This is what happens when I step into the abstract side of nature photography; so much of the time I (and I suspect most other photogs) strive to portray a scene the way we see it.  Now granted, how we see a scene and choose to reproduce it is definitely subjective, as each of us will experience it differently.  But nobody is going to see the scene like I shot it last night.  Which I guess is why it’s fun.

I’ve been wanting to make some images like this for a while now, ever since seeing a photo in a Jim Brandenburg book.  Jim’s shot was of birch trees at twilight, against a deep green/black background.  It’s definitely more subtle than the ones I made, but in each case it’s the elements of color and motion that I like most.  The trees that form the image don’t matter so much; rather, it’s the notion of tree-shaped light and shadow that mattes.

Making these photos wasn’t hard, although it only worked because the light was right.  I shot them with the 7D +17-35L + Circular Polarizer, in Av mode – ISO 100, f/16, shutter ranging from .3″ to 2″.  My eye wasn’t to the viewfinder; I pointed the camera in a direction that looked promising and panned the lens up during the exposure.

There are two tricks to this that I can share.  First, I find that the images look better when the camera in already in motion before tripping the shutter, and when the motion continues past the end of the exposure.  It’s the follow-through you hear about in sports.  If you trip the shutter and then start moving, you’ll not only get less motion, but also a hard starting point for the motion.

Second is the speed at which you pan the camera.  I can’t give you a concrete figure here, only say that the speed needs to be moderate, somewhere between too slow and too fast.  It will depend a great deal on the length of the exposure.  But too little motion doesn’t blur the scene enough, and the resulting image looks like it suffers from camera shake rather than a deliberate motion, while too fast smears out too much detail in the image.

This is one of those techniques that I’m glad I was finally able to try – and one that I’ll keep in mind to use again later.  Abstract images aren’t for everyone, nor are they something that I’d personally make a habit of. But to shake things up now and then, they are interesting!

On a scale of 1 to 10 it gets an 8 for DIY coolness, but a 2 for usability.  And that bugged me enough that I was back to the drawing board the next morning.

Actually, the drawing board is where I did end up, in the form of Google SketchUp, where I puttered around with a few more ideas before coming up with this:

(Click for a larger view)

Unlike it’s plastic predecessor, this new DIY multi-flash bracket is all metal; if it dies during a location shoot, it’ll be because someone ran over my lightstand, not from plastic fatigue.  In a twist of irony, the inspiration came from the DIYPhotography blog, which shared a post back in February: “Two Flashes are Better than One + Simple DIY Multi-Flash Bracket Tutorial.” The bracket in that post is a two-flash version of the one above; I saw the picture of it and the thought popped into my head, “Why not just double it?”

The final product is very much like the plans above; I added some locking nuts to keep the horizontal mounting plates in place, and used a spacer instead of a connector between the two plates – once all the parts are tightened down, it’s pretty darn solid.

Each coldshoe mounts to the plate in the pattern of: thumb-screw+nut+fender washer+plate+coldshoe.  The nut is really just a spacer, to keep the thumb-screws from coming up through the center of the coldshoes.  There’s just barely enough space between the two plates for the opposing thumb-screws to fit.  And by using the thumb-screws, I’ve maintained the ability to rotate the coldshoes in a full circle, so I can keep the E-TTL sensor on the flash pointing in any direction.

It’s still lightweight and takes up very little room in the camera bag, although I’m afraid that it’s DIY coolness factor has fallen a bit.  But since usability is up, I guess it’s a small sacrifice to make.  And it does get that 4th flash on-board, which will go even father in terms of lighting power.

Now I just need to use it.  The model I had lined up for last Saturday bailed in the morning, so I’m looking to re-book her for this weekend.  Failing that, I’ll beg my girlfriend to step in front of the camera.  But I definitely want to take this out in broad daylight with my 50mm f/1.8 and see how they’ll play together!

