Backyard bird photography : how to attract birds to your home and create beautiful photographs

163 Pages·2014·6.5 MB·English

Copyright © 2014 by Mathew Tekulsky
Photographs copyright © 2014 by Mathew Tekulsky
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ISBN: 978-1-62873-740-0
eISBN: 978-1-62914-101-5
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.
Printed in China
Thanks, as always, to my mother
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Setting Up Your Garden
Camera Equipment
Getting Close to the Birds
Composition
Other Backyard Bird Photography Techniques
Photographing Birds in My Garden
Photographing Birds in a Vermont Garden
Sharing Your Bird Photographs
About the Photographs
Index
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank everyone who has encouraged me with my bird photography. At
Skyhorse Publishing, a warm note of appreciation to my editor, Kristin Kulsavage, and to
Tony Lyons. Thanks, as well, to my literary agent, Peter Beren.
Scrub Jay
1
Introduction
Nanday Parakeets

“The very idea of a bird is a symbol and a suggestion to the poet.”
—John Burroughs, Birds and Poets
One of the great joys in life is to watch birds. People have been doing this for as long as
people have been on this planet, and humankind reveres the bird in virtually every culture
on earth. With the advent of photography, we have had the ability to capture these
beautiful creatures on film, and now digitally, and to enjoy looking at these images and
sharing them in various ways, either on social networks on the Internet, through print
publishing, or even in a frame on our walls or in galleries or museums.
In this book, you will learn how to set up your backyard in order to take the best
photographs of your own particular birds as you can. In addition to guiding you through
the first steps of setting up your plantings and birdfeeders, this book will describe the types
of photographic equipment you will need to get just the right image; how to maneuver
yourself into just the right position to create a quality bird photograph; how to compose
your shots for the greatest visual effect; and how to use more advanced techniques such as
macro lenses and external flash techniques.
My bird photography journey has taken place over the better part of twenty years,
starting with film and transitioning to the digital age. As I look back over the years, I
marvel at how rudimentary my knowledge of birds and bird photography was at the
beginning, and I am proud of how much I have learned since then. You can follow this
same path and enjoy the rewards along the way.
The most important aspect of this whole activity is the process, the actually “doing” of it.
When I am engaged in photographing birds, nothing else matters to me. It’s all about
getting the shot. Whatever “Zen” is, that’s it. All of your cares wash away—you don’t
worry about yesterday or tomorrow. There is only the now. And in a funny way, I think
this is how the birds think as well. Of course, the birds are busy foraging for food and
making sure a predator does not attack them, but beyond these immediate concerns, I
believe there is a part of bird psychology that is observant and even playful. Especially
when they’re interacting with me.
Part of the challenge, then, in taking a great bird photograph is to capture that
emotional element of the bird’s life and how the bird is interacting with the photographer.
As in all great art, it is the emotion that counts. If there is no emotional reaction to a work
of art, then all the technique in the world is of little significance. What gives the backyard
bird photographer an edge over the photographer of birds in wilderness areas is that the
birds in your backyard are familiar with you, they are your friends, even your family. They
have been living next to you for years, and in many ways, they own your abode as much as
you do. They get up in the morning as you do, and retire at night not far from where you
sleep. It’s no wonder that a great bird photograph taken in your own yard can rival a bird
photograph taken anywhere in the world, and by anybody. So I encourage you to take
advantage of your own natural surroundings and experience the Zen of bird photography
as I do.