Snow Bird Photography

Nature journal entry from January 29, 2014...

© Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 37841195 - Dark-eyed Junco; Clarke County, Georgia. January 29, 2014.

11:30 AM, Athens, Georgia - The cold has again returned, this time giving us a thin blanket of snow and my kids a few days off from school. Awakening in the morning, I filled all the bird feeders knowing the birds would appreciate an easy meal on such a cold day when all the grass was covered. Toward lunchtime I bundled up and sat near the feeders waiting for a good snow-shot of the Dark-eyed Juncos and a few others.

​The Dark-eyed Juncos are often referred to as "Snow Birds." Perhaps it is because they often arrive later in the winter than the other migrants. But others have said it is because their plumage resembles a winter landscape: white snow on the ground and grey skies above. Whatever the reason, they showed up in my yard with the coming of the first snows!

© Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 37841194 - Hermit Thrush; Clarke County, Georgia. January 29, 2014.

When I review some of my first shots on my camera’s LCD, I quickly realize that snow doesn’t come often enough to the southeast, for I had forgotten to make my adjustments. All that white on the ground tricks your camera’s metering in to darkening everything to an ugly grey. I forgot to give my exposure a little boost. You can keep your snow scenes white by adding one-third or two-thirds exposure compensation.

The other area that snow fools your camera is with white balance. Although it sometimes works to keep that “cold” feeling in the photos, the camera’s auto-white balance can sometimes make the photo too blue. You can try shooting in the “flash” white balance setting, or shoot in RAW to adjust later.

© Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 37841196 - Pine Warbler; Clarke County, Georgia. January 29, 2014.
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Of course, shooting in RAW is probably the best option as you can adjust the exposure, white balance and many other aspects of a shot later. Besides, there is snow on the ground and “baby its cold outside”. So you have plenty of time to stay inside with Photoshop and make all those edits!

Publicado el enero 30, 2022 07:53 TARDE por williamwisephoto