The symbiotic relationship between avians and mankind has
significantly influenced their lives. Birds have always been a part
of the legends and folklores of different cultures all over the world. Their
songs and magnificent beauty of feathers have inspired human imagination which
for many mingles them with divine intervention. Also, for many they not only give flight to human emotions and creativity,
but also caution about impending doom, if any. The fact cannot be ignored that some
of the technological inventions that we enjoy today have been inspired by
birds.
Today, for many urban dwellers a bird
may often be regarded as a nuisance, but those who are avid bird watchers and
bird photographers keenly observe behaviour of birds and appreciate even crows
and ravens for their intelligence. It’s due to growing influence of avians in our social aspects that the nursery rhyme
‘one for sorrow and two for joy’ and warning of bad luck signalled by single
magpie reflects our attitude to conflictual relationship with birds. Some would
agree that there appears an element of disrespect for birds in our language we
use today. We have some unacceptable connotations like ‘a bird-brain’ (a silly
person) ‘for the birds’ (a matter of no consequence or something unimportant)
and even ‘killing two birds with one stone’ are examples of contempt in our
language.
Many nature lovers believe
that such an attitude having influence of myths, legends and practices is
largely to be blamed for birds not getting desired prominence in photography.
Thanks to the bird clubs for they are not only changing attitude of the people
by generating awareness about birds, but are also helping creative minds to
explore more about avians and hone their skill as observers of their behaviour
and record it in photographs.
Bird photography is such a
genre which requires precise skills and boundless practice. Invention of photography may date back to early 19th
century, but bird photography gained ground only after the vibrant colours and
fascinating lines of their profile began to draw attention of bird lovers. The
advent of cell phone cameras and social media helped professional photographers
as well as enthusiasts in developing interest in birds. Although fascinated by their
shapes, colours and texture of any plumage captured in a fraction of a second,
it’s appreciable that there has also been greater emphasis on conservation
issues through photography.
Today, a good number of wildlife professionals
specialize in making photos of birds. Also, there are those who can be simply termed
as beholders because they point their camera whenever and wherever their camera
takes them. There is another class of bird photographers who would prefer to
first see the bird with their binocular before making its photo. For them
colours and lines of birds are feast to their eyes. Over the years wildlife
photographers have reached such a level of skill that makes bird a flag bearer
and no wonder it might almost be
mistaken for seasoned actor on stage with
each twig and lighting fine tuned to capture a stunning photo. Thanks to
the technological advancements and wisdom of camera manufacturers who now add a
bird mode in their cameras so as to enable photographers to shoot birds with
precision.
Gone are the days when bird
used to be a rare subject for photographers, mainly due to the limitation of making
photos only in monochrome, who could not do justice to the fabulous colouration of birds. No one had even
dreamed of photographing birds in colour. Therefore despite this disadvantage the
photographers did not stop focusing on flowers. They laid emphasis on contrast and
tonal variation. Also, due to lack of technology they used to be ill equipped
in capturing rapid movement of birds. The advantage for photographers was that the
flowers do not force them to camouflage themselves while capturing their close-ups
.
If we look back, the idea of photographing a moving or a flying bird used to be a
technical challenge, but now-a-days movement of birds can easily be frozen.
This aspect of photography is an asset not only for an artistic pursuit, but it’s
also crucial in developing scientific understanding of nature and a way to
observe and document birds in their natural environment without harming them. Advancement
in photography has opened new vistas of hope and aspiration for not only bird
photographers, but also ornithologists, conservationists and wildlife
enthusiasts.
The fact cannot be ignored
that human brains are fine tuned to see human portraits reflecting behaviour,
personality, expressions and emotions. Interestingly, similar aspects are seen
in portraits of birds. There are those who create staged environment to welcome
real birds and observe them in their studio like settings, having special backdrops,
and birds are considered as characters on
stage. A question arises, is bird a model, source of inspiration or an accessory
for photography.
Although many bird
photographers go out with ideas about what to look for, but they seldom understand how to look. Today,
photographers make use of not only state of art technologies, drones, GPS,
night vision devices, powerful binoculars, monoculars and all that is offered
by digital world including artificial intelligence.
Some photographers have unflinching curiosity to photograph species or their choice or the one never seen before, to
which many emphatically call ‘lifer’. Despite so much technological
advancement, still there are areas which need to be explored to better
understand the life of avians. There are flight paths of birds that are
invisible to the naked eye. I am reminded of Xavi Bou who revealed flight paths,
that are invisible to the naked eye, by combining multiple photographs into
single image in his series Orthographies.
