| |
 |
| © Shaun Cunningham |
| Click photo to see more images. |
You don't need to trek into the wild to find waterfowl. City parks and wildlife sanctuaries are ideal for photographing ducks, geese, and swans. Not only are they easily reached, but in these spots the wildlife are used to having people around. Another advantage? You don't need outrageously hardcore gear. While I own some super-long, super-fast lenses, as well as teleconverters, more casual shooters can do well with something along the lines of a 75-300mm zoom. When it comes to getting captivating waterfowl photos, timing and technique count most.
Here are 10 specifics to keep in mind:
1. Get out often. Late fall through early summer are the best times to photograph waterfowl. You'll find fluffy newborn goslings and ducklings in the spring. Later in the summer, the birds molt and look scruffy.
2. Join the flock. Waterfowl are most active from shortly before sunrise until midmorning, and then again from midafternoon until after sunset. I like to arrive an hour before these prime times (yes, that often means showing up in early-morning darkness) to let the birds get accustomed to my presence. And when you move around, do so slowly and quietly. Bring a small foam pad to sit or kneel on; you'll be less threatening to the birds if you're low to the ground. A tripod that gets low is also important. I use a Manfrotto 3021 (starts at $187, street). It's solid, stable, and goes down to 8 inches.
3. Watch the light. That the birds are active when the light is best is a wonderful coincidence. Those soft, warm, low-in-the-sky rays couldn't be better. When a bird is lit by an early or late sun from the front or side, you'll get an attractive catchlight in the eye. It's a detail that separates a great bird photo from an also-ran. And with mallard ducks, buffleheads, and wood ducks, a beam of directional light hitting the right way brings out the full spectrum of iridescence in their head coloring. Watch the mallard drakes carefully. Just by turning his head a fraction of an inch, a male's head coloring can change from nearly black to a splendid green.
4. Study their moves. Pay close attention to the birds' movements, and soon you'll be able to predict what they're about to do, and plan your shot accordingly. Most ducks, geese, and swans bob their heads up and down, call out, and turn toward the wind before liftoff. Dabbling ducks, such as mallards, take off almost vertically. Diving birds such as coots require a running start, as do swans and geese.
5. Mind the wind. Calm days are best for waterfowl portraits. (When the wind blows, the birds are more nervous and keep their distance.) Mornings with an east wind and afternoons with a west wind are most productive for flight photography, because birds often take off into the wind and land against it. This means you'll have the light behind you, shining on your subjects, as they come toward you.
|
