Getting comfortable with your gear and settings is the first step to achieving stronger avian photography. This genre depends on learning bird behavior, reaction time and proper camera settings. You know the saying, “Can you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?” “Practice, practice practice!” So, out to the backyard to study birds and work on using new settings.

Big lens, small birds

I was recently given an OM System 150-600mm f/5.0-6.3 lens to review. You can see that review here. But, having more time working with a lens and camera body combo you can find possibilities that were not apparent in a cursory look. For example, I found that this lens is more hand-hold-able than I thought even when stretched out to the max 600mm. This is an equivalent field of view of 1200mm on a full frame sensor. The camera is the OM System, formerly Olympus, OM-1. If you are looking at this system for an extra $200 you will have the newer OM-1 Mark II which would be my recommendation.

Being able to fill the sensor with your subject allows for more detail especially important when rendering feathers and small details.

Been introduced to many more backyard birds of which I wasn’t aware. I missed focus by just a bit in trying to catch this one. My fault, not the camera lens combo!
This little house finch was singing his heart out! I try to look for behavior to capture for my avian photography.
This little one looks like “Hey, what are you doin’?”

Backyard bliss

I’m fortunate to live near some relatively wild lands which means I get a spill over of birds nesting and passing through our yard. Heading out in the morning gives me a chance to watch for behavior, target small subjects in among the trees and experiment with various settings. This is great preparation and keeps me sharp for when I am out photographing for important targets. This gives me plenty of opportunity to keep in practice.

Watching and learning how a bird exits from its perch becomes helpful in getting better behavior images. Do they launch into the air? Or, like this do the drop from the branch and gather speed before deploying their wings?

Pro Capture Mode

If you are an OM System or Olympus camera user, there is a feature called Pro Capture. I believe some other camera manufacturers are working to add this feature as well. I call it “Shooting into the Past.” Essentially, the camera is recording images one after another with a half press of the shutter button, but not saving them. Until the shutter is fully pressed it will then save images that are in the buffer. You can make more bird behavior photos using this feature.

Here is where Pro Capture works best. Press the shutter half way. The camera begins to record, but not save the images. After you see the behavior you are looking for you press the shutter the rest of the way down and, ”voila!” the camera saves images from the past. Less bird butt photos you need the dispense with.

Yours in Creative Photography, Bob