged and enough space on your memory card. Remember your settings, I missed so many photos by being ready, but forgetting to change or preset my camera to the most effective settings, and afterwards kicking up dust because I lost the image to over exposure or blur because I never reset my previous shoot settings. In time this gets easier, but don't forget you are human and that mistakes happen, there will always be another opportunity for an even better photograph.

2. Exposure; understanding how light works and affects your photograph is in my opinion one of the most important factors when taking photographs. Personally, I dislike using flash (although there is a definite place for it), as it disrupts the originality and colour of the image. I prefer natural light, that fresh early morning sunlight, the golden hour in the afternoon or even the natural soft-box effect of a cloudy day, and don't forget the soft light shining through your window making for the most perfect shading. Most SLR cameras today have lightmeters, use it.

3. Depth of Field refers to the range of distance / the sharpness of the background. This unfortunately can only be manipulated if your camera allows for it by having a setting where you can change your Aperture (“A” or “F-stop”). I am always asked “how do you get that blurry effect in the image where only the subject stays in focus”...like this...

the lower the Aperture (F stop) numbers (such as F1.8/F2.8) the more shallow depth of field you will have, “blurry background”. Whereas the higher the Aperture (F stop) numbers (such as F16/F22) will have a longer focal length, meaning more focus in the background. Confused? Don't be, play with your different Aperture settings by taking one photo per Aperture setting and find out how simple it really is.

4. Composition was briefly discussed in “Black and White”, yet deserving of a repeat mention. Even though it seems to be the simplest tip, it can be the make or break of your image. How you choose to frame your image, be it clean and without clutter or busy yet balanced, is everything. This comes with practice and experimenting, changing angles and perspective or tightening in on the subject. Over time this becomes easier and less frustrating, just remember not to over complicate your image, keep it simple.

5. Edit your photograph, yes I said edit. This does not mean you don't need to pay attention when taking photographs because you can just fix the mistakes afterwards, It only means you can fix mistakes afterwards. Maybe you need to tweak the exposure a little, add some warmth or a little more vibrance is needed, this image Processing is called Editing.

Many people will try and convince you to use expensive photo editing programs; there is no need for this, trust me, there are many Free Software photo editing programs out and about ready to use.

http://www.gimp.org/

http://rawtherapee.com/

http://www.darktable.org/ (stable version only for Linux/Ubuntu)

Remember, don't complicate it, photography is not a task...enjoy!

Black and White

Everyone loves black and white photography, yet not many people attempt it; for some unknown reason it intimidates many beginner photographers. Don't let it; black and white is an amazing way to capture images, it allows you to instantly create an unlikely stunning photograph and in many cases even correct an image simply by turning it in to a black and white photograph.

Remember the piece on simplifying? Well this is no different; keep the clutter out of your frame and you will most likely take a good black and white photograph. However, there are a couple of tips that could come in handy.

For those who have the ability to shoot in RAW, do it. It will allow you a lot more freedom during the processing of your images. However, for those who do not have the ability to shoot in RAW...

Shoot in color; many compact cameras today have the ability to shoot directly to Black and white; avoid it at all cost. You limit your options during processing and remember your image is made up of information (data), the more information you have, the more you can manipulate the image.

The next time you look outside and see a unpleasant overcast and just plain gloomy day, cheer up because that is play time for the black and white photographer. Your photograph is not inundated with interfering shadows and burning light, and is instead complimented by a natural soft-box effect where the overbearing contrasts have been softened with a low contrasting light.

When shooting in black and white, use the lowest ISO possible. When shooting in high ISO mode the noise will become more obvious ( Noise is the “grain” you find in film photographs). However, it is not a completely bad effect if you have some noise in your black and white photograph, just as long as it is a 'smooth grain”.

Keep your eye ready to spot contrast, patterns and texture; remember when you taking photographs in black and white, shadows tend to stand out more, so you will have to use those shadows to your benefit. Making sure they create lines and patterns complimenting your image and using the available sunlight as back or sidelight could help with this.

Landscapes tend to only work well when there is some form of movement within the image, such as running water or flying birds in the distance.

Remember, black and white photography is shooting with emotion, it brings out the reality of the image you trying to capture.

Keep it tight and sharp, enjoy shooting in monochrome.