Iain S Byrne, Photography

2012-01-30T17:00:00.000Z

Hi All,

Pennington Flash

Had a trip to Pennington Flash today which was quite productive despite poor light in the woodland clearing. As well as myself there were three other photographers in the hide using Sigma and Canon lens's with maximum apertures of f5.6, and they were struggling to get shutter speeds much above 1/30sec. I was using my Canon 300mm f4 and was struggling with an ISO of 400 so I increased it to 640 with increased shutter speeds and surprisingly very little noise in the final images.

Blue Tit - 300mm 1/200 sec @f4

This episode highlighted a common dilemma for those new to wildlife photography, do you spend your money on a longer lens with a maximum aperture of f5.6 or greater or get a shorter but faster lens?

Long-tailed Tit - 300mm 1/200 sec @ f4

My advice, through my own experience's is to go for the shorter and faster lens and consider a x1.4 converter. My Canon 300mm f4 with a x1.4 converter will give me a 420mm lens with a maximum aperture of f5.6, this means on a day with poor light I can use it as a 300mm f4 and get good images and when the light improves fit the x1.4 converter, best of both worlds

Robin - 300mm + 1.4 converter 1/250sec @ f5.6

Redwing - 300mm + 1.4 converter 1/200sec @ f5.6

I was also quite impressed with the lack of noise shooting at ISO 640 on my Canon 40D and the little noise there was, was easily dealt with using Lightroom 3's noise reduction. I must download the new beta version of Lightroom 4 which is available from Adobe and give it a try, I might post my impressions next month,

Happy shooting,

Iain

2012-01-28T17:00:00.002Z

Hi All,

Signs of Spring

I finally got the opportunity today to have a wander around the garden looking for signs of spring, and I found them.
It has been a very mild winter in comparison to the last two and already there are many signs of spring. The birds are developing their breeding plumage and I have already seen our local collared doves mating.
This is a great time of year and is always very productive for wildlife and nature photographers. Now is the time to start making those late winter images showing the first signs of new life.
Our Viburnum shrub is already in blossom and gave me an ideal opportunity to take this images. I used my Canon 100mm f2.8 macro lens and spot metered on the flower. I positioned myself with the sun slightly behind the blossom to rim light the leaves.

Valentines Day

As we are approaching valentines day, starting next week I have a special offer on these two canvas prints which are appropriate for the day.

The canvas print offers will begin on 1st February 2012 and will be available for 5 days only and will be available via Fine Art America. I will post links here and on twitter when available,

Happy shooting,

Iain

Wildlife Photo Magazine

2012-01-02T17:08:00.003Z

Hi All,

Hoped you liked my last post on depth of field for wildlife photographers.

This article has just been published by Wildlife Photo Magazine based in South Africa. This is a great online magazine for those interested in wildlife, packed with interesting articles and tutorials including my own.

I will be publishing a new article later in January.

Sandhill Crane taking off at Bosque del Apache, New Mexico, USA

Happy New Year to you all and happy shooting,

Iain

A Simple Guide to Depth of Field for Wildlife Photographers

2011-12-28T17:37:00.000Z

Hi All,

One of my New Years resolutions is to post a monthly "how to" article, so what better time too start than four days early. Your comments on these posts will be greatly appreciated as will suggestions for future posts,

Thanks,

Iain

A Simple Guide to Depth of Field for Wildlife Photographers

©Iain S Byrne, Photography

What is Depth of Field?

The way your subject is reproduced in a photograph can look very different to how it looked when you took the picture. Our eyes see everthing equally sharp but when we see the resulting image only a portion of it looks sharp. This zone of sharpness is called the depth of field and is controlled by three main factors:

• The lens aperture
• The lens focal length
• The camera to subject distance

When you learn how to control these three factors you will discover the creative effects of depth of field.

This image demonstrates depth of field – I focused on the red fox with a 300mm lens set at f2.8 @ 1/1000 sec and achieved a very narrow depth of field hardly extending beyond the fox.

