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Posts Tagged ‘Paul Burwell’

1400mm with the 5D Mark II done sharply

Thursday, July 14th, 2011

Purple Finch on the branch of a Spruce Tree - Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 500mm F4L IS, Canon 1.4x & 2.0x Extender II, @1400mm - Gitzo 3541XLS with Jobu Design BWG-Pro Gimbal Head

Sitting in my living room, I suddenly heard an extremely enjoyable and melodious tone from outside. Hearing it repeated a few times over about 15 minutes was finally enough to lift my sorry carcass off of the couch and out onto the back patio. I discovered a male Purple Finch (he of the melodious tunes) along with a female partner going about the process of building a nest in the Spruce Tree just outside of the back door of my home.

I ran to get my tripod (a Gitzo 3541XLS with a Jobu Design BWG-Pro Gimbal head attached) and set it up with my Canon 500mm F4L IS lens attached along with the 1.4x Extender II that is pretty much welded to the lens. I say welded because if you do much wildlife photography at all you know that there is rarely such a thing as too big of a lens.

I took some shots of the joyful little singer but discovered that (and as is often the case with the little song birds) that he just wasn’t filling the view finder the way I wanted. And with that 1.4x teleconverter attached to the 500mm lens I was already shooting at the maximum minimum aperture for my 5D Mark II, F5.6; assuming I wanted to use autofocus. I have a 2.0x teleconverter too and thought briefly about just throwing that on and making the best of things with manual focus.

However, I recalled an experiment I did a couple of years ago with my 500mm lens paired with BOTH the 1.4x and 2.0x teleconverters (also known as stacking teleconverters) which yielded a 1400mm focal length at F11 as the largest aperture. I was able to achieve really good results shooting with enough light and stopping down about 2/3 of a stop from F11.

I set up the combination on the tripod. The main trick when you use a setup like this is focusing. And, if you’re going to need to focus on some sort of moving object, forget about it, it’s just too touch. But with a subject like this, who upon returning to the tree that his female partner is building a nest in (she does all the work; he just accompanies her on her travels lest her attentions wander to a rival) would happily choose a branch and perch on it whilst singing his little heart out. This would allow me the time required to manually focus on him.

Purple Finch singing from the branch of a Spruce Tree - Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 500mm F4L IS, Canon 1.4x & 2.0x Extender II, @1400mm - Gitzo 3541XLS with Jobu Design BWG-Pro Gimbal Head

But still, another problem. I don’t know about you, but my 45 year old eyes have a lot of trouble looking through the viewfinder and finding critical sharpness. It can look sharp in the viewfinder but that often leads to disappointment in the cruel light from my monitor while developing the images. So I used a trick I’ve used for my snowflake photography. I temporarily switched to “Live View” and then zoomed in a couple of times on the Finch’s head. That way I could dial in critical sharpness, switch back to regular shooting mode and then make my shots until the little feller decided to move.

You’ll notice that I switched back to regular shooting mode instead of staying in Live View mode. Why? It’s all about the long-lens shooting technique that I use. This technique requires that in addition to draping my free hand over the lens to dampen down vibrations, I also jam my eye up against the viewfinder to help use even more of my body mass to help stabilize the lens. If you’re interested in the technique, you can read about it in a couple of previous blog entries in part 1 and part 2 of Making Sharper Images.

So, if you’ve got one of the good primes in your arsenal of lenses (and I’d say most of the prime lenses from any of the major camera manufacturers qualify) and you’ve got yourself a pair of teleconverters, don’t hesitate to give the combination a try and see what you can achieve. I’m willing to bet you’ll be a bit surprised by the sort of quality pictures that can be achieved with the right subject, proper gear to support the equipment along with the technique I talked about previously. And yes, you’ll probably have to employ the three “p”‘s of photography; practice, practice, practice!

Purple Finch singing from the branch of a Spruce Tree - Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 500mm F4L IS, Canon 1.4x & 2.0x Extender II, @1400mm - Gitzo 3541XLS with Jobu Design BWG-Pro Gimbal Head

You can find out more about Paul at his website and blog: Paul Burwell Photography

Follow Paul on Twitter here: link

Check out Paul's Wildlife Photography Academy Workshops here: link

Tags: finch, Instructional, Paul Burwell, photography, techniques, Teleconverter, Wildlife photography
Posted in Articles, Tips and Tricks, Wildlife | No Comments »

Learning wildlife photography – Making sharper images – Part 3

Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

Chipping Sparrow perched on a branch

Learning wildlife photography – Making sharper images – Part 3 – In this final installment on making sharper images, we’ll discuss a few more things to think about when you’re trying to make the sharpest possible images.

