Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Winter Birds in Maryland - The Epic Snow of February 2014

When you're snowed in and feeling bored, there are two things to do - go out and play in it or stay inside and huddle by the fire with a cup of cocoa. I did both - set up a bird feeding station outside my studio window and then set up a bird blind inside at the window to get some photos. It was a ton of fun and the birds appreciated it since all the berries and whatnot were under over a foot of snow.





Want to get some great bird photos of your own? Prep a yard area near a window so that there aren't a lot of things like deck chairs, etc. nearby and set up a feeding station. Create a bird blind in the open window (I used cardboard) and set up your tripod and camera. I used a 75-300 mm lens. Keep your shutter speed high. Anything below 250 will mean a ton of blurred photos. Those little birds are constantly in motion. Ideally, you'll want to be much higher than that, but definitely don't go lower. Bump up your ISO a hair instead of lowering the shutter speed to get correctly exposed photos.

Have fun!