Ring-necked Pheasant on display (600mm zoom lens, f-8 aperture, 1/4000 shutter speed, 800 ISO).

Sometimes, one photograph stands out among the many, or is it one bird? Or is it the spark of life exuding from a given bird. In this case it was a fantastically colored male Ring-necked Pheasant, a bird that made me look anew at this rather common bird in my neck of the continent. The varied colors shimmered in the sunlight of late afternoon when the gaudy male was displaying for 5 females, and I was hoping to not only photograph it in this stunning strut, but also when it crowed loudly, breaking the silence of the open fields and blue sky.

The grand rooster crowed 2 minutes earlier with his back toward me while standing in the midst of obstructing grasses. So, as I took this photograph and another, I was tensely poised to document this pumped-up bird in this open space as it miraculously exploded into another crowing sequence – but that didn’t happen. He merely continued his calculated strutting walk to stand in the midst of the 5 females that didn’t seem to care that he was present or not as they foraged low on the edge of a stubble field.

Walking among his prized ladies this grand duke of pheasants did crow a number of times, but never with the normal wing flapping, tail spreading display. He merely raised his neck up and forward and hollered out his vital crowing song; and I can’t remember ever seeing a pheasant crow without the crowing display involved – interesting.

At that point, the pheasants were moving ever-farther into the field, and the light began to dim, so I appreciated the photographs I had the pleasure to record and drove into the setting sun. Another day, someday, someday soon I hope, a grand cock pheasant will delight me again with the chance to photograph its bold crowing display, which is as electric as a lightning bolt and as colorful as a male Ring-necked Pheasant in its prime.

Article and Photograph by Paul Konrad

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An American Goldfinch on display (550mm zoom lens, f-6 aperture, 1/200 shutter speed, 800 ISO).

So often when photographing birds we want to get as close as possible, to take photos that show as much detail in a bird as we can and minimize the surrounding elements in a given photo. But sometimes we just can’t get any closer, and that’s when it’s worthwhile to get the most out of the situation and the bird before us, and that’s what happened when I spied a spritely colored American Goldfinch perched outside my office window. I reached for my camera, and zeroed in on the bird, magnifying it as much as possible while minimizing its surroundings.

After taking the first couple photos, the goldfinch was abiding enough to stay in its rather attractive position on the edge of an elm branch with brand new leaves stretching to one side. That’s when I realized there was a much better composition option before me. In response I reduced the magnification on my zoom lens to expand the view to the side of the goldfinch that included the entire leaf cluster. By using an f-6 aperture, I narrowed the area in focus so the background beyond the bird, branch, and leaves was blurred into pleasant shades of spring green. This not only eliminated the busy background, but it helped to emphasize the bird and leaves as a singular entity in the expanded image.

I always like to position the bird in the photo frame to one side, rather than centering the bird; and in this case it really adds a creative touch to the image. Now the photograph resembles more of an artwork, similar to what you might see in a Robert Bateman painting. This is an example of how we should look for other ways to compose a photograph of a bird beyond centering it, beyond our first impression. It’s something to keep in mind as you photograph a bird that provides a little extra time for you to think twice and consider some more creative photo composition options.

Article and Photograph by Paul Konrad

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Eared Grebe on display in the land of sky blue water (600mm zoom lens, f-8 aperture, 1/2500 shutter speed, 800 ISO).

When I focused on a resting Eared Grebe as it floated peacefully on glassy water reflecting a beautiful morning blue sky, there was not the slightest ripple on the water. I photographed, then waited, and in time the grebe raised its head and stretched its beak open as if to yawn, creating the slightest murmur of a ripple on the water, which may have added a bit of depth to the blue surface. That’s when I framed the grebe in the left side of the image with the tranquil water spread out before the waterbird.

To add a bit more length to the image, when I viewed it on my computer screen, I decided to crop a bit of the top and bottom out of the image, which I think added just the right amount of character to the scene. In the resulting photograph the water almost overpowers the grebe, but as always, the bird takes center stage, even when it is positioned far to the left side of the image. Try to inject more art into some images as you compose your bird photographs; for me, it seemed to be the surrounding colors that helped to inspire a little different look to some of the new photographs I’ve been taking the past couple days, and I wanted to pass along that insight into bird photography – Good Luck.

Article and Photograph by Paul Konrad

Share your bird photos and birding experiences at editorstbw2@gmail.com