Shutter Speed – You need enough shutter speed to have a reasonable chance at making a sharp image. The general rule of thumb is that your shutter speed should match the focal length you’re shooting at. E.g. For an image made at 220mm you should be shooting at a minimum of 1/200th of a second. With an image stabilized camera or lens, you can generally get away with a shutter speed that’s a couple of stops slower (1/50th of a second in this example).

If your subject is moving around, you need enough shutter speed to freeze the motion. In most situations, you probably need shutter speeds of 1/250th of a second or faster to freeze the motion.
One of the big advantages of digital photography is that you have the option of boosting your camera’s ISO setting in order to achieve a higher shutter speed. Of course the trade off with the higher ISO settings is increased noise in the images.

Camera Support – Many photographers are not accustomed to making images with the aid of a tripod. They find them cumbersome to use but instead enjoy the flexibility that hand-holding their camera gives them. However, I am a strong advocate for using a tripod whenever it is practical. Even with today’s advanced image stabilization system and cameras capable of reasonable images at high ISO settings, it is still generally advisable to use a tripod to enhance your image quality.

Cinnamon colored Black Bear sitting in the tall grass

Hand Holding - If you insist on hand-holding your camera, learn how to properly brace yourself.

When standing, have one hand supporting the lens from underneath while the other hand operates the camera’s controls and shutter.
- Keep your elbows tucked tight against your body to provide extra support.
When kneeling or lying prostrate on the ground, look for ways to brace yourself against your own body or another structure in order to enhance the camera’s stability.

Tripods – When considering a tripod, look for one that is over-engineered and built to withstand at least a 1/3 more weight than the heaviest equipment you plan on perching on top of the tripod.

I personally prefer Gitzo carbon fibre tripods. I really appreciate the light-weight of the carbon fibre when I’m carrying the tripod on my shoulder. I use the Gitzo 3540XLS. It’s the first tripod I’ve had that I can walk under when it is fully extended and that’s a bit of trick given that I’m over six foot tall.
I understand that not everyone can afford a Gitzo tripod. A tripod that is well engineered and available for quite a bit less than a Gitzo are the tripods from Induro.

Puma kitten running across the snow – CA

Tripod Heads – Gimbal Heads - When photographing wildlife using my telephoto lenses, I almost exclusively use a gimbal head when photographing wildlife from a tripod. Why?

A gimbal head allows you to completely balance your equipment. You don’t need to worry about the head flopping over if you let go of it. On a gimbal head, when you let go of your equipment, it just returns to a center position.
A gimbal head gives you fingertip control while panning your equipment left to right or up and down (or any combination thereof).
When you’re photographing a subject that is moving a lot, a gimbal head allows you to concentrate on the action instead of fiddling with keeping your equipment upright on a ball head.
I use a Black Widow Gimbal Head from a company called Jobu-Design. Wimberley and Induro also make excellent gimbal heads.

Tripod Heads – Ball heads – Most photographers seem set on using a ballhead to support their lens and camera. If you do use a ballhead, make sure it is engineered to support the equipment’s weight.

A good ball head will lock down in a manner that doesn’t allow the angle to creep due to the weight of the equipment.
When I use a ball head, I’m partial to the ball heads made by Really Right Stuff. Acratech also makes excellent ballheads.

Short-eared Owl in flight

Beanbags – When I’m photographing from my vehicle my absolute favorite support for my camera and lenses is a saddle-shaped beanbag. This beanbag slings over the door/window with half hanging on the inside of the vehicle and the other half hanging on the outside of the vehicle. The seat of the beanbag supports the lens. Beanbags are great because they are extremely easy to pack into your luggage and take with you (empty!, duh) and then you can fill them when you get to your destination. Remember to turn the vehicle off when you’re shooting from a vehicle so that the engine’s vibrations don’t make your images soft.

