Birds in a flash
Andrew Fusek Peters shows how high-speed flash can be used to capture incredible candid shots of garden birds
andrew Fusek Peters explains how high-speed flash can be used to capture candid shots of garden birds
Ifirst became interested in the potential of photographing the birds in my garden when I was given the book Birds
In Action by Eric Hosking and Cyril Newberry. Published in 1949, this book was an eye-opener for me, with photographs showing that the short duration of flash could be used to freeze motion. Since then I have researched and refined my photography technique, but it all boils down to this: the flash duration of a Canon Speedlite (other makes are similar) at 1/8th manual power is about 1/3,750sec, and at 1/16 power it is 1/6,300sec. At lower power, the flash is less bright, so you need a set of flashguns (I use three or four) in an array around a homebuilt feeding station. Using wireless trigger and hidden food sources while exposing for darkness means the flash will do all the work to light both the birds and foreground. This means you can set your camera to a ridiculous f-stop, a low shutter speed and ISO, and have the opportunity to capture moments that are normally a blur too fast for the human eye.
Set the stage
Begin by building your studio stage set. Trawl your local woods or park and find a mossy fallen
branch or stick. It must be sturdy enough to hide a food source and/or to perch on. This is your foreground, so it has to also look beautiful. Now, choose the right spot in your garden. If you have a shed with windows, or a room inside with a clear view, put your branch in line of sight. Check that your glass does not have reflections and that the sun doesn’t shine directly towards you. Put feeders on either side of the branch and drill holes to hide nuts/seeds away from the camera. Think of it like a magic trick – a bird on a feeder is too obvious; far better to have a photo on a pleasing perch. Set up your flash in an array to either side of the branch.
With your camera set up on a tripod, it’s time to do some test shots. Dial in flash settings anywhere from 1/4 to 1/32 depending on the weather. If it’s rainy, put small, clear Ziploc bags over the flash, which will also help to diffuse the light. Set your camera to its flash limit – my Canon EOS 5D Mark IV is 1/200sec at f/16 – and try different ISO settings and test shots to make sure the foreground is not blown out. The background needs to be dark. With plenty of feeders and hidden food sources, birds should start appearing. Prefocus on a spot and use a remote trigger to fire. There will be a lot of missed shots. It took me three winters to get the picture of the fighting siskins (pages 32-33). When processing, reduce the highlights and increase the shadows/ blacks if you want a more textured background.
Any harmful effects?
Will the birds be disturbed with your use of a flash? As a conservation photographer mainly working under commission to the National Trust, I concentrate a lot on declining bird species, and showing the beauty of our birds can help raise awareness. These garden birds kept returning to perches that I used a flash on and showed little disturbance. No studies have proven that the use of a flash can be harmful to birds so long as it is used sparingly. In contrast, studies show that garden feeding has actually reversed the decline of species such as the goldfinch. Songbirds even persist among cars, security lights, loud noise, trucks, lightning and thunder. Sadly, the biggest danger is cats.
While the use of a flash works better on overcast days, I once used it when photographing goldfinches when the sun was out. It made an incredible rim-like effect and blurred the wings to transform the flare of the goldfinches into a painting (pictured top right).