LIGHT
A good image is made with good light.
Light is probably the most important element in a photo. Its direction, intensity, and diffusion have a huge impact on your image. If you photograph a rabbit mating with a fox but the light isn’t good, you have a document of an interesting event, but you don’t have a great photograph. This chapter looks at light in nature.
Front Light
Photographing animals is easiest when light hits them from behind the camera. The light metering is simple, the subject’s colors come out nicely, the shadows are soft, and with the sunlight behind you there is no lens flare. Front light is comfortable, which explains why about 80 percent of nature photos are taken in it.
Backlight
Backlight causes a number of difficulties, which may be why it’s not very popular among photographers. But it can give an image a special atmosphere and enhance shapes and forms. I always try to imagine the ideal light before starting a photo project. Sometimes I can see in advance that the effects of backlighting are more important than the colors of the subject, so I face my camera toward the source of light. The Black Grouse and the Pygmy Cormorants are excellent examples of the power of backlight. Neither image would have been as compelling had they been shot in basic front light. Anything that lets light shine through, such as water drops, fog, ice, feathers, fine sand, or dust, are especially good for backlight.
Basic front light situations often last for quite a long time, whereas great backlight opportunities quickly end. Sunrises and sunsets are fast, and the angle of light keeps changing. The wider the angle, the harsher the light; it creates stark contrasts between light and shadow, and it does not contour the subject evenly and softly.
Automatic light metering is not helpful in backlight conditions because the light is so uneven that the brightness among different parts of the picture may differ by up to 10 f-stops. No automatic system can compute what kind of exposure you need in a situation like backlight. Manual mode yields better results.
The closer the source of light (for example, the sun) is to the optical axis, the stronger and more extensive the effect created by backlight. With light coming straight toward the camera, the unusual angle of light easily creates lens flare. You can work around this by using a lens shade, preferably one that is longer than those that are commercially available. In permanent blinds this is solved with an overhang. The farther it protrudes, the better the shade. Ideally it can jut out 2–3 m (6.5–10 ft) without bothering the birds or blocking your field of vision.
The sun shining straight toward the blind helps bring out the Black Grouse’s breath, steaming in the cold air (Tetrao tetrix)
Nikon D200, Sigma 300–800mm f/5.6, 1/640 second, 650mm, f/7.1, ISO 400, continuous focus with a central focusing point, beanbag. Pernaja, Finland, April 2007.
The backlit water drops stand out clearly against the dark background as these Pygmy Cormorants dry their feathers (Phalacrocorax pygmaeus)
Nikon D300, 300mm f/2.8, 1/640 second, f/2.8, ISO 200, continuous focus with a central focusing point, Gitzo tripod and video head, blind. Hortobágy, Hungary, August 2008.
When you photograph toward light, the background is usually in shade, but there may be details that could reflect light and thus create unwanted sparkling in the image. Sometimes this can be good, as the Great Reed-Warbler image beautifully demonstrates. The sparkling sunshine reflecting off the dark water in the background is what makes this image.
Diffused Light
Good weather for photography seldom means full sunshine from sunrise to sunset. Cloudless, blue sky is good for about two hours after sunrise and before sunset, but in the middle of the day and in the afternoon cloudy weather is ideal because it offers softer, more even light that suits photography better, and the contrasts between light and shadow are softer. Midday light comes from one source that creates strong shadows.
Bird Photography at Night
Artificial light makes it possible to photograph in situations where digital sensors are not sensitive enough. However, it is difficult to light the whole image with a flash and get natural-looking results. Moreover, even if it resembles lightning, a flash can frighten birds as they are roosting or hunting, so be extremely cautious. Pushing the existing, natural light as far as possible and using flash to give some extra light can yield good results. You can read more in the chapter “Sources of Light.”
Light coming from behind the subject hits the rippling water and reflects the colors of the reeds, creating a nice background for the Great Reed-Warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus)
Nikon D700, 300mm f/2.8, 1/6400 second, f/5.0, ISO 1000, two Nikon SB-800 flashes, manual focus, Gitzo tripod and video head, floating blind. Pusztaszer, Hungary, June 2010.
The backlight effect comes from photographing against the moon, and a stroboscopic flash behind the Long-eared Owls further enhances the effect, while also exposing the insects flying in the air around the birds (Asio otus)
Nikon D300, 300mm f/2.8, 5 seconds, f/7.1, ISO 200, Canon Speedlite 550EX flash, manual focus, Gitzo tripod and video head. Pusztaszer, Hungary, June 2008.
Lightning
Lightning is one of nature’s greatest shows, and it has always fascinated people. I try to go out every time there is thunder and lightning to photograph my favorite subjects in its light. Being able to get the lightning in the image is great, but even if I don’t, strong lightning is a good source of light for taking pictures.