Bird seed makes excellent filler for beanbags and has the added benefit that if you decide to leave it behind somewhere, the local birds get a treat.
When I’m home and not planning on flying anywhere anytime soon, I use lima beans as my filler. It makes for a heavy beanbag, but the weight really gives a solid support for the gear.
For a lightweight alternative consider using crushed walnut shells. These are commonly used as filler in the beanbags sold in gun stores for target shooting.

Conclusion – So there you have it, the three basic elements of making sharper images.

Remember to focus on the eyes
- Learn to quickly select your camera’s auto focus points quickly and efficiently.
Use the best quality lenses you can afford
- Spend available resources on good glass and not chasing the latest/greatest body
Use a shutter speed appropriate to your focal length and the speed your subject is moving at
If your lens or camera support a stabilization system, use it when appropriate
If you insist on hand holding your gear, learn how to do it properly
Get a strong tripod capable of supporting a 1/3 more weight than the gear you plan on using
Use a tripod head suitable for the job.
- For the large super telephoto lenses, a gimbal tripod head is a virtual necessity
For photographing from an automobile, use a beanbag to support your lens.

You can see from this three-piece article that there are a lot of factors that go into making sharp wildlife images. Practice combined with the right equipment will go a long way in your quest for sharper images.

You can find out more about Paul at his website and blog: Paul Burwell Photography

Follow Paul on Twitter here: link

Check out Paul's Wildlife Photography Academy Workshops here: link

Tags: Paul Burwell, sharp, technique, wildife photography
Posted in Articles, Tips and Tricks, Vision, Wildlife | 1 Comment »

Learning wildlife photography – Making sharper images – Part 1

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011

Wilson's Phalarope swimming on a marsh – 1000mm, AI-Focus

Making sharper images – Part 1 – A lot of wildlife photography is dependent on the use of telephoto,telephoto-zooms and super telephoto lenses to make reasonable images of small subjects or larger animals off in the distance. When you use a telephoto lens, you need a new set of techniques in order to ensure that you end up with sharp images. Nothing is more frustrating than coming across some desirable subject, actually getting them into your viewfinder only to get home and discover that the images are lacking in the sharpness department.

The first thing to focus on (pun intended or not, you decide) is the subject’s eyes. In nearly all cases, the eyes of your subject should be tack sharp. So, that means that your going to have to put your camera’s focus point onto the animal’s eyes. Or, you can either exclusively use the center focus point and just accept the fact that your going to be spending a lot of time in Lightroom or Photoshop cropping your images to create a usable composition, or you can learn to use your camera’s features to create that composition in the viewfinder.

If the camera/lens combination you’re using allows it, learn to move the focus point around the available areas. Most of the consumer digital SLR cameras and many of the point-and-shoot cameras allow you to select from a number of different focus points. The trick is to practice selecting the currently active focus point until you can do it quickly, efficiently and without thinking. When I was getting serious about wildlife photography, I’d watch television through the viewfinder of my camera. I’d put on a lens that would allow me to have just the television in the viewfinder and then I’d move the focus point to the person who was currently speaking. It took a couple of weeks of practice but I finally got to the point where I could quickly perform the finger gymnastics necessary to instruct my camera where to move the focus point to. Practicing while you’re otherwise relaxing is a great way to learn a new skill so you’ll be ready when that cute little critter pops up while you’re in the field.

Chipping Sparrow perched on a mossy branch – 700mm One-shot focus

Unfortunately, it isn’t always possible to move your focus point around. Depending on your camera body, you may lose the ability to change focus points at F5.6 or F8. For instance, when I put my 2.0x teleconverter on my Canon 500mm F4L IS lens, it turns it into an F8 lens and I’m stuck using the center focus point. In that case I’ll have to live with shooting loose enough that there is enough room around the subject to allow for cropping in Lightroom or Photoshop, or depending on the situation, I can use another feature that many cameras have.

While I normally have my camera in AI-Servo mode (Nikon calls it Continuous-Servo AF) when I’m photographing wildlife, I’ll occasionally switch to One Shot focus mode. This allows me to put the camera’s center focus point on the animal’s eye and then recompose the image before I press the shutter to make the image. Again, this is a technique you can practice while watching television. The One Shot focus method only works on subjects that are relatively static. If you’ve got a subject that is moving around a lot and you’re stuck with the center focus point, you’ll just have to accept some extra computer time while you crop the images.

