A Bird and a Photographer

 

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 19^th 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