Photography fascinates me for millions of reasons, for its ability to freeze an unrepeatable moment, for the possibilities of capturing lights and magical scenes, for finding beauty in corners where no one else sees it, for that mixture of subjective reality that we create every time we frame, adjust and press the shutter, for its ability to capture glances and ephemeral expressions… For millions of reasons. But one of the things I like the most is that photography is infinite, you can take pictures of anything, you never stop learning, you can specialize in millions of things, from cells to space, from dwarf bugs to huge creatures, from wars to newborns. Everything fits in photography. All. Land, sea or air. What do you say? What are you excited about aerial? Then you are in the right place, we are going to analyze what you will need in your flying bird photography journeys 🙂
And if you want to delve into the nature photographythis is our most complete guide, with tips, tricks and lots of inspiration.
Recommended equipment for photographing birds
Patience, essential to photograph birds
The first thing you should carry well loaded from home is patience. Rarely will you arrive at a place and the birds will pose for you with the best background, the best light, or the best pose. Bird photography is for those who enjoy cooking the images over a slow fire, for those who enjoy the journey, the process, nature and value the work prior to a shot. In short, it is not for impatient souls.
Reflex or EVIL camera
The sharpness It is key in bird photography, because we are going to work with large focal lengths, which is implicitly associated with a loss of quality, not only because of the optics, but also because of the space that distances us from what we want to photograph, in this case birds. The greater the distance between us and our center of interest, the more particles in the air that we must pass through to reach our objective.
Therefore, it is very important that our camera has good image quality, being the ones we recommend the most due to the size of their sensors, the SLR or the EVIL.
telephoto
For photographing birds, a telephoto lens of at least one focal distance of 300mm, ideally one of 400 to 500mm for Full Frame sensors (35mm). That is, you must bear in mind that a 400mm mounted on a Full Frame (FX) camera is not the same as for an APS-C (DX) camera. I guess that sounds familiar to you Conversion factorif not, it is very well explained in this article, but as a quick and practical summary, the difference between a Full Frame sensor and an APS-C sensor is the size of the same, which for what happens to us implies that when we buy a lens for an APS-C or DX sensor (not Full Frame), we must multiply the focal length x 1.5 or 1.6, depending on the model of our camera .
That is, if we have single a 300mm but we have an APS-C camera, this focal length would become an effective focal length of say 450 or 480mm (300 x 1.5 or 300 x 1.6), which is already more than enough for this guy of photography. Or if we have a 200mm and convert to APS-C, it would become a 300mm or a 320mm (x1.5 or 1.6).
Another aspect to take into account in addition to the focal length is the lens brightnesswhich in this case is of vital importance, since we will have to work with high speeds to freeze the movement, so the brighter the better (and the more expensive too 😉 ).
Finally, it is more than interesting that your objective has a stabilizer to compensate for the trepidations of our pulse when we work freehand.
Binoculars
Before you start shooting like crazy (with the camera shutter, of course) the first thing you have to do is find your protagonist, and you probably won’t be able to do this if you don’t have good binoculars. As in everything, there are multiple prices, features, sizes and weights, but to start you don’t need the most expensive or the heaviest or the one with the greatest range. One of these will give you very good results. 8x magnification and for example about 40cm diameterThey weigh little and have enough magnification.
If you’re passionate about the subject and you don’t mind scratching your pocket (quite a bit), you can go for a telescope specific to this type of photography. With one of these telescopes you can get up to 60x magnification.
Hide to photograph birds
A hide It is what would be a hiding place. They are built in some bird watching areas, and they are usually a kind of cabins or constructions with holes through which to observe the birds without being seen. But these constructions are only found in specific places, so if you are into this type of photography, you may want to get one laptop. They come in various sizes, patterns, and features (such as windows, materials, etc.). Depending on the place and conditions in which you are going to work, you should opt for one or the other.
You can also choose to dress according to the environment in which you are going to work and camouflage the camera and lenses, although if for the moment you only plan to try, wear discreet clothes, not make noise, and go somewhere where bird watching is easy, you will have more than enough ;-).
batteries
Yes, in plural ;-). I think that after the camera, the lens, a protective lens filter and a good strap, the most necessary investment is another set of batteries to always carry with you. The feeling of being in a magical place, in a magical environment, for which you got up early, walked, etc., and run out of battery is terrible. Without light there is no photography, but without battery even less ;-).
Multiple memory cards
For the same reason that nobody wants to run out of battery, because you can run out of space, it can be damaged or lost… Always carry a couple or three memory cards in your backpack. We always recommend more of a smaller size than less of a larger size, if you lose them, or they are damaged, you will never lose as many photos if you spread them over several cards as if you only use one.
monopod
A monopod can be very useful in this type of situation, where you need to combine the freedom offered by working freehand, with the stability provided by a tripod. While it’s somewhere between the two (you’re not as “free” as you are without it, and you don’t have as much stability as you do with a tripod), it gives you more stability than your own pulse and is lighter than a tripod, which is much needed. to photograph moving elements such as birds.
Bird Identification Guide
It is essential if you want to know not only what you are photographing, but also where to find it, what its customs and habits are, its habitat, the best months of the year to photograph each species, etc.
If you are passionate about the subject, it can also be interesting to sign up for group outings to share experiences, knowledge, tricks and, why not, make a friend, that is always worth it, and even more so if you share a hobby with him or her: -).
Does the arrival of good weather encourage you to photograph birds? The truth is that it is a precious specialization, frustrating, hard and like everything that is difficult to achieve, wonderful ;-).
I hope you have enjoyed the article. If so, please share it on your favorite social network. Thank you and see you soon :-).