Focusing on off-center subjects
Behind The Lens Darren Murphy
This technique applies to attaining focus on a subject that is outside of any of the AF target sensors in your viewfinder. Whenever I take a picture, I concentrate on getting the subject’s eyes. For me, this is critical to obtaining the perfect pic. Simply zero in on your target subject, try and place one of the sensors over the eyes of the bird or animal and lock focus. This is possible when your camera is set to single Servo AF mode. Once done, with a steady hand click your shutter button. This is relatively easy when your subject is still, the tricky part is to do it when the subject is always moving. There’s a solution to this, simply place your camera in continuous Servo mode, then focus the closest sensor to your subject’s eyes and follow its movement. With a steady hand and your camera pressed firmly against your face, click the shutter button. This way your camera is actually tracking focus. This type of shooting is imperative for any wildlife photographer shooting in the field.
You will probably also notice that is really only one point of focus. Everything in the front and background will appear out of focus in your viewfinder. This is referred to as depth of field and there are three things that influence it. The focal length of the lens, the lens aperture and the camera to the subject’s actual distance. It’s pretty cool how you can play around with this. Let’s say you want just the actual subject and both the front and background blurred; this is regarded as minimum depth of field. I have experimented with this many times over the years but it really is a crapshoot. Some images come out stunning, where others simply don’t work. I encourage everybody to try this as you may be surprised with the final result. Next is using a large depth of field. Here all peripheral detail will also appear sharp which helps to explain that particular photo. For example, I used this technique while shooting a fox outside its den. Both the fox and den are at the forefront of the photo, the pic appears to be telling a story of a fox leaving its den probably going on the hunt to feed its young ones. Great thing is, you can interpret the photo anyway you desire. Like they say, every picture tells a story.
Enough of the technical stuff, for those birders or photographers always looking for a great place to shoot, try the covered bridge in Fitch Bay. I’ve gone under this bridge dozens of times while out fishing and have seen families of geese, ducks, loons, osprey, herons and bald eagles on both sides. Recently there was a photographer who planted himself on the south side with his tripod and was shooting a couple of loons that were just past the bridge in the bay. The osprey pic I posted awhile back on my wildpix page was taken about 50 feet from the bridge. The birds of prey come as the water is relatively shallow, which provides them with great hunting opportunities. The bog on Mcgowan road continues to impress. Got some great turtle and female wood duck/chicks photos earlier this week. The pond is choked with vegetation now which means the blue herons and white egrets will be arriving soon.
Again, thanks for the messages and kind words regarding this column. I am happy to answer any questions you might have regarding wildlife photography and nature in general. Please feel free to message me on my facebook page and I will reply asap!