Let us now look at each of the factors that control depth of field.

The lens aperture

There is a direct relationship between aperture and depth of field - the smaller the aperture (f22) the deeper the depth of field and the larger the aperture (f4) the shallower the depth of field.

If you want your background to be completely out of focus you should be looking at an aperture of f5.6 or even f4 if your lens allows it. This has some advantages for the wildlife photographer because large apertures mean fast shutter speeds, which is normally good for unpredictable wildlife.

This picture of a bullfinch was taken at 1/100 sec @ f5.6. Note the out of focus tree branches in the background. This is a good way to make your subject stand out from any background distractions.

The Lens Focal Length

If you use a wide-angle lens you will benefit from an extensive depth of field, which makes it easy to keep everything in focus and very useful for landscapes. The wider the lens - the greater the depth of field.

When using a telephoto lens however, the depth of field is much more limited. The longer the focal length - the shallower the depth of field.

Two greylag geese going to roost over Caerlaverock, Dumfrieshire. Taken with a 70 – 200mm f2.8 L lens at 70mm, 1/60 @f22 in order to achieve a greater depth of field.

Camera to Subject Distance

For technical reasons, the closer you get to the subject the shallower the depth of field becomes. In fact, when shooting in macro mode depth of field can extend to just a few millimeters in front of and behind the subject.

That is a very brief and simplified explanation of the theory behind depth of field, but how does this affect our wildlife images?

In many wildlife images we want our main subject to stand out strongly against an out of focus background. We don’t often have the ability to control the background except by using depth of field, as we cannot ask our subjects to move to a more photogenic location.
In order to completely blur the background you need to use a telephoto lens at its widest aperture and to try and move the subject as far away as possible from the background. Care must be taken however to focus accurately, as the shallow depth of field will be unforgiving of any focusing errors. For wildlife, focusing on the eyes gives the best results.

Two puffins photographed on Skomer Island, Wales. Here I used an aperture of f4.5 in order to get the bird in the foreground sharp and the one in the background slightly out of focus. I used a 70-200mm lens with 1.4 converter set at 280mm and 1/320 sec @ f4.5

Depth of field is one the most misunderstood areas of photography, but you will find it to be one of the most creative tools available to any photographer,

Happy shooting,

Iain
www.iainsbyrnephotography.com
http://iain-byrne.artistwebsites.com/

New Dog Images on Fine Art America

2011-12-17T16:17:00.001Z

I have new dog images on FAA with more to follow:

http://iain-byrne.artistwebsites.com/

New Image on Fine Art America

2011-12-04T13:21:00.000Z

Hi all,

A new image is now available on Fine Art America.

This is a technique I am trying. I start with one of my original photographs and use Photoshop to extract the main subject. I then paste the main subject onto a white canvas and finally fine tune the image to my liking.

I do like the minimalist look though, it is always my intention to make the main subject of my images stand out and I think this technique achieves that.

As always comments are always appreciated,

Good shooting,

Iain

New Images on Fine Art America

2011-11-21T09:30:00.005Z

I am now regularly posting images onto Fine Art America.
http://iain-byrne.artistwebsites.com/
These images are available as art prints, canvas prints and greetings cards.
Please take a look and happy shooting, Iain

Pink Rose

2011-11-07T16:13:00.000Z

Hi All,

We had some roses in the house this weekend so I decided to get some images of them.

You do not need lots of expensive equipment to photography flowers. All I used was a white sheet spread over a table, a 100mm f2.8 macro lens, a tripod, flash unit (with diffuser) and remote release. Set your camera too aperture priority and to get the greatest depth of field I used f32 which, gave me a shutter speed of 1.5 seconds hence the need for a tripod and remote release. When you use Aperture Priority Mode the ETTL flash mode will automatically reduces the flash power so that it gives the appropriate exposure for that aperture.