Okay, so now we’ve got our focusing techniques down so we can use our camera’s autofocus systems to make sharp images focused on our subject’s eyes and we’ll create as many images as possible that don’t need extra processing in our photo editing software.

In the next article, we’ll continue the discussion on making sharper images.

You can find out more about Paul at his website and blog: Paul Burwell Photography

Follow Paul on Twitter here: link

Check out Paul's Wildlife Photography Academy Workshops here: link

Tags: Nature Photography, Paul Burwell, sharpness, technique
Posted in Articles, Blog, Tips and Tricks, Wildlife | 2 Comments »

Top 10 Annoying Things Photographers Say to Each Other

Friday, June 25th, 2010

Paul's post earlier this month–his list of the Top Ten Annoying Things to Say to a Wildlife Photographer was quite popular and it generated a lot of great comments.

With that same sharp wit, Paul has produced another Top Ten list:

This list compiles the top ten things that other photographers have said to him that I’ve found to be annoying. And, the more often I’ve heard something the more annoying it tends to be. That’s just the way I am.

If you’re a photographer who is easily offended or you can’t take a little bit of sarcasm, please don’t read any further. I don’t want your delicate sensibilities to be offended!

With that out of the way, presented in traditional count-down order, here are today’s Top Ten Annoying Things that Photographers Say to Each Other.

10. What settings are you shooting at?

Red-necked Grebe sitting on a nest

Get a group of photographers together shooting the same subject and invariably one of them will ask one or more of the others this question. I believe it stems from a sense of insecurity where a less than confident photographer is worried that he’ll miss the shot that everyone else got. Why not just ask me to send you my shots?
- In a learning situation this could be a useful question although differences in equipment can make the answer moot. But, in a group of peers, this question should never be uttered.

9. Did you see my shots in National Geographic?

Is there any photographer who doesn’t want to be published in National Geographic? Why risk a severe beating by flaunting your awesomeness?

8. Dude! Dude! You’re in my shot!

And your feet are nailed to the ground? Seriously? Who calls someone “dude” in the first place? Seriously!

7. I’m a Fine Art photographer.

Fall morning at a beaver pond

If someone can help me understand the difference between a “Fine Art” photographer and a portrait, wedding, landscape, photojournalist, sports or wildlife photographer, I might rescind this item, but the whole term strikes me as a bit pretentious.

6. The new K-tel Autocapture 5000 looks good, but I noticed there’s noise in the shadows at ISO 102400.

Maybe the pixel peeping will never quit, but do we have to examine each and every pixel of every new camera to find a flaw only evident at billboard sized prints? Besides photographers more obsessed with pixels than photos, who really cares?

5. …in these tough economic times…

Ruddy Duck displaying on a lake

Okay, this one isn’t specific to photographers, but I’m sick of hearing it. I propose that the world set up a giant swear jar. Every time someone utters the phrase ”…in these tough economic times…” they have to put one US dollar into the jar. Not only will this reduce the use of this annoying phrase but the funds could be used to solve the current economic crisis.

4. All of my work is available as limited edition Giclée prints.

So your printer sprays droplets of ink at the paper? Wow! That’s exactly what my inkjet printer does.
Giclée is French don’t ‘cha know. It’s pronounced “zhee-clay” and it sounds pretentious. IMHO.

3. Oh that? I can fix that later in Photoshop.

Black Bear cub trying to get to the bottom of things

Not only is it annoying to hear, it is the calling card of a lazy photographer.

2. Oh, you’ve got the K-tel Autocapture 3000? I just got the K-tel Autocapture 3000 Mark II.

And that makes you a better photographer how? Oh, that’s right–the Mark II finally introduces the “no sucky photos” setting, whereby the camera will simply not allow the creation of a poor photograph.
If so, there are some people I know that would think their K-tel Autocapture 3000 Mark II was broken when it never let them take a picture again!

1. Dude! Did you get this shot?

Pair of goslings swimming in a pond

This is a common question from the serial chimper. You know, the person you’re out shooting with who is continually chimping their images (looking at the LCD and then pointing and saying ”ooh, ooh, ooh” when they see something they like). They’ll call out when they find a photograph they think is great and you might have missed. And, don’t call me dude!

I’m betting that if you’re a photographer who has spent any time photographing around other photographers that you’ve got a few of your own sayings to contribute. Go ahead. It’s very cathartic!