But what the hell, I still built it myself!  And here’s how – photos and instructions after the break:

The parts list is modest, to say the least.  The primary body of the mount is .5 cup sized Rubbermaid Easy Find Lids container.  (Yes, you read that right.)  I searched high and low for a square piece of material suitable for a body frame, and this is all I was able to come up with.  And I’ll admit right now, it is by no means the perfect solution, nor is it one that I’m likely to stick with.  But for the moment, it works.

The Rubbermaid container is joined by 3x coldshoes and a collection of misc. hardware, all of it 1/4″ x 20 spec., just to keep things simple.

I began by measuring out the center of each of the four faces, then using a hobby knife to cut holes in the Rubbermaid container, through which the mounting/structural support rods will pass.  I also used the knife to trim off the perpendicular flange that ran around the container near the top, as it would get in the way of the coldshoes.

In step two, I fed in the 2x 3″ threaded rods and their associated hardware – some washers and nuts to keep them in position within the Rubbermaid frame.  As I mentioned before, the purpose of these rods is twofold – first, they provide mounting points for the coldshoes; and second, they greatly increase the structural strength of the container.

With the rods in place (and as you can see above, one of the coldshoes attached), I used the knife to cut two holes in the bottom of the container, and two matching holes in the “Easy Find Lid” – these are for the umbrellas, two of which can feed through the container.  Because the lid is made of a flexible rubber, I left it’s holes a little smaller, for some extra grip on the umbrellas.

Here’s the finished unit, with the coldshoes mounted and a threaded connector attached to the bottom post, so that the bracket can mount directly to the threaded post on the lightstand’s umbrella adapter.  After threading the coldshoes into place, I used a wrench to tighten down all the nuts inside the container – the finished unit actually feels remarkable solid!

And here it is in action – three Speedlites securely mounted and firing in sync.  It works!

If you’ve read this far and are any kind of photographer, you’re probably thinking that I’m crazy about now.  For sure, a Rubbermaid container is NOT any kind of secure, confidence-inspiring unit that you’re going to mount nearly $1k in flashes to.  And I’m right there with you.

What I was able to do here is build a multi-flash bracket that feels surprisingly sturdy, for under $25, in less time than it took to actually find the components.  Amazingly enough, I actually have enough confidence in this contraption that I’d use it in the studio – albeit with frequent checks for plastic fatigue and cracking.

On-location, however, even I’m not nuts enough to use this thing – I get the distinct feeling that it’s just not up to being in constant motion in, say, the hands of an assistant.  And I certainly don’t want to see three of my Speedlites take a nose-dive into the dirt.

So what was the point of all this?  Call it a “proof of concept.”  There are units out there like the FourSquare and Lastolite TriFlash, but I’m still not convinced that they need to cost $65-$100+ apiece.  I still believe that there’s a better way – and I’m going to keep looking for a way to build one of these on my own.  One, incidentally, that will actually stand up to the rigors of the field.

And that can’t be used to hold M&Ms during it’s off-time.

You know the one I mean.  The church hall, the school gym, the community center.  The name changes but the room is always the same, some variety of rent-a-space with a yellowed acoustic panel ceiling and flickering fluorescent tube lights (extra points if a third of the tubes are burnt out), where the decor consists of plastic tablecloths and battered folding chairs.  The place where, without fail, they turn the lights out at some point in the name of “atmosphere,” usually at the exact moment you’re trying to capture.

Birthday by candle light

In this case it was a fireman’s hall, and actually rather nice as such places go.  The walls were a bright off-white, the ceiling wasn’t 26′ above, and there were blinds on the windows.  Less than idea, but manageable, especially if you’re bringing in a couple of off-camera lights to beat the ambient into submission.  Get fancy with a gelled BG light and a regular key light, and it might even look pretty cool.