Wildlife photographers follow
a strict ethical code of conduct and go to far away places to limit
disturbances and avoid manipulations. Many of them develop an extensive
knowledge of the terrain of a specific area as well as behaviour of the birds
they set out to photograph. There are those who are contented with
photographing birds in their immediate surroundings. Also, there are those who
travel to remote areas in search of distinct species. It’s not because forests
are shrinking due to rapid
urbanization, thus forcing the birds to adapt to new surroundings. In the
recent past there were reports in media about some bird lovers making bird-friendly
concrete structures to facilitate birds with shelters.
This reminds me of nature definition of some prestigious
international photographic organizations like Fédération
Internationale de l'Art Photographique, or FIAP (Eng. The International
Federation of Photographic Art) and Photographic Society of America (PSA) which
state
“Nature photography records all branches of natural history except
anthropology and archaeology. This includes all aspects of the physical world,
both over water and underwater. Nature images must convey the truth of the
scene. A well-informed person should be able to identify the subject of the
image and be satisfied that it has been presented honestly and that no
unethical practices have been used to control the subject or capture the
image. Images that directly or indirectly show any human activity threatening a
living organism's life or welfare are not allowed.
“The most important part of a nature image is the nature story it tells. High
technical standards are expected and the image must look natural. Objects
created by humans, and evidence of human activity, are allowed in nature images
only when they are a necessary part of the nature story. Photographs of
human-created hybrid plants, cultivated plants, feral animals, domesticated
animals, human-created hybrid animals, and mounted or preserved zoological
specimens are not allowed.
“Photographs made where the
scene is natural and the animal is unharmed in a carefully managed environment,
such as Zoo, rescue centers and ethically managed natural environment farms are
permitted.
“Attracting or controlling
subjects through the use of food or sound for the purpose of photographing them
is not allowed. Maintained situations such as provided supplemental food due to
hardship caused by weather conditions or other conditions beyond the animals'
control, where photography is incidental to the feeding of the animal does not
fall under this provision.
“Controlling live subjects by
chilling, anaesthetic, or any other method of restricting natural movement for
a photograph is not allowed.
“Human-made elements shall be
permitted under the following circumstances:
a) When they are an integral part of the nature story, such as a songbird
singing atop a fence post, a manmade object used as nest material, or a
weather phenomenon destroying a man-made structure.
b) When they are a small, but unavoidable part of the scene, such as an
unobtrusive footprint or track in the background.
c) Scientific tags, collars, and bands are specifically allowed.”
The definition further states,
“When photographing at a zoo, sanctuary, or rehabilitation center, it would be
construed that the photographer ensured that it’s properly accredited and
conforms to best practices. “For wildlife photography, the definition
states,”In addition to the restrictions on Nature photography, to be eligible
for any Wildlife award images must meet the following conditions:
(a) Zoological
organisms must be living free and unrestrained in a natural habitat of their
own choosing.
(b) Images of
zoological organisms that have been removed from their natural habitat, are in any
form of captivity, or are being controlled by humans for the purpose of
photography are not allowed.
(c) Botanical organisms
may not be removed from their natural environment for the purpose of
photography.
(d) Images that
have been staged for the purpose of photography are not allowed.
Nature Editing Guidelines: Processing or editing must be limited to
making the image look as close to the original scene as possible, except that
conversion to grayscale monochrome is allowed.
“Allowed editing
techniques:
• Cropping,
straightening and perspective correction.
• Removal or correction
of elements added by the camera or lens, such as dust spots, noise, chromatic
aberration and lens distortion.
• Global and selective
adjustments such as brightness, hue, saturation and contrast to restore the
appearance of the original scene.
• Complete conversion
of color images to grayscale monochrome.
• Blending of multiple
images of the same subject and combining them in camera or with software
(exposure blending or focus stacking)
• Image stitching –
combining multiple images with overlapping fields of view that are taken
consecutively (panoramas).
“Editing techniques that are
not allowed:
• Removing, adding to,
moving or changing any part of an image, except for cropping and straightening.
•Adding a vignette
during processing.
• Blurring parts of the
image during processing to hide elements in the original scene.
• Darkening parts of
the image during processing to hide elements in the original scene.
• All conversions other
than to complete grayscale monochrome.
• Conversion of parts
of an image to monochrome, or partial toning, desaturation or over-saturation
of colour” concludes the definition.
The bird is not only a symbol
of freedom, hope and grace, it has also inspired writers, philosophers,
observers of nature, as well as ordinary folks. Above all, some of the
technological inventions that we enjoy today are credited to bird which
continues to be a flag bearer and will continue to inspire humanity for ages to
come.
-Subhash Sapru
