http://www.naturettl.com/does-flash-photography-harm-animals/
I agree with this.
I agree with this.
weixing said:Hi,
Although, I think using flash properly generally will not cause any issue with adult birds, but I don't recommend using it on juvenile birds base on my personal experience... I had seen juvenile birds startle when using flash on them and one of the juvenile kingfisher nearly fall down from the tree when I use flash on it... One of the main reason I decided not to use flash.
Have a nice day.
YuengLinger said:weixing said:Hi,
Although, I think using flash properly generally will not cause any issue with adult birds, but I don't recommend using it on juvenile birds base on my personal experience... I had seen juvenile birds startle when using flash on them and one of the juvenile kingfisher nearly fall down from the tree when I use flash on it... One of the main reason I decided not to use flash.
Have a nice day.
Anecdotal evidence? The fact that the bird was clearly a juvenile might be why it clumsily fell, and you just thought you had cause and effect worked out.
Or it might have seen you behind the flash at that moment and been startled by your appearance?
I wonder where the myth started? There are those photographers who think flash is never a good thing, either because it is "artificial" or too complicated. Depends on the level of honesty...
On the other hand, a constant barrage of flash would be maddening...Which might explain why so many rock stars and politicians are completely nuts?
I am not sure I agree with the lightning/flash comparison. Lightning will illuminate the entire surroundings from above, as a long light line, whereas a flash is a point source, probably directed directly against the animal´s/bird´s line of vision. I have never been blinded by lightning, but I certainly have from a flash.retroreflection said:Lightning is a good baseline for assessing risk from flash. Full sun to deep shade is another. A species not adapted to these common variations in illumination level would either have to restrict their exposure (cave fish) or not be long on this earth.
That all assumes reasonable flash power. There is film of Harold Edgerton demonstrating the strobe he built for nighttime aerial photography during WWII, it can set a sheet of newspaper on fire. On a more reasonable level, I was once in a film museum in Dusseldorf and I triggered a flash as I walked into some passage. It staggered me. If I were flying at speed through a forest, could I have lost sight of obstacles and crashed into a tree? I only hope I could take some ewoks out with me.
I'm not prepared to lay out the math, but daylight flash luminance should not exceed full sun. Nighttime flash should be a few stops below that. High ISO is there for a reason. Chose the number of stops yourself. Avoid flashing eyes that never see the sun. Finally, put your own head in the setup, see how you like it.
retroreflection said:Lightning is a good baseline for assessing risk from flash. Full sun to deep shade is another. A species not adapted to these common variations in illumination level would either have to restrict their exposure (cave fish) or not be long on this earth.
takesome1 said:retroreflection said:Lightning is a good baseline for assessing risk from flash. Full sun to deep shade is another. A species not adapted to these common variations in illumination level would either have to restrict their exposure (cave fish) or not be long on this earth.
A lightning storm can wipe turkeys out. They panic and especially in the evening they will leave the roost out of fear.
If Lightning is a good baseline for using a flash by wildlife photographers, I would say that photographers are not a good baseline for determining if one is a conservationist.
CanonFanBoy said:takesome1 said:retroreflection said:Lightning is a good baseline for assessing risk from flash. Full sun to deep shade is another. A species not adapted to these common variations in illumination level would either have to restrict their exposure (cave fish) or not be long on this earth.
A lightning storm can wipe turkeys out. They panic and especially in the evening they will leave the roost out of fear.
If Lightning is a good baseline for using a flash by wildlife photographers, I would say that photographers are not a good baseline for determining if one is a conservationist.
Luckily my 600EX-RTs have silent flashing mode so that there are no raucous thunder claps to scare turkeys from their roosts.
The nest is on the ground. Eggs are hatched on the ground. Poults are brooded on the ground beneath the hen's wings rain or shine. All turkeys do in the roost is sleep. Until a bird is mature enough to fly (10-12 days) it sleeps on the ground. Coming down out of the roost doesn't kill them. They see quite well at night.
I have no idea what lightning by itself, much less a camera flash, has to do with busting a turkey roost and "wiping" them out.
Birds survive lightning and thunder storms in the wild their whole lives. Comparing one's pidley camera flash to such natural storms is just plain silly.
Want to be a real conservationist? Buy a hunting license and quit sweating the small stuff.
At least when one buys a hunting license one actually contributes $$$ to conserving the animals and their habitat. Worrying about flash one way or the other does absolutely nothing.
takesome1 said:CanonFanBoy said:takesome1 said:retroreflection said:Lightning is a good baseline for assessing risk from flash. Full sun to deep shade is another. A species not adapted to these common variations in illumination level would either have to restrict their exposure (cave fish) or not be long on this earth.
A lightning storm can wipe turkeys out. They panic and especially in the evening they will leave the roost out of fear.