Suffice to say I wasn’t there to shoot the party officially.  This time I was just the guest-with-a-camera, figuring on shooting a few frames.  I had the 400D, the 50mm f/1.8 and the 70-210mm f/4, along with the 580EX.  The idea was to come prepared with low-light lenses, then use the Speedlite to kick a little extra punch into the scene.

The best laid plans…

As group shots go, this one isn’t portfolio material.  But it’s worlds better than what the birthday girl’s mom was going to get with her point & shoot.  The challenges here were twofold; getting everyone squeezed together so they’d fit in the 50mm, and getting enough light on them.

[As an aside, if you've ever tried to get a couple dozen teenagers into formation for a group shot, then you understand the urge to beat them over the heads with a folding chair, like you see on those wrestling commercials.  The little jerks are "too cool" to be shuffled into position by the directing mom, and respond only marginally better to the volunteering photographer.  This is why I hate group work...]

So short people sitting in the front, tall ones on chairs in the back, everyone packed tight, shoulder to shoulder.  Their attention span already expired, teenage rebellion about to flare, I climbed up on a chair as far from them as I could get, bounced the flash off the ceiling at full power, f/8 and be there.  Photo done, go back to being “cool,” kids.  (Wow, do I feel old now!)

Of the three frames there was one keeper.  The edges got real tight, at least one person blinked, but from an off-the-cuff photo that will end up posted on Facebook and maybe even printed as a 4×6, it’s more than enough.  Mom and the birthday girl think it looks great and love me for saving the day.  Everyone’s happy.  I can get some cake now.

Of course, being a photographer, I can’t just sit there and make small talk with the adults for the rest of the time.  I kept shooting as moments presented themselves, mostly frames of Mandy’s little sister trying to dance with the Big Kids.  This is the perfect time to play around and practice some different techniques.

Any of us can take this shot – dial the flash up to full, fast shutter speed to freeze the action, and POW:

The bounced Speedlite takes a folding chair of its own and beats the ambient senseless.  Full-motion stop, everyone is lit evenly, and the photo looks like a thousand other bounce-flash party shots.  Boring.  So let’s play…  What makes this dance floor scene interesting?  Well, the girls dancing, of course.  So let’s translate that.

Speedlite on second-curtain sync (where it lives anyway), drag the shutter speed down as slow as I can handhold the telephoto without camera shake, dial down the Flash Exposure Compensation (FEC) until it’s getting along with the ambient instead of killing it.  Now the photo depends entirely on the dancers, who’s moving and who stands still.  The ones in motion blur out, the ones standing out there stay sharp, and it’s that mix that gives us something interesting.

Same idea here, except we’re focusing on the contrast between the little sister and the Big Kids, so we only show the Big Kid’s legs, while little sister runs off to find a new dancing partner.  Still dragging the shutter, still flicking light instead of blasting it.

Are these phenomenal party photos?  Eh, not so much.  They’re fun, the birthday girl will enjoy them, but there’s nothing amazing happening here.  This is guest-turned-photog, advanced Uncle Bob stuff.  But it’s good practice and makes you stop and think about what you could have done if you had come to really shoot.

If I were going to come in to actually shoot this party, this is how I think I’d have done it.  For starters, I’d kick the ambient down about 2-stops, then add in two (maybe even three) Speedlites with bold, warm colored gels and grids.  The gels will give a colorful club-like look to the scene and the grids will keep the flash beams tight, like spotlights, as they come down from a high angle and cut through the crowd of dancers, who will be standing in a circle in the middle of the floor.  (Why teen girls always dance like this is beyond my understanding – but they always do, bunched up in a circle, barely room to move, like a group of penguins on an ice floe.)

Set aside another Speedlite, this time gelled dark blue and bounced off the ceiling over the dancing crowd.  This will add another layer of overall color and contrast for the gridded lights to cut through, enhancing the club-atmosphere.  Between the two layers of colored light, there should be enough photons bouncing around to provide the basic exposure.  Some on-camera fill will help highlight the subjects as you shoot them (with a 1/4 to 1/2 CTO gel preventing the fill light from looking washed out and dull).