Sunlight weakens the dramatic effect, so photographing lightning or in its light is best done when there is very little light or full darkness. Exposing is relatively simple: use bulb exposure (the shutter stays open until the shutter release button is pressed again), mount your camera on a tripod, and use a low ISO value to ensure good technical quality. The right aperture is found through trial and error—depending on the intensity of the lightning I set the aperture somewhere between maximum and f/22.0. Note that many lenses do not have infinity at the end of their range of focus; instead, you focus the lens manually while it is still light outside, and then you lock the focus ring with tape so it doesn’t move. I learned this the hard way during a couple of thunderstorms when I fumbled in the darkness and had only blurry, useless images to take home.
During exposure I try to anticipate the lightning and figure out where it is likely to strike and how I can get it in my image. At some point I decide that the lens has collected enough light, so I press the shutter and start a new bulb exposure. This is a very exciting game—be careful because it can be addictive.
Lightning illuminates Eurasian Spoonbills and Graylag Geese roosting in nocturnal darkness (Platalea leucorodia, Anser anser)
Canon 300D, 28–80mm f/4.0, 30 seconds, 69mm, f/8.0, ISO 100, manual focus, Gitzo tripod and video head, blind. Pusztaszer, Hungary, July 2006.
Aurora Borealis
Photographers near the polar regions should follow websites that track and forecast the aurora borealis. In addition to being a spectacular natural phenomenon, the aurora lights the night sky and creates very interesting lighting conditions. For a photographer they are very much like lightning strikes but are weaker in intensity. As digital camera sensor technology advances, there are likely to be new opportunities to photograph birds in the light of the aurora borealis. I have not yet seen a nice image of a bird glowing in the aurora borealis; it is high time someone took it.
Moonlight
Photographing birds in moonlight—or, to be precise, sunlight reflected off the moon—is a technique where you can come up with something new relatively easily. As a rule, people are not nocturnal creatures. We are usually fast asleep at night instead of out taking great new images. Even if you don’t get the moon in the image, with long exposure times you can get some spectacular shots revealing a world that is normally hidden from us. I strongly recommend magical nighttime excursions to all nature photographers!
A Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo)
Nikon D300, 300mm f/2.8, 1/1000 second, f/2.8, ISO 1000, continuous focus with a central focusing point, Gitzo tripod and video head, blind. Pusztaszer, Hungary, January 2008.
A Hooded Crow photographed against the moonlight (Corvus corone cornix)
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, 500mm f/4.0 plus 1.4x extender, 1/20 second, f/45, ISO 800, one-shot focus with a central focusing point, mirror lockup and 2-second self-timer mode, Gitzo tripod, Manfrotto 501 video head. Helsinki, Finland, December 2007.
Reflected Light Is the Best Light
Even natural light often comes from several directions, for example on shores or in snow-covered landscapes. Reflected light can be very useful because it helps reduce shadows in the image. It is hard to think of another situation as ideal for photography as a snowy landscape that reflects light back into the air; your subject is lit practically from every direction, as if it were in a studio.
Moreover, while it beautifully lights the underparts of a flying bird, diffuse reflection off snow also has an effect on the shadowy parts in the image. In sunny weather, if the light reflecting off a snowy bank hits a forest in the shadow, the shade turns bluish. The effect is emphasized in photos.
In the Black Woodpecker image, light is hitting the wings directly from behind but also by reflecting off the snow. What’s more, the diffuse reflection off the snow is turning the snowy forest blue in the shadows. There is also an added effect of falling snow because wind was blowing snow off the trees.
A Black Woodpecker in flight against the taiga (Dryocopus martius)
Canon EOS-1D Mark III, 70–200mm f/2.8, 1/2500 second, 85mm, f/7.1, ISO 1600, continuous focus with 45 focusing points, Manfrotto 501 video head attached to a plank in a blind. Posio, Finland, February 2008.
Gray Herons at dawn (Ardea cinerea)
Nikon D300, Tokina 10–17mm f/3.5–4.5, 4 seconds, 13mm, f/9.0, ISO 200, manual focus, remote controlled head, blind. Hungary, Pusztaszer, July 2009.
Where there are wide expanses of light sand, like on shores or in the desert, there is the same diffuse reflection off sand as there is off snow, which casts light on the underparts of flying birds. Water reflects light too, which is discussed in the chapter “Water as an Element in a Bird Photo.”
Indirect light can create great lighting, for instance after sunset or before sunrise, when the rays color the horizon with splendid hues of red and yellow—the effects can be stunning. The image of the Gray Herons standing in the water, with the light blue horizon in the background, was taken more than an hour after sunset. The sun is not visible in the image, but its light hit the dust particles floating in the air and painted the landscape in an array of rosy hues.