You can find out more about Paul at his website and blog: Paul Burwell Photography

Follow Paul on Twitter here: link

Check out Paul's Wildlife Photography Academy Workshops here: link

Tags: Commentary, Paul Burwell
Posted in Articles, Commentary, Viewpoint | 1 Comment »

Top Ten Annoying Things To Say To A Wildlife Photographer

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

The other day I started to think about things people have innocently said to me about my photography that have annoyed me. Now, I know that most of the comments were meant without any malice and were well intentioned. I get that. But, that doesn’t stop them from bothering the heck out of me. I’ve taken the liberty of compiling the top offending comments into a top ten list, presented in the traditional descending order for your reading pleasure. I also decided to annotate each of the comments with my own thoughts which would not normally remain safely ensconced in my brain.

10. Will you photograph my wedding?

Okay, I know that I should take this as a compliment. But unless the bride and groom are going to wallow through a swamp on all fours, count me out. Brides and their mothers scare me more than coming face-to-face with a mother bear and her cubs while hiking.

Female Black Bear and her cubs walking on a trail

9. Why can’t I get pictures like that with my cell phone?

Hmmmmmm. Tough one. Could it be that the miniscule image sensor and cheap piece of plastic they call a lens can’t quite compete with quality glass and the resolving power of the sensors in modern digital SLR cameras?

8. Digital is okay I guess, but it’s too bad it doesn’t have the quality of film

Hello? 1995 called and they want their camera back. Seriously, the quality of digital cameras surpassed film several years ago. Seriously.

Northern Pintail flying over a golden pond

7. That picture would be amazing as a painting.

Why in the blue hell is photography held in such poor regard when compared to sketching, painting or sculpting? I get that these days everybody has a camera of some sort and there are literally millions of images captured each day. But, I’ll put a great image up against a great painting or sculpture any day in terms of “artistic” merit.

Black-capped chickadee perched on the branch of a pine tree – Converted to simulated oil painting to garner some artistic merit

6. That image looks like it could stand a bit more sharpening.

Probably the most common bit of “advice” you find on Internet forums when folks post their images. This age of pixel peeping has lead to an increasing number of people wayyyyyy over sharpening their images. In my humble opinion.

5. Did you Photoshop® that?

Yeah I did. So what? Do you realize that folks used to “darkroom” their images, remove flaws, lighten areas, darken areas and even completely alter the image? Manipulation of photographs goes back to the advent of photography. A famous example from 1920 is when Stalin had Trotsky removed from an image.

Stalin and Nikolai Yezhov, before retouching.

Stalin and Nikolai Yezhov, after retouching.

4. You were so lucky to be in the right place at the right time.

In the same sense that I was lucky to be up an hour before sunrise for a week to arrive at the location in time only to be disappointed 6 out of the 7 days, I guess I was lucky.

Long tailed weasel looking for baby gophers

3. How many megapixels is your camera?

200 bazillion. I know that the marketing folks at the various camera manufacturers have worked their butts off to convince folks that megapixels matter. But, I’m here to tell you that you may be able to get away with bigger crops on a high megapixel camera, my “old” four, six and eight megapixel cameras still make great pictures

2. That’s a really great snapshot.

Maybe it’s just me, but I find the term snapshot pejorative in the extreme. Call it a great picture, image or even capture, but not a snapshot. Please and thanks.

Sectored Plate

1. Wow, you must have a really nice camera!

Yeah, and that painter must have had a really great easel. Seriously, a nice camera? Are you referring to my new K-Tel Autocapture 3000 that not only takes care of all of those confusing exposure calculations, won’t let me make an image that isn’t optimally composed and automatically chooses the perfect instant to make a photograph? Sure, quality tools will help produce a quality photograph. But until the Autocapture 3000 actually ships, it is still the photographer who makes decisions on exposure, subject, setting, timing, and composition.

Yellow-headed Blackbird singing from on top of a bullrush

If you’ve ever been in a situation where you heard some innocent comment or question about your photography that just bugged the heck out of you, take it in stride.

I hope some of these comments gave you a laugh!

You can find out more about Paul at his website and blog: Paul Burwell Photography

Follow Paul on Twitter here: link

Check out Paul's Wildlife Photography Academy Workshops here: link

Tags: Commentary, Paul Burwell, Wildlife photography
Posted in Articles, Commentary, Wildlife | 10 Comments »