Give it a go, much more comfortable than sitting in a hide on a wet, cold winters day,

Happy shooting,

Iain

Goldfinch

2011-11-02T13:30:00.000Z

Hi,

Finally today I got the opportunity to get a couple of shots of our local goldfinch away from the feeder. Light was terrible, had to boost the ISO to 500 just to get a shutter speed of 100/sec at f5.6 but at least a couple of the shots weren't too bad.

Still developing our garden feeding area with photography in mind but we are attracting a good mix of finches and tits.

Happy shooting,

Iain

RSPB - Feed the Birds Day

2011-10-29T17:53:00.000+01:00

Today is the RSPB "Feed the Birds Day" but remember, this is just a reminder to feed the birds every day during the winter months. Our little feathered friends need our help and support during the winter so get out there, get a feeder, get some food and feed them.

Remember, if you place some natural looking branches close to your feeder you can get some great shots,

Happy shooting,

Iain

New Images

2011-10-09T22:56:00.000+01:00

I have been looking at some of my old images whilst I was in the USA in 2003 taken on 35mm slide film. I have had some of these images professionally scanned and the resulting images are very good requiring only minimal tidying up work in Photoshop. When I took this image Adobe was just releasing Photoshop CS, I am now using Photoshop CS5 and what a difference between the two versions.

Dig out some of your old images (even those on 35mm) have them scanned or scan them yourself and see what you can do with them, you may be pleasantly surprised.

This is an image of a long-billed curlew taken in Antelope Island State Park, Utah, USA in the spring of 2003, enjoy.

Happy shooting,

Iain

Blackbird with Rowan Berries

2011-07-15T18:57:00.000+01:00

Hi All,

A busy few weeks, I have moved in with my wonderful partner Rose so am now resident in Appley Bridge, Wigan. I think I have heard all the pie jokes now, but if you have an original one, please let me know!!

We have a Rowan tree in the back garden which is currently flush with berries and the local blackbirds are finding them irresistible, so an ideal photo opportunity. Using my Canon 300mm f4 L IS lens with a 1.4 extender I spent this morning sat in the sunshine making images. I found an aperture of f5.6 gave me an adequate shutter speed of around 1/500 sec in aperture priority mode. I also discovered that center weighted metering worked well for these images. I think the two contrasting colours red and green work well in the image and the frame of berries reflects the shape of the blackbird adding to the composition.

All comments welcome, happy shooting,

Iain

Blackpool Zoo Course

2011-06-15T21:43:00.001+01:00

There are still a few places left on my Blackpool Zoo Photography course on Saturday, 25 June 2011.

This is a one day course which has been designed by myself for people new to digital photography. With the zoo as a 'set', you will learn how to get your camera off the 'auto' setting?

The course runs from 10.00am until 4.00pm and includes tea & coffee on arrival. This is followed by a classroom workshop and a photography session in the zoo, lunch in the cafe, a further photography session and back to the classroom for reviews and discussions of images taken.

You are free to wander around the zoo after the course, the zoo closes at 5.45pm.

Cost is £75.00 per person or £60.00 for Blackpool Zoo members (includes tea, coffee and lunch)

Saturday 25th June 2011

For further information and to book please call Blackpool Zoo on:
01253 830801

Happy Shooting,

Iain

Zoo Course

2011-06-02T15:39:00.001+01:00

Hi All,

A new digital photography course has been arranged at Blackpool Zoo for Saturday 25 June 2011.

For further details click here

Garden Birds

2011-05-22T11:57:00.000+01:00

Hi All,

This is a great time of the year for making images of garden birds, and with many young birds around at present its great for images like these. All you need is some food to attract them and patience.

Happy shooting,

Iain

New Images

2011-05-17T13:46:00.000+01:00

Hi All,

New grey heron images are now on my website, click here to view.

These images were all shot at the heronry at Stanley Park, Blackpool, UK.

For all the inflight shots I spot metered on the bird using an aperture of f5.6 in aperture priority mode on my Canon 40D. I used a Canon 300mm f4 L IS lens with a x1.4 converter fitted.

