11 Responses to “Bird Photography and Flash”

1. 
   Mia McPherson Jan 28th, 2012 at 7:11 am

   I don’t use flash for birds partly because when flash is used the birds usually fly away but most of all I am worried about the effects on the birds themselves and how it might affect them when they had been flashed if a predator were nearby. I worry about the hummingbirds that are subjected to the multiple flash set ups and what you have described about your experience just amplifies my concerns.

   The photo IS never as important as the subjects well being.

2. 
   Don Gato Jan 28th, 2012 at 3:35 pm

   I used flash at the very beginning of my bird-photography career more for misinformation than anything else… I got now about 4 years without using the flash at all and not only my birds feel easier, but the colors of my shots are real… and you can say vivid, as I’ve learned how to get the very best out of the settings of my camera.

   With the right accessories (sturdy tripod, good head and remote -cable- shutter- one can achieve the best, even in the poorest of light conditions.

   I would like to share an example, to prove my point… Notice that the portrait here, was obtained at 1/3s with 200 ISO!!!

   http://www.pbase.com/alex_vargas/image/137077281

   Cheers!

3. 
   Gale Jan 28th, 2012 at 10:13 pm

   Beautiful picture Alex. I don’t use a flash for birds either because the birds would be gone. I’ve found that a tripod and patience works best.

4. 
   ingrid Jan 29th, 2012 at 2:36 am

   I never use flash for wildlife photography, and I’m with Mia on the importance of the animal’s well-being over the image. I’ve read articles by a few photographers who do use flash, who say that the only appropriate and non-intrusive way to use flash photography for animals is by flashing from the direction of the sun, thereby emulating the light already illuminating the bird. In those instances, the impact of the flash would apparently be nil or so minimal as to not cause disturbance. But flashing in dark scenarios, or in situations where the flash is shocking or apparent to the animal, goes way beyond my idea of ethical wildlife photography. No photograph is worth that type of disturbance or hazard.

5. 
   Clare Jan 29th, 2012 at 12:39 pm

   Regardless of the debate of flash vs natural light in Wildlife photography, the situation at the hummingbird feeders has nothing to do with flash photography. What that describes is the abuse of wildlife by manipulation of them to obtain a photo. I can describe a similar setup that did not use flash. A well known photographer from my youth described to me how he obtained some photos of a Black-capped Chickadee at a nest hole. He plugged the hole with tissue preventing the bird from feeding its young until he had gotten the images he wanted. This was in the days of film and he shot a number of rolls “just in case”. No flash was used in the harming of those birds.

6. 
   Ingrid Jan 29th, 2012 at 1:49 pm

   Clare, what a wretched act that guy perpetrated. It’s hard to hear those stories. A couple of years ago, a popular photography magazine featured a photo of baby birds gaping in the nest. It was one of their prize winners. The brief caption said that the photographer had seen the nest on his way to work, raced home for his gear, and then setup near the nest to get the shot. There was no explanation for how intrusive his “setup” was or if his presence (most likely) dissuaded the parents from feeding the young, or if his scent trail may have led predators to the nest, which is always a possibility. The photo and lack of cautionary note was setting the worst example for others who saw this closeup of babies as an award-winner. Unfortunately, this happens way too often.

7. 
   budak Jan 29th, 2012 at 8:18 pm

   It seems a lot of these so-called ‘nature’ photographers know next to little about the needs, much less the welfare, of their subjects.

   A Singaporean biology student made some unpleasant observations recently of pishers versus a mangrove pitta (critically endangered in the country): http://g33k5p34k.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/birders-behaving-badly/

   The response from the community is at best questionable – at worst, shows a total inability for reflection or assumption of responsibility, see http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/world-nature/1037143-birds-pishing-re-mangrove-pitta.html The attempted retort that the student had ‘revealed’ the locality of the bird is moot as the pitta’s location was already well-known for several weeks, it resides in the mangrove portion of a public park that’s heavily visited by the general public, and the mangrove portion of the park has an elevated boardwalk from which visitors are not supposed to descend. Something about these photographers (their expensive gear, obsession with rare and beautiful shots….) seems to give them a sense of entitlement and immunity from criticism.

8. 
   Jochen Jan 30th, 2012 at 3:47 am

   I scarcely ever use flash for reasons beyond the bird’s welfare (which I put first anyway, being a birder with a camera rather than a bird photographer).
   I don’t own a flash in the first place, and the camera’s built-in flash produces ugly eye reflections and is of very limited range. Furthermore, I find bird pictures with flash simply boring because they are too perfect and artificial. Being a birder, my main interest in bird photographs is getting a feeling of what it is like to see a particular bird in the wild. I see hummers with blurry wings, so why would I want to see the fine microstructures of a hummer’s primaries in a flight shot?
   Furthermore, in much the same way as Nico McBrain considers a double bass pedal undrummerish, I consider a flash mostly unbirdphotographerish: it is too easy, a cheap trick to make things simple.
   Having said all that, I must admit though that I am frequently frustrated that my camera limits me to a max. of 1600 ISO, and that the graininess is then so bad that I can’t really go beyond 800. I therefore feel the lure of the flash and am not entirely sure how I’ll manage decent bird pictures once/if I do get to go birding in Indonesia in April this year.

9. 
   Donna S. Feb 1st, 2012 at 1:42 pm

   I feel fortunate that the bird photographers I’ve met in the field are the kind that take photos of birds in the wild without any set-up, sometimes waiting hours and hours for THE shot. The kind of bird photography tours described here are from another world.

   Good post, Renato. I’d like to hear more about your nature photography techniques.

10. 
    Gene McDonald Feb 3rd, 2012 at 12:33 pm

    Renato,

    Thanks for nine days of intensive birding. Our total group of six men traveled 1000 miles around Ecuador and observed approximately 300 species. I never dreamed I would see Andean Condors.

    I would encourage anyone interested in South American birding to contact you for a great trip.

    Thanks

    Gene McDonald

11. 
    Renato Feb 4th, 2012 at 7:25 am

    Dear friends,

    Thanks for your thoughtful contributions. This blog is not only about birds but also about people who care about birds. I feel very fortunate to be part of this 10,000 Birds blog.

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