The white balance will need to be set manually; daylight might work well.  (If you leave it on auto, it will try to compensate for the gels.)

Planning this one out, it sounds like a lot of fun – hopefully I’ll get the chance to try it soon!

DIY Flash Bracket - side view

It’s simple, it’s cheap, and it does the job very well.  And best of all, it requires just three major parts; a horizontal adjustment track, vertical adjustment track, and a cold shoe.

I went into this project with a good idea of what I needed to complete it, although I wasn’t sure exactly where I’d find the actual components.  (I think I’d have had better luck in a good local hardware store than in Lowes/Home Depot, but in the end I did find what I needed.)

The horizontal adjustment track (silver) is the metal from a Sliding Bevel Gauge; I unscrewed the adjustment fastener and it fell right out of the plastic handle.  The side with the tape was angled to a point, which I figured was unsafe, so I used the Dremel tool with a cutting wheel to cut the point right off.  The tape is there to protect against the sharp edges of the metal.

The vertical adjustment track (gold) is a universal slide track, meant to go on a hinged box top.  There was a pivoting mount on the bottom when I bought it, which I non-too-gently removed with a hammer and screwdriver.  Bent it on the edge of a table, and there you go – a right angle piece perfect for mounting the cold shoe to.

As I mentioned before, the cold shoe was the only piece of purpose-built photo equipment I purchased for this.  It’s connected to the vertical track with a thumb screw and some washers.  Which is the same way that the rest is held together; thumb screws, wingnuts, and some washers.  Easy to adjust, easy to disassemble, and cheap.

DIY Flash Bracket - Top view

The point of this bracket vs. directly mounting the flash the umbrella adapter?  It’s simple – the optical wireless sensor remains unobstructed.  For instance, when using my ProKit softbox, the wireless sensor on the Speedlite is blocked, so getting the pre-flash signal to it is a challenge.  But with this bracket, the softbox goes on, and the sensor is lying back there free and clear, able to be rotated 360 around the cold shoe in order to best “see” the master flash.

At this point I could go out and build another of these without any trouble – it would take an hour, from the time I set foot in the store until the time the bracket was completed.  And with each bracket costing less than half the price of the manufactured version, I’m happy.  $30 and a little design time gives me a huge improvement in my wireless E-TTL control.

The bracket easily handles the weight of the Speedlite, although I wouldn’t trust it with a whole lot more.  If you’re going to start putting heavy modifiers on the Speedlite, I’d make sure they could be mounted separately, using the umbrella clamp.

Questions?  Need more detail about part of the process?  Drop me a note in the comments!

Photo credit: CheetahStand.com

Pretty ingenious – by mounting the Speedlite horizontally like this, it’s able to rotate a full 360 degrees around it’s base, which means that even with the head stuffed inside softbox, the wireless sensor window is left outside and can be positioned to best see a master flash unit’s wireless pulse.

Not so cool?  $63 price tag.  Yeah, I’ve heard it before, we spend thousands on cameras, lenses, and lights – why not drop some “petty cash” on the accessories?  In cases like this, the reason why is simple – as much as I admire the Cheetah unit above, it’s by no means part of the Space Shuttle.  I look at that and the first thought into my head is, “I can build one of those.”

Of course not everybody is a DIY sort of person – but I am.  I enjoy mulling over how to build things like this, and then prowling Lowes and the local hardware store for a couple of hours finding parts.  In fact, that’s how I spent my Monday night.  I came home with a bag full of odd stuff that I’m pretty sure I can merge into a working final product.  Total cost so far?  About $20.  At that rate, I could build one for each of my Speedlites for the cost of a single Cheetah unit.

This is a project that I hope to have tackled by the end of the weekend.  I’ll post the results – either a working DIY flash bracket, or a pile of useless junk.  But I’m pretty sure it will be the former.