Happy shooting,

Iain

Spot Metering Technique

2011-05-16T15:13:00.005+01:00

Hi All,

I have been asked what technique I use to make some my flower images with a black background, here is a simple guide:

1. Find a subject with the sun shining on it, making the subject stand out.
2. Spot meter the highlighted flower and shoot your picture.

The camera's exposure meter thinks it is brighter that it actually is, so the flower is correctly exposed but the background becomes black. If you shoot RAW the black background can be exaggerated by moving the black endpoint to the right. For JPG images use the levels control in Photoshop.

This technique can also work well with other subjects.

Good shooting,

Iain

Histograms - expose to the right

2011-05-09T20:57:00.000+01:00

Hi All,

Many of you who have attended my courses may recall me advising you that to get the very best image quality you need to over expose your images - or as far as your histogram is concerned "expose to the right"

Rick Saamon's article 'Get it "Right" With Your Histogram' explains this idea very well.

Take a look and good shooting,

Iain

Update

2011-05-09T13:20:00.001+01:00

Hi All,

Firstly a reminder that you can now follow me on Twitter and Facebook, take a look.

I have now licensed some of my images to Gecko Rouge as cross stitch patterns, so those of you who enjoy "stitching" can see some of my images in a very different form. For more details click here.

I now have a new category on my website 'flora' This will include images of flowers, plants and trees and will be added to during the year. To take a look click here.

Starting next week, photography tips on my blog so, if there is something you always wanted to know (photography related only!!) then please get in touch and ask.

Best wishes and good shooting,

Iain

New Website Splash Page

2011-05-01T17:47:00.000+01:00

Hi All,

Just posted a new splash page for my website.

Hope you like it,

Iain

Pennington Today

2011-04-30T18:06:00.001+01:00

Hi All,

Certainly a very busy weekend taking picture. Another visit to Pennington Flash today, weather sunny and windy but the wind just right for making the black-headed gulls hover whilst looking for scraps, from the many visitors.

Look closely at the larger version and you can see he is dribbling in anticipation of food,

Happy shooting,

Iain

The Wedding

2011-04-29T21:16:00.000+01:00

Hi All,

Due to a certain high profile wedding today I decided to it may be appropriate to post a pertinent image so, whilst in the garden this afternoon I shot this.

Happy shooting,

Iain

Unusual visitor to Pennington Flash

2011-04-28T12:31:00.002+01:00

Hi,

Very interesting day yesterday at Pennington Flash near Wigan. Got some very good images of bullfinch, greenfinch and jay, but whilst there managed to get a pic of this little chap. Local birders are identifying it as a lesser redpoll, but with slightly different coloration, any comments from you birding experts out there would be very much appreciated.

Another long weekend coming up with a good weather forecast so, no excuse for not getting out there with your cameras.

Happy shooting,

Iain

UPDATE
"it is a Lesser Redpoll. I have seen birds of this type before where the fore crown is a greenish-amber colour but I have to say very infrequently. Not sure if there is a name for this particular aberration or what the cause is. Finches are interesting in that the intensity of colours can change with age (generally getting brighter and more extensive in some case) and they can also be affected by diet. The diet influence is most commonly recorded in captive birds"

Thanks to Peter Alker, Ranger at Pennington for the above update

Iain

2011-04-20T19:09:00.000+01:00

Welcome!
I'm a freelance photographer from the UK.
I specialise in photographing birds, wildlife and animals (if it has fur or feathers I'm happy)
This blog is where I will share my photos, tips and thoughts.
Please comment and post any questions!
If you haven't visited my website yet, be sure to check it out at: www.iainsbyrnephotography.com

"When all the trees have been cut down,
when all the animals have been hunted,
when all the waters are polluted,
when all the air is unsafe to breathe,
only then will you discover you cannot eat money"
~ Cree Prophecy ~

Thanks for visiting and happy shooting! Iain