“Oh! I missed a nice shot, my camera refused to focus”,
“The light changed suddenly and got all settings disturbed”, “Oh Sxxx ! had the
shutter release button been pressed a fraction of a second earlier, I would
have got an award-winning photo.” At times while we are busy making photos of
birds in company of fellow photographers, we hear such annoying murmurs that
suddenly distract our attention and we may get distressing thought “ I may not be in a similar
situation”.
Let’s delve on some of such pitfalls and understand how
to save our day.
Sudden change of light-Some experienced photographers prefer to set ISO on
auto with its minimum and maximum limits depending on their expected requirement
in a given situation. They understand that either the natural light may
suddenly change or the subject would abruptly move in shade or harsh light. Therefore,
auto ISO comes to their rescue. A similar situation may hardly leave time to readjust
ISO by scrolling the camera menu. These days we see some cameras equipped with an
ISO button close to shutter release button at top of camera body to let user adjust
ISO without waste of time. It is there where it should be. This facility especially
helps those who do not like to set ISO on auto. Do it as the situation demands.
Camera does not focus- This is a very annoying situation. There can be
several reasons that make one to struggle to achieve perfect focus. It may be due
to some shooting conditions, which can be easily handled if you have carefully
read your camera manual. If the camera hunts for focus, back and front and is
unsuccessful in achieving it, generally it means either the camera lacks
contrast or you are trying to focus in low light.
One must understand that both DSLR and Mirrorless cameras
being different in technology, they differ in focus system. It’s, therefore,
necessary to understand our gear. Not only the camera, but also lenses. For
instance, we must know the minimum focus distance of our lenses. How contrast
detection and phase detection work in a camera.
Front focus or back focus- Most of the DSLR users often experience that while
auto-focusing, instead of focusing on the subject, the camera either focuses in
the background or foreground. This situation calls for calibration of camera
lens and these days some cameras have built-in system for calibration of
lenses. One can find this provision by scrolling
down the camera menu to look for AF fine-tune feature. Contrary to the DSLRs
the problem is rare with mirrorless cameras because these cameras focus on image sensor itself. Another
reason for impaired ability of camera to focus precisely can be due to dirty contact points. Therefore,
make it a habit to periodically clean your equipment.
Yet another reason for
struggle with focusing can be wrong selection of AF mode. The focus mode as
well as area mode work differently. One must know where to use AF-C or
Continuous Servo AF focus mode and which
AF area mode is to be chosen. Remember, the central AF point gives the sharpest
images. Good that if your equipment has the ability to over-ride autofocus with manual focus.
Missing first frames – Take offs by birds are always exciting. Some of the
new generation cameras are now equipped
with Pre-Release
Capture system. We can get images before we fully press the shutter release
button. To begin with, first set pre-release burst in camera, if it’s equipped
with this facility. With the half-press
of shutter release button, or the AF-ON
button if we have set back button focus, one second of images will be recorded
before actually release of the shutter.
The behaviour of birds being
unpredictable, we should keep a close watch on the bird and try to anticipate
its behaviour and flight. At times it
may appear that the bird is about to take off, but actually it won’t. Any
repetition of the shooting process can result in accumulation of several images
which would need adequate storage space in memory card.
Flying bird gets lost behind
branches-Its very disgusting for a bird photographer when a flying
bird which is being chased to get its clear shot, suddenly disappears behind
branches of a tree. The moment it again appears, we once again aim our camera
to make an image, but that moment is too short to be recorded.
The solution to such a peculiar
situation lies within the camera, if equipped with facility of focus tracking
with lock-on. This provision allows us to select the length of time the
camera will ignore an intruding object that blocks our subject. If this
function is enabled, the camera locks on to the subject and provides a variable
time-out period for the lock-on functionality. This time-out can be adjusted in
camera according to the delay time period as one may prefer. Practice and
practice.
Do your
homework- There are some
other pitfalls which can be easily avoided by simply doing our homework. For instance, before moving out with a camera, ensure
that its battery is fully charged and data card has adequate storage space.
Prefer to keep at least a spare battery. Don’t forget to give a fresh look to
the camera settings.
Patience and Practice- These
two are the key factors that matter a lot in bird photography. It’s a
common saying that the lost image is always the best image. Some photographers
who find focal length of their lens inadequate in a given situation, try to be
close to the subject ignoring that the bird may not like their presence and would
fly away. A keen birder knows that like
human beings, the birds also prefer to be within their own comfort zone. Our patience in their territory will
reveal that some of them not only look inquisitive, but actually approaching us provided
we give them the opportunity.
-Subhash Sapru
