get closer......

[Sei-Him Cheong]

sorry if this has been covered before....
i just started out shooting birds
i found that it is incredibly hard to approach birds and get a close shot:(
can all the pros around give any tips or point me in the right direction on how to get closer without scaring them away
i was shooting with a 300mm + 1.4TC, but i still can't get them to fill up the frame
i have seen many wonderful pictures here taken with a 500mm which is about the same as my 300mm on a 1.6x body
i guess i still have a lot to learn:p
any advice would be nice, thanks in advance

[Alfred Forns]

Big Welcome to BPN !!!!!!

It all depend on what bird you are talking about !! Some are difficult others are not. Lots of circumstances involved.

Locally we photograph on some beaches which have heavy human traffic. Birds become used to people and easier to approach. Another example is catching a fall out during a migration. Birds collide with a cold front and tumble from the sky. They are tired, hungry and just sit there.

For the most part you want to approach the birds very slow. If the bird lifts its head or shows signs of concern just freeze. Let the bird get comfortable and then continue. If you carry a tripod make sure the legs are not pointing up in the air since it seems to spook them. Learning bird behavior will also be important. Patience and time will get you there !!! btw if you can pm me your full name I can do the member update. We are trying to have all members with full names or at least last name and two initials.

[Joerg Rockenberger]

Another approach is to let them get closer to you. E.g. I sat a few times at the edge of a lake and over time Egrets scanning the shoreline for food came within the minimum focus distance of a 400F5.6. Works also well at beaches with Sanderlings, Pipers etc. Of course, sitting still and making slow movements are required.

And don't expect to get the same image quality as with a 500 lens from a 300mm lens on a 1.6 body.

JR

[Steve Wheeler]

Indeed... Welcome!

Here's a link to an earlier thread regarding the same subject...:D

http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=4169

Steve

[Jeffrey Sipress]

Not that I'm the expert here (far from it), but it seems that moving to Florida may help. So will a longer lens. And huge amounts of patience.