Of course, being the geek I am, I couldn’t just look at the photo and go from there.  No, I had to sketch out how I planned to build my own version.  And since sketching is inaccurate and painfully low-tech, I installed Google SketchUp, watched the tutorials, and then used it to design my version of the bracket.

DIY Flash Bracket - Frontal View

DIY Flash Bracket - Overhead View

Hell, I’m impressed by how good it looks rendered like this!  Sure, it’s a bit rough and not quite to scale.  But spend some time using SketchUp and you’ll find (if you’re technically inclined) that it’s addictive.  And the things you can render once you learn some skills are just amazing!

Perhaps I should have been an engineer…

Please note: I’m not bashing the folks at Cheetah here at all.  They came up with a great looking product and are entitled to make a profit on it.  I suspect that most people will be more than happy to buy one if they need it.  Aside from being occasionally cheap, I embark on these DIY missions for fun – that’s all.

And for this one, I did in fact order several of Cheetah’s Slide Lock Cold Shoes, which look very nice, and are quite reasonably priced.

Partway through the thread, some genius pointed out that if you placed your setup in a corner and shot diagonally across the room, you gained several feet in terms of useful space between yourself and the backdrop.

**d’oh**

Here I am for the last several months, lamenting the loss of my living room studio due to the addition of a futon sofa, which made it impossible to clear out enough space to work in without moving furniture to another room – something that wouldn’t fly with my housemate for any period of time.

But if I set up diagonally, then I have two big corners to stack furniture in, still with room for lightstands, the model, myself, and decent separation between the BG and other elements.  Holy cow, this could not only work, it could work better than any of my previous attempts!

You see, the problem with small studio spaces almost always ends up being a problem with light.  In a large, proper studio, you can put a good distance between your model and the BG, far enough that each can be lit independently, without cross-contamination.  In a small studio, that becomes problematic at best – you fire off an umbrella + strobe combo on a model standing 3′ from the BG, and some of that light will spill onto the BG, contaminating its exposure.

Same thing if you’re trying to blast a BG to pure white, and the model is too close – reflected light off the BG will bounce all over that little studio, and cause halos and wash-back effects on the model.  Simply put, you need distance between elements to keep their exposures independent.

Fortunately, there’s another simple fix that will, if not solve the contamination problem, then at least help with it.  Enter 4×8′ sections of black/white foamcore.  As the name suggests, it’s foamcore, black on one side & white on the other, and it comes in big sections.  (Because of the size it’s not cheap and it can be difficult to find.)

Hook two sheets together with a heavy-duty taped “hinge” and you’ve got a self-standing gobo, large enough to place between your model and the BG (which way the black faces depends on the setup).  Place it so that it’s just out of your shots, and it will help keep the two zones separate.  If you’re feeling really fancy, stick a sheet on the ceiling, black side facing down, to soak up any stray bounce from up there as well.

And viola, your spare-bedroom studio goes from DIY to pretty cool.

(Now I just have to find some stinkin’ B/W foamcore that I can actually afford…)

As interesting as the final results of a project such as a bird studio are, I’m always equally fascinated by the things I learn along the way.  This project has been especially enlightening in little ways.  For instance, bird feed.  I always assumed that bird feed was bird feed – that there really wasn’t much difference between the kinds you offer.

Guess again.  It turns out that the whole feed issue is much more complicated that you’d think!  At least, it’s more complicated if you’re the sort of person who cares to take the time to do things right.  If you’d rather go the quick, cheap, lazy route, then you might as well stop reading now.

It seems that beyond the obvious (what kinds of birds will eat the feed you buy), there are two main considerations that many people likely overlook.  The first consideration is in regards to the health of the birds, and has to do with food that is left in the feeder too long, gets moist, and becomes ridden with bacteria and fungus that will sicken and even kill birds.  In fact, the overall recommendation seems to be filling your feeder with a two-day quantity of food; anything left after two days needs to be throw away, the feeder cleaned, then fresh food added.

