E.J. Peiker, Nature Photographer

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Newsletter of E.J. Peiker, Nature Photographer and www.EJPhoto.com

All contents ©2003 E.J. Peiker

 

Autumn 2003

(Vol  1 , Issue 1)

Welcome to the quarterly update from E.J. Peiker Nature Photography.  In this quarterly email publication, I will keep you all posted on upcoming workshops including the DuckShop Series as well as sharing some photos and experiences with you.  I will also give you brief impressions on any new equipment that I get the opportunity to use and any other general information in the world of digital nature photography.  Please feel free to forward this along to other photographers and interested parties.  If you would like to be added or deleted to the mailing list or if you would like copies of past issues, just send me an email message at ejpeiker@cox.net. 
 

Winter = Ducks

 
My favorite winter subjects are those colorful, funny, and personality rich birds we call ducks.  There are 99 species of duck that still roam the planet.  Unfortunately in the 20th century alone, several species joined the ranks of the extinct - never to be seen again.  On the bright side, the ones that are left are beautiful photographic subjects.  I have loved ducks since I was a small boy and now that I am a grown-up I chase them with camera gear in tow.   While ducks are generally larger birds, they can be very challenging subjects since most ducks, especially the males, have extreme contrast range, many species with deep blacks and snow whites on the same bird.  Exposing them properly can be very difficult and the modern evaluative/matrix meters rarely get it right.  More often than not, these modern meters seriously overexpose duck photographs leaving no detail in the lighter colored plumage.  How do we insure that are exposures are as good as they can be?  I have developed some general rules of thumb for duck photography in the mid latitudes (USA) over the years that I have been photographing them.  These are starting points.  Use of a digital camera and its histogram can be highly beneficial to tweak these values for your situation.  Film shooters should bracket around these starting points

 

  1. Keep the sun at your back - many ducks have iridescent plumage which frontal light to record on film or on your digital sensors.
  2. On a sunny day in mid to dark colored water your meter should typically be at -1 to  -1 2/3 depending on the background.  The darker the background, the more negative compensation is required to keep from overexposing the duck.  In manual mode, ducks with bright whites like Northern Pintail or Northern Shovelers are best exposed using a Sunny f/22 starting point of approximately 1/1600 at f/8 at ISO 200 (or equivalent).  Birds that are not as bright white, try 1/1000 to 1250 at f/8.  Many female ducks do not have the bright plumage of their males companions.  In these situations start with a Sunny 16 equivalent exposure of 1/800 at f/8.  About one stop more exposure is required in the first two hours after sunrise.
  3. On cloudy days or in open shade, Cloudy f/5.6 is a good starting place for your exposures.  Cloudy f/5.6 refers to a shutter speed that is the reciprocal of the ISO you are shooting at.  So if you are shooting with ISO 200 film or a digital camera set at ISO 200 a good starting exposure is 1/200 at f/5.6.  Supplement the light with flash.  A – 1 2/3 flash compensation will work in most situations.
  4. If the bird is in water, do not allow your shutter speed to fall below 1/160 sec.  I have found this to be the bare minimum that will insure sharpness in calm waters.  This number needs to be raised in choppy waters.
  5. On sunny days, make sure the bird’s head is turned so that the face is illuminated by the sun – the photo will likely be a throw away if the bird’s face is not fully illuminated.
  6. Stay constantly aware of reflections in the water around the bird and fire the shutter only when no reflections of other birds or unattractive land based objects are absent

 

Here are some baseline exposures that I use in the sun for some common North American Ducks in breeding plumage (all in ISO 200 exposures):

  

Species

Male

Female

Mallard

1/1200 @ f/8

1/800 @ f/8

Northern Pintail

1/1600 @ f/8

1/800 @ f/8

Northern Shoveler

1/2000 @ f.8

1/1000 @ f/8

American Wigeon

1/1200 @ f/8

1/800 @ f/8

Ring-necked Duck

1/1200 @ f/8

1/800 @ f/8

Canvasback

1/1200 @ f/8

1/1000 @ f/8

Redhead

1/1000 @ f/8

1/800 @ f/8

Wood Duck

1/1200 @ f/8

1/1200 @ f/8

Ruddy Duck

1/1600 @ f/8

1/1000 @ f/8

Bufflehead

1/2000 @ f/8

1/1200 @ f/8

Gadwall

1/800 @ f/8

1/800 @ f/8

Cinnamon Teal

1/800 @ f/8

1/800 @ f/8

Green-winged Teal

1/1000 @ f/8

1/1000 @ f/8

Blue-winged Teal

1/1200 @ f/8

1/800 @ f/8

Lesser/Greater Scaup

1/1000 @ f/8

1/1000 @ f/8

Barrow’s/Common Goldeneye

1/1600 @ f/8

1/800 @ f/8

 

Remember that these are starting point on a sunny day and will need to be adjusted based on the conditions.  Studying the table while looking at pictures of these ducks will allow you to see why I have chosen the exposures that I have.  In general, the more white or the brighter the whites on the bird, the faster the shutter speed.  This is to retain detail in the whites.  Also note that in most cases, a sunny 16 equivalent exposure of 1/800 at f/8 (ISO 200) will work – only the females with significant white require less exposure.

 

I have been experimenting recently with some techniques for camera set-up that give a proper exposure in changing conditions or in areas where the ducks swim between sunlight and shadow a lot.  I have found that on the Canon EOS 10D and the Nikon D2H, the following will give the correct exposure 95% of the time:

Tv or shutter priority Mode

Shutter Speed 1/250 to 1/320

Evaluative/Matrix Meter set at -1 1/3 to  - 1 2/3

Flash compensation set to – 1 1/3 to  - 1 2/3

 

It isn’t clear to me why underexposing both the ambient and the flash exposure like this creates a good exposure nearly every time but it does seem to work well on male and female ducks.  I chose the shutter speed to insure freezing the subject but the technique works equally well a 1/250.  Note that on many cameras, high speed sync will need to be enabled.  Also note that depth-of-field will be at the mercy of the camera since the camera will select the aperture.  I plan on experimenting more with this technique.  If this technique works for you or doesn’t work for you, please drop me a line at ejpeiker@cox.net along with what equipment you were using. 

 

 

 

Winter = Bald Eagles

 

The Bald Eagles have returned to Homer Alaska.  It is estimated that as many as 75% of the world’s published Bald Eagle photos were taken on the Homer Spit – a thin peninsula that runs out into Kachemak Bay.  During winter dozens of Eagles flock everyday to the Homer Spit to feed on fish which Jean, the Eagle Lady provides.  This February, Greg Downing and I will be taking a group of photographers to Homer to witness and photograph this spectacle.  The Homer Bald Eagle Workshop begins on the morning of February 5 and ends at the end of the day on February 9.  Note that full frame Eagle photos can be taken with lenses in the 200 to 300mm range!  We have secured cabins in the town of Homer and have room for two more.  The cost of the workshop is only $1350 including lodging.  The latest issue on NatureScapes Online Magazine has an article on the Eagles of Homer written by Tom Hill:  http://www.naturescapes.net/012004/th0104.htm

 

For more information visit the following link or send me an email: http://www.ejphoto.com/duckshop_alaska_page.htm

 

© 2003 - E.J. Peiker, Nature Photographer. 

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