Jack Douglas said:
jrista, another question. How would you know my chickadee on the stump was not a set up (honest it wasn't
). Probably because its not very well done!
I like to think I have a sense of humor. Unfortunately, sometimes I offend people with my kidding around :-[
Jack
Well, I certainly cannot know for sure. When I commented about your chickadee shot, I was actually referring to the one on the branch with the dead leaves, not the stump one. With the branch, the angle of the bird, the angle of the light on the bird, the angle of the perch, etc. are all indicative of a purely natural shot. If you had taken the time to set up a perch, you would have taken the time to make sure that the branches natural landing spot was set up such that: the leaves wouldn't intersect the bird, the background would be "clean", that the background was far enough away to blur more, that the whole setup was angled properly to the light. Additionally, that when the bird landed, it would either land facing away (and thus not be viable for a shot), or broadside such that when the bird turned its head and "looked at the camera" you would have the perfect shot.
As for the stump, that's one of those ideal natural perches. They certainly do exist. And they are prime targets for "baiting" with seed.
There is no reason you can't bait the setups nature hands you on a platter, you know.
As a matter of fact, many groundfowl setups are usually built to support existing natural perches. Quail, grouse, pheasant, etc. rarely land on top of tree stumps or logs or rocks, however setup photography for them usually involves setting up a ramp behind your angle of view (so it cannot be seen in the photo), then setting up a bait trail of your quarries favorite food...starting out a ways from the ramp, up the ramp, and finally settling in a little pile on top of the perch to keep any takers there for a little while as you take their photos.
If you are a true purist at heart, and really want to get birds in their natural habitat, exhibiting natural behavior, without any baiting or setup involved, you should get into shorebirds and waterfowl. Shorebirds in particular are wonderful subjects, tend to naturally set themselves up for very good, clean shots with blurry backgrounds, when you photograph them from ground level. (I have often laid in freezing cold, soaking wet snow covered sand for hours while trying to get the perfect shot of a shorebird during fall migration. I'll see if I can dig up some of my shots from the last year.) You don't need to bait shorebirds, they migrate up and down sandy shores and mud flats around lakes and along coasts, probing for little morsels of food. So all you need to do is set up shop and wait for them to come. (A long lens is essential, 600mm at least, whatever aperture you can get, although f/5.6 or faster is recommended.)
Waterfowl, such as geese, ducks, loons, grebes, even gulls, etc. as well as marsh, swamp, and wetland birds like marsh hens, coots, herons, egrets, etc. also make excellent subjects that usually don't need any setup. (Although your photos can benefit from some live bait to bring the birds closer to shore if they are keeping their distance.) These birds tend to be larger than the songbirds you usually photograph, so you don't need quite as long a lens, and don't always have to get quite so close (and, sometimes, you may find yourself framing a bit too close, limiting your composition options.)
Whether you use a setup or not often depends on the types of birds your photographing. While they are not necessary for songbirds and groundfowl, they certainly do help, and can give you the flexibility and control you need, without adversely affecting the birds habitat or behavior or well being. Many other types of birds don't need any setup at all, however there are still some techniques like live baiting waterfowl that can help bring them in closer (without adversely affecting their behavior or making their behavior seem unnatural.) So, if/when you do tire of purely "natural" bird photography, there are plenty of other ways to expand your knowledge and explore new ways of getting better photos.
:-\
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