When you think about it, this makes sense – it’s not like seed appears in piles in the woods.  It comes directly from plants, and rarely ends up accumulating in quantities, or lasting long enough, to become a danger to the wildlife.

The second consideration has to do with what kinds of birds will eat a particular kind of feed that shouldn’t be.  Here I’m talking of nuisance birds: cowbirds, crows, house sparrows, and starlings, all of which are species that are already overpopulated due foods provided by humans.  If these nuscence species are abundant, it’s best to find another food that they don’t care for, otherwise they’ll empty your feeders, and the cycle continues.

Pennington Black Oil Sunflower Seed

Based on my area and reading, sunflower seeds seemed to be the best bet, so I went out and bought a bag.  It’s the Pennington brand again, since that’s what the store had, ironically enough.  And since my feeder pole has accessory arms, I purchased “Finch Sock” as well – a mesh bag filled with thistle seeds.  I also bought a plastic tub to keep extra feed in, although I simply place the bag inside the tub and seal it, rather than pouring it in.  Storing feed this way keeps it protected from the elements (not that my closet is a prime spot for the elements to congregate), but more importantly it keeps pests – bugs and rodents – away.

Finch Sock - thistle seed

Frankly I don’t know what to make of the Pennington Seed’s statement that the sunflower seeds are enriched with “vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to help provide wild birds with a more balanced diet.”  Do birds currently have unbalanced diets?  Are they eating too many potato chips and mini-pizzas?  Off the cuff, it sounds like marketing hype to me, but I’m willing to go with it – doesn’t seem like it could hurt any.

A few other things to consider:

– Fillers: milo, oats, and wheat are often used as fillers in cheap bird feed, when most birds won’t eat it to begin with.  It ends up getting tossed onto the ground, where it can attract rodents.  Better to buy feed without it.

- Peanuts: turns out that a number of birds enjoy whole or crushed peanuts, including jays, woodpeckers, chickadees, and more.  Peanuts only last a day or two before they become a bacteria/fungus risk, and they do tend to attract squirrels, raccoons, and even bears, so put them out infrequently, or with caution.

- Fruit: many birds eat fruit; if you’ve ever been hiking during berry season, you’ve probably seen this firsthand.  So it makes sense that putting putting out dried fruit that’s been soaked in water overnight will appeal to birds.  Again, this is something that only lasts a day or so before going bad.  (If you have fresh fruit growing nearby, all the better!  I have a pair of mulberry bushes near my feeder, which I already know attract the birds in the spring.)

As my project to build a backyard bird studio gets underway, the first step is finding a bird feeder, because they’re not going to just show up on their own and twitter, “Hey, we’re here!”  (Of course, this presupposes that you have a location for the feeder; if not, then you’re SOL.)

My mom had bird feeders out back when I was a kid.  It’s not complicated, you just dump seed in one and that’s it, right?  Unfortunately it’s not quite that simple.  As seems to be the case with just about anything these days, there are more models than you can shake a stick at, each one designed for a different use, ranging from general to specific.

If you don’t believe me, check out the Home Depot site – search “bird feeder” and you get over six pages of results, with prices ranging from cheap to downright insane.  So yeah, it’s not as simple as just buying the $19.95 special and going for it.

Some online research revealed the following:

– Tube Feeders: essentially hollow tubes with multiple feeding ports, these keep seed out of the elements and tend to attract smaller birds, such as finches, nuthatches, and chickadees.  Such a feeder can use small to large or mixed feed, depending on the port sizes.

- Hopper Feeders: your classic bird feeder, often looking like a little house.  The seeds come out from a gap between the walls and floor and spills into a small tray, where the birds can get at it.  Tends to attract a larger range of birds, as well as larger birds like jays & cardinals, although finches and chickadees may still use it as well.

