KEEP YOUR EQUIPMENT READY
Your camera equipment should always be ready, and the camera and lens adjustments should be set for action photography.
One painful example of why I need to keep repeating this piece of wisdom to myself is when I took a photo trip to Ordesa National Park in northern Spain. We got back to our transport at the end of a particularly long day in the blind. Having walked through heavy snowfall in the darkening afternoon, I thought I was done photographing for the day so I packed my gear in my backpack. We started driving slowly down a winding mountain road, and just five minutes later I spotted a group of Gray Partridges on the side of the road. We stopped, and the partridges hurried away from us on the snow, but they went only a couple of yards before stopping under a small bush. I started to grab my camera and lens out of my backpack on the backseat, but by the time I got them out, the birds had moved deeper inside the bush. An absolutely beautiful opportunity was missed, and I had nobody to blame but myself.
When I am out in the field, I usually carry a camera and a 500mm telephoto lens, with a strap attached to the lens. My camera is set to continuous focus with 61 focusing points, and the ISO is set to give me at least 1/3200 second shutter speed. I set the focusing range of the lens to the value with the largest available distance to infinity.
Bird photography is full of surprises and fast action. Your chances of capturing these fleeting moments are greatly improved if you have your camera and its settings ready for action. If you find yourself photographing a calm, long-lasting situation, you have time to make the necessary changes to the adjustments, but in a fast situation you have no time to fiddle around with the controls.
When I drive along back roads, I keep my gear ready and available. Cars are good blinds, and some birds stay by the road when you stop your car. I have taken many good images from a half-open car window using a beanbag to support my camera.
The Black Grouse image is a typical example of how you can take a good photograph of a situation that presents itself to you suddenly, as long as you and your gear are prepared for the eventuality. Driving on a small road in the Kuusamo area in northeast Finland, I spotted a Black Grouse perching in the top of a pine within good range. The setting sun was hitting the bird, and the rising moon looked like I might be able to get it in the image. Lifting my camera out the window, I settled it into a good angle on the beanbag and drove on slowly. When I was within photographing range, I realized I would indeed get the bird and the moon in the same frame. I shot the first frames, with my camera set for action, as soon I stopped the car because Black Grouses often fly away as soon as you stop. This bird gave me time to change the adjustments on my camera to better suit the situation. One of the changes I made was setting the aperture at f/20.0 for improved depth of field, which helped emphasize the moon.
A Black Grouse and the moon (Tetrao tetrix)
Canon EOS-1D Mark II, 500mm f/4.0 plus 1.4x extender, 1/60 second, f/20.0, ISO 1000, one-shot focus with a central focusing point, beanbag, car as a blind. Kuusamo, Finland, June 2006.