Shooting From the Water
with Mike Baird. Saturday 8:30 -10:15a
Join local expert photographer Mike Baird (bairdphotos.com) aboard a 34-foot, slow-moving power catamaran and get truly close to nature, wild life and unique photo opportunities cruising the estuary. Birds are often close to the boat. Mike will give pointers on how best to photograph these water and shore birds on the water and in flight. Dress warmly. No tripods. Recommended load for photography is 16-18 people. Meet at the Dos Osos boat at Sub Sea Tours.
Use a long lens - 400-500mm handheld
Leave tripods at home
Stabilize camera with posture, breathing, arm bracing (avoid supporting camera on rails of boat if engine is vibrating)
Image Stabilizer (IS) or Vibration Reduction (VR) set to panning mode
Set shutter speed to equal 1/focal-length = 1/mm or faster (e.g. 1/500 or 1/1000 or faster)
Set Aperture to f/8 or tighter (e.g., f/11) for forgiving depth-of-field if possible, while maintaining an ISO suitable for your camera (e.g., <=800 for Canon pro-sumers)
Set image quality to RAW or if jpg to highest resolution and quality
Burst mode for action shots
One-shot and single center-point-focus for static shots (focus on bird's eye and re-compose with shutter held half-way down)
Al-Servo or tracking and single center-point-focus for flying birds
Wait for birds to come to you - be patient
Drift boat from up current and or upwind to slowly and gently pass at a respectable distance from stationary birds
If birds look up at you or move away you are too close
Examine histogram in test shot - look especially for blown out whites - consider setting exposure compensation to say-1/3 ev depending on scene
Custom function - highlight recovery set to on
Battery - charge the night before and bring a spare
Storage cards - bring formatted spares
Reset camera settings to preferred default values so you don't inherit settings you used on last session
For photographing flying birds, stop shooting after birds pass (it is the rare good shot taken from behind).
Polarizer filters - circular - may reduce glare and improve images
Close is usually best
Angle - low eye-level photos (the bird's eye that is) are often the most satisfying
Portrait mode composition versus Landscape may be appropriate
Illumination - study and exploit light intensity, direction
Thirds composition says don't always center your subject in the frame
For reasons of safety, inclement weather may cause postponement or cancellation of outdoor events.
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