If Lightning is a good baseline for using a flash by wildlife photographers, I would say that photographers are not a good baseline for determining if one is a conservationist.
Luckily my 600EX-RTs have silent flashing mode so that there are no raucous thunder claps to scare turkeys from their roosts.
The nest is on the ground. Eggs are hatched on the ground. Poults are brooded on the ground beneath the hen's wings rain or shine. All turkeys do in the roost is sleep. Until a bird is mature enough to fly (10-12 days) it sleeps on the ground. Coming down out of the roost doesn't kill them. They see quite well at night.
I have no idea what lightning by itself, much less a camera flash, has to do with busting a turkey roost and "wiping" them out.
Birds survive lightning and thunder storms in the wild their whole lives. Comparing one's pidley camera flash to such natural storms is just plain silly.
Want to be a real conservationist? Buy a hunting license and quit sweating the small stuff.
At least when one buys a hunting license one actually contributes $$$ to conserving the animals and their habitat. Worrying about flash one way or the other does absolutely nothing.
You are right, it isn't the lightning by itself that kills them. It is the bobcats and coyotes that get them at night while they are on the ground. And yes they hatch and live on stay on the ground for some time, maybe that is why they lay multiple eggs because of some of those babies are going to be eaten at night.
Lightning storms can be devastating for Turkeys because it will scare them off the roost. This make easy meals for the predators. But that is nature, your flash is not.
CanonFanBoy said:So I agree, my flash isn't nature. Nature is far more harsh and yet, the Turkeys survive. Nature has been busting Turkey roosts for millennia.
takesome1 said:CanonFanBoy said:takesome1 said:CanonFanBoy said:takesome1 said:retroreflection said:Lightning is a good baseline for assessing risk from flash. Full sun to deep shade is another. A species not adapted to these common variations in illumination level would either have to restrict their exposure (cave fish) or not be long on this earth.
A lightning storm can wipe turkeys out. They panic and especially in the evening they will leave the roost out of fear.
If Lightning is a good baseline for using a flash by wildlife photographers, I would say that photographers are not a good baseline for determining if one is a conservationist.
Luckily my 600EX-RTs have silent flashing mode so that there are no raucous thunder claps to scare turkeys from their roosts.
The nest is on the ground. Eggs are hatched on the ground. Poults are brooded on the ground beneath the hen's wings rain or shine. All turkeys do in the roost is sleep. Until a bird is mature enough to fly (10-12 days) it sleeps on the ground. Coming down out of the roost doesn't kill them. They see quite well at night.
I have no idea what lightning by itself, much less a camera flash, has to do with busting a turkey roost and "wiping" them out.
Birds survive lightning and thunder storms in the wild their whole lives. Comparing one's pidley camera flash to such natural storms is just plain silly.
Want to be a real conservationist? Buy a hunting license and quit sweating the small stuff.
At least when one buys a hunting license one actually contributes $$$ to conserving the animals and their habitat. Worrying about flash one way or the other does absolutely nothing.
You are right, it isn't the lightning by itself that kills them. It is the bobcats and coyotes that get them at night while they are on the ground. And yes they hatch and live on stay on the ground for some time, maybe that is why they lay multiple eggs because of some of those babies are going to be eaten at night.
Lightning storms can be devastating for Turkeys because it will scare them off the roost. This make easy meals for the predators. But that is nature, your flash is not.
Yup, that is why they lay multiple eggs.
I don't buy that thunderstorms are so devastating to Turkeys in general. They spend the vast majority of their lives on the ground... so they are always a target for predators. That is nothing new, thunder or no thunder.
They don't return to the roost no matter the weather until it is roostin' time.
You said a lightning storm will wipe Turkeys out. Not true. Actually, you meant predators would wipe them out if busted off the roost at night. Still not true. If true there wouldn't be a single turkey left in the southeast United States.
Maybe one would be lost now and then, but that happens on bright sunny days too.
Good for you on the lifetime license. Good for you on your land stewardship.
That still doesn't make your exaggerated claim of Turkeys being wiped out true.
Camera flash isn't anything even close to nature in her fury during a storm. Camera flash ain't gonna bust no Turkey roost and make them disappeared. It doesn't scare away birds at all. It is so quiet and quick the birds, and their predators, have been completely unaffected in my experience.
So I agree, my flash isn't nature. Nature is far more harsh and yet, the Turkeys survive. Nature has been busting Turkey roosts for millennia.
I've never hunted Wild Turkey or big game (deer, elk, etc.) Don't like the taste of either so there is no reason for me to do so. If I'm not going to eat it I won't hunt it. However, I'll take some cottontail or squirrel stew anytime. Sometimes even groundhog.
Where I live now, Jackrabbits are the choice... and I choose not to go there yet.
BTW: The likelihood of any photographer going out at night to use flash to photograph turkeys on the roost are slim and none.
Keep justifying. It will make you feel better about what you do.