How Wild Bird Photography Led Me to Become a Nature Photographer: Encountering the Crested Kingfisher

 

Photography techniques learned through photographing the Crested Kingfisher

About lenses

When I first started photographing wild birds, I wanted to capture large images of my subjects, so I bought Canon 500mm and 800mm lenses. However, I soon got rid of the 800mm because it was too heavy, had a long minimum focusing distance, and was prone to chromatic aberration.

The 500mm was easy to use, and I used it regularly for wild bird photography.

However, once I started photographing the Crested Kingfisher, I began using a method of hiding in a blind and "waiting for the shot" because I had to get close to the subject.

As a result, the 300mm lens became my primary tool, while I started using a 50mm macro lens for predation scenes and a 24mm lens for nesting photography to incorporate the environment and scenery.

About cameras

When I first started photographing wild birds, I used aperture priority mode.

After I began photographing the Crested Kingfisher, I started capturing predation scenes and using daylight sync, which taught me to shoot in manual mode for both aperture and shutter speed.

Since the cameras back then were film cameras, the image quality was determined by the quality of the lens and the type of film; the camera itself didn't have much impact on the shot as long as it could fire at the set shutter speed.

The cameras I used regularly were the Canon A-1 and the Pentax ME Super.

About strobes

I started using strobes after I began photographing the Crested Kingfisher.

With film (and the same applies to digital cameras), lower sensitivity results in finer grain and higher resolution, making for more beautiful photos when enlarged.

At the time, there were only print media outlets for publishing photos, so many photographers used Kodachrome with a sensitivity of 64.

Therefore, to capture moments like predation, I had no choice but to utilize the flash duration of the strobes.

For example, in a pitch-black place, even if you leave the shutter open for a minute, the film will not be exposed and will remain black. By firing a strobe with a flash duration of 1/10,000th of a second, you can effectively take a photo at 1/10,000th of a second.

I began to make frequent use of this principle by using multiple strobes.

However, shortening the flash duration reduces the light output, so using just one unit was insufficient, leading me to use a multi-strobe setup with three to four units.

Remote control photography

The electromagnetic releases for film cameras were simple, consisting of a two-core cord with a positive and a negative wire; the mechanism worked by pressing a switch to make contact and allow electricity to flow. Therefore, I could simply cut the cord with scissors, buy an earphone cord at a hardware store, and connect the wires to extend it to any length I wanted.

This was extremely useful when setting up a blind at a distance and using pre-focusing to capture predation scenes or birds entering and exiting their nests.

Applying these skills to later photography

Photographing the Crested Kingfisher was incredibly beneficial for my later nature photography.

Crested Kingfisher photos don't generate much income. In a sense, it is a hobbyist's pursuit.

However, the multi-strobe, underwater, and remote control photography techniques I learned during that time have all been applied to my subsequent work.

In nature photography, there is no difference in the usage value between a photo that took ten years to capture and one taken in a very short time.

I feel that the ten years I spent photographing the Crested Kingfisher allowed me to build the fundamental ability to photograph nature broadly while focusing on a core subject of ecological photography.

That strength has supported my 40-year career in photography.

This was a brief explanation, but I hope it serves as a reference for those of you aiming to become professionals.