How It Began – Leading Up To My Interest In Bird Photography
Growing up in Rochester, NY, the headquarters of Eastman Kodak Co. (unfortunately, a shell of its former self), with a dad who worked at Kodak, I always had an interest in photography. I learned how to develop black-and-white film and prints when I was about ten years old at the Kodak Camera Club. I bought my first 35mm camera, a Hanimex Pratika Super TL when I was thirteen and graduated with a Pentax 35mm camera a few years later. From there, I learned how to develop color film and prints in my basement darkroom.
I’ve always been interested in birds, especially raptors and owls. I never photographed any until recently, but I enjoyed seeing them circling through the air, diving for prey, or in the trees. If I did photograph any, I’d use my iPhone, which gave me less than stellar results, but I did have a record shot of the bird. This started to change after I retired in December of 2022. I became more active in hiking and, while hiking, began to observe more and more birds, which got me actively searching on my weekly trips.
I especially like to hike in Rockefeller State Park Preserve in Pleasantville, NY. The Audobon Society has designated this park as an important birding area, and I’ve seen many different species in my travels there. In March 2023, I encountered a Pileated Woodpecker while hiking. That woodpecker sat beside a trail, eating insects from a downed tree. The bird was so close I got some pretty good photographs using my iPhone. A little later, I found a cardinal in a tree near the trail and got some good photos and videos of this bird. Things went from there.
Phase I – Beginning Bird Photography With A Point-and-Shoot Camera
I had a Sony HX-99C point-and-shoot camera with an 18.2-megapixel sensor and a 30x zoom lens. It was compact enough to keep in my pocket as I hiked, and at the time, I believed the quality of pictures taken with the camera was pretty good. I took this camera on every hike to the park and, using the built-in viewfinder, attempted to get some close-up pictures of birds. Locating the birds in the camera viewfinder was a big challenge. By the time I could locate and zoom in on the bird, it was already gone. Keeping at it, I developed a reasonably successful technique and got some respectable shots. After a while, I could look for bird expressions and activities, making for even better pictures.
Phase II – Finding the Best Camera for Bird Photography – Point-and-Shoot
Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS80 Camera
Next, I purchased a Cannon PowerShot SX740 HS digital camera with a 40x zoom lens but no viewfinder—only an LCD screen. The LCD took a lot of getting used to, and I missed many bird pictures. But I wanted to keep trying because of this camera’s extra reach over the Sony. I again got to the point where I got respectable shots with this camera and started carrying it on my hikes, leaving the Sony home. Still, I wanted to see if another camera would give me better shots than the Cannon, so I purchased a Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS80. This camera had a viewfinder and a 30x zoom and could do some things that the Sony and Canon cameras could not. It took additional practice with this camera to get decent pictures, but eventually, I got the hang of it.
Phase III – My Bird Pictures Were A Little Disappointing
Bluebird was taken with the Sony HX-99C Camera
Red-winged blackbird taken with the Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS80 Camera
While my bird pictures were respectable, they were not, in my mind, good and certainly not great. After testing the three cameras and the images I was getting to the “real” bird photographers, I found the focus and sharpness of my pictures to be lacking. I used several image editing programs to improve the photos with some improvement, but I wanted to understand how to make them better. Looking into this further, I found the reason I could zoom to 30x and 40x with this camera amounted to a very small camera sensor and the crop ratio; in addition to impacting sharpness, the smaller sensor created “noise” in low-light situations. Overall, I was disappointed with the results, though I did get some great pictures in the right lighting conditions.
Phase IV – Update My Gear To Get Better Bird Pictures
I decided to invest in better gear at this writing about ten months ago. I selected a Sony a6700 camera and a Sigma 150mm to 600mm zoom lens. Compared to the point-and-shoot cameras, the pictures were great! I was happy with the results, and since then, I’ve been taking photographs typically two to three days a week. I have taken thousands of images and learned quite a bit through trial and error. I also took a few online bird photography courses and learned more. At this point, I’m working on getting the best possible pictures using techniques I’ve tried using this new equipment. I’ll go through what I’ve learned in various posts in this blog.
Summary Of Getting Started With Bird Photography
So, after many years, my interest in birds and photography collided, and I really enjoy bird photography. Getting out in nature, enjoying time in various fields and forests, and looking for a great photograph is a very satisfying way to spend my time. I’ve learned a lot about birds and how to capture them with a camera. Also, working on learning and improving my photo editing skills has brought me enjoyment after the fieldwork. Moving from my iPhone to a point-and-shoot camera to a mirrorless camera with a zoom lens has been a process I’ll share here.
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