Today's Fab Photographer (a weekly feature here on my blog) is Chris Klapheke. Chis will be our guest instructor/presenter/food finder (he knows where to get the best burgers) on our December Bosque del Apache workshop.

Take it away, Chris.

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Break out the short lenses, it’s time for bird photography!

Wait, did I really write that?

I’m a bird photographer (when I grow up and get really good I’ll be an avian photographer) and I’m usually lugging around a 600mm with a big old tripod and gimbal head. Of course, I’ll get comments such as, “What magazine do you work for?” Or, “That sure is a big camera!”

The comment I get most from photographers is,“I’d love to be a bird photographer, but I just don’t have a long lens to use!”

Don’t sell yourself short.

Not all bird photographs are close up portraits of our feathered friends on a perch. You can make stunning avian images with your short lenses, even your wide angle. I like to call them “birdscapes”.

The key to making great birdscape images is to get yourself to a place where you can find both pleasing vistas and a large amount of birds. We’re talking beaches, fields, large bodies of water and such. Chances are your back yard just won’t do. National wildlife preserves will be your best bet.

One of the nice things about shooting birdscapes, in addition to not having to haul around heavy lenses, is that you don’t have to hunker down in camouflage or in a blind, hoping you don’t spook your subject. You do however, still need to get up early in the morning or stay late in the evening, for best light. If you want birds in full view, keep the sun at your back. For silhouettes, just the opposite.

Keep in mind that your best birdscapes will be filled with flying birds, so in addition to light, you need to pay attention to the wind. Birds take off and land into the wind, so if you don’t want images of a bunch of bird butts, keep the wind behind you!

Most importantly, still bring your tripod. You can get wonderful shots with long shutter speeds.

Mentally, think of the birds as an element of your landscape. Still pay attention to landscape features—foregrounds, skies, mountains. Add the birds to these features.

Blurs of birds in flight can give you a beautiful abstract feel. Start with shutter speeds around 1/15^th of a second and experiment.

Watch for birds on the ground while other birds are flying about. Long shutter speeds here can give you a cool combination of static and blurred subject.

If your birds are all hanging out on the ground, you can still get some cool shots. Try a “zoom blur”. Clamp your camera and lens down on a tripod, and select a long shutter speed like 1/10^th of a second. Focus manually, then trip the shutter while you are twisting your zoom ring. Fun stuff!

Want to get some images like these? Most of the photographs in this post were taken at Bosque del Apache, just south of Albuquerque, New Mexico. I’m honored to join Rick and Juan Pons (an accomplished avian photographer) as an instructor in their Bosque Workshop. The first workshop is sold out, so they’ve added another.

In my day job, I’m the proprietor of Outdoor Photo Gear, an online store that sells all kinds of gear for the mobile photographer. Please check it out here: Outdoor Photo Gear.

I am putting together an accessory list for Bosque shooters. Soon come.

Like Rick, we also maintain an informative and fun blog.

You can visit my personal photo website at: Chris Klapheke Photography.

Hope to see you in December at Bosque!

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Thanks, Chris!

If you'd like to read more about photographing birds, click here. And, let me know if you to come on my 2012 Alaska workshop with Hal Schmitt. Just shoot me an email.

Explore the light,
Rick