- Tray Feeders: probably the simplest kind, it’s just an open tray filled with feed.  No protection against the elements (although seed isn’t expected to last long before being eaten), and it attracts probably the largest range of bird species, including large and ground-feeding birds.

-Thistle/Suet Feeders: both are built for a specialized food type that attracts a certain type of bird.  Thistle seeds are very small and attract finches and the like; suet blocks attract nuthatches, woodpeckers, chickadees and the like.

So what one is “best?”  Depends on what kind of birds you want to attract.  Personally, I opted for a hopper feeder, since it seems to cater to the largest cross-section of bird species, many of which I know to either live locally or transit through the area.

I ended up buying mine from Wal-Mart, for the whopping price of $10.  It’s a mid-sized feeder in the style I wanted, fairly nice looking, and made out of recycled decking materials, of all things.  I’m a recycling nut to begin with, so that, combined with the great price, settled it for me.

Recycled Gazebo-style Bird Feeder

I also bought a steel pole to mount the feeder on, and I am considering a squirrel baffle.  The baffle is really just a plastic cone that mounts to the pole, beneath the feeder.  It’s size and shape prevent squirrels from climbing up the pole and reaching the feeder – if you’ve ever had a feeder before, then you know how quickly a squirrel can ravage it, eating all the seed and chewing up the feeder itself.

The pole I bought is a 5′, 4-piece unit that assembles without tools; you simple drive the bottom post into the ground, put it all together, and the feeder sits right on the top.  As a bonus, it has two arms that can hold other feeders, perches, etc.  And best of all, it’s a “Pennington Birding Essentials” brand unit.  For obvious reasons, that makes me smile!  Price: $15

Pennington Birding Essentials Feeder Pole Plus

If you’re looking for more information on feeder types, check out the feeder pages at both the Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Over the past six months I’ve devoted a lot of my photographic energy to tackling bird photography.  It’s a field that I find very rewarding and continue to have a lot of fun with, to the extent that I’ve adjusted some of my equipment to meet its specific conditions.

What hasn’t changed, however, is that I still have to drive out to a park or preserve and tromp around in search of the birds.  Simply finding my subjects continues to be the hardest part of the whole project.  Birds are predictable, but only to a certain extent.  I know where I’m likely to find them, I know what times are best to up the odds, but it still comes down to whether or not they’re actually there when I arrive.  Especially now, in winter, I’m making a number of fruitless outings.

Black-capped Chickadee photographed with DIY flash extender

So in line with the old parable, I’m bringing the subjects to me.  The project of the next two weeks – and next several months in the long-term – is creating a backyard bird studio, an environment that attracts the birds already passing through the area and places them in a controlled environment.

The benefits of this should be immediately apparent, although their full extent may not be.  Certainly it will make the process of photographing them much easier.  One the birds learn that food and water are easily available to them, they’ll return to my yard.  They may even nest nearby in the spring.  Basically they’ll be around more, which means I’ll get to photograph them more.

But I’ll also be working with them in a stable environment.  If, for instance, I go out into the woods, my presence is temporary and often in rough conditions.  In the backyard, however, I am free to setup equipment and I wouldn’t take with me on the hiking trail.  If I grow tired of my background, for instance, I can hang a muslin behind the feeder for a different look.  I can setup Speedlight flashes nearby and go all Strobist on the birds.  I simply have much more creative freedom.

From the bird’s perspective, it’s also beneficial.  They get an easy, stable food source in the neighborhood, which is especially helpful in the winter, or during nesting season.  In either case, it’s likely that their odds for survival will increase.  Not a bad trade off in exchange for a few photos.

The first step is to do some research and see what other people have done, find out what works and what doesn’t.  A feeder and a post will be the first orders of business, and hopefully by mid-February I’ll be able to start showing results.  In the meantime, I’ll share what I learn as I progress through this project.

Song Sparrow