Bird Photography & Photographers

Beautiful images of birds are everywhere on the net, not least on Fatbirder’s pages! Everything from amateur photographers to the 50,000+ images stored in the RSPB library.

Many of the sites have images protected by copyright. Downloading images is not free and may well not be possible as lots are encrypted. Before you resent this, remember that someone’s livelihood may depend on respecting their copyright. Non-commercial use may be granted for free by some… and if you want to use them it costs nothing to ask.

There are other Fatbirder pages with images… notably the Bird Art page and digiscoping page. Fatbirder country and state pages also have a section for photographers and artists located in that state or country (in the UK this is at county level). There are links to hundreds of photographers there… because of which I link to a limited number on this page, more my preferences than any other yard stick. But those people who have many images on Fatbirder pages also appear here… so if you want a listing get in touch.

Rufous-collared Thrush Turdus rufitorques – ©Dubi Shapiro

(A favourite photo of his from my favourite photographer)

The Fatbirder site tends to use cropped and relatively small images because we like to keep the site as fast as possible although we showcase some brilliant photographers and recommend clicking the links below images to see more (and larger or higher resolution) examples of their work.

For beginners take a look at the article below:

How to Photograph Birds

Reprinted with permission from the New York Institute of Photography

Birds may be fun to watch, but they’re notoriously difficult to capture on film. In response to the challenges faced by amateur bird photographers, the New York Institute of Photography is currently offering the first instalment of a two-part how-to article on taking pix of our feathered friends, which will run on our site from December through January.

One of the biggest challenges faced by the bird photographer is getting close enough to the subject to be able to produce a good image. The easiest (though also the most expensive) solution to this problem is to work with a telephoto lens. Most professional bird photographers, in fact, often use a 500mm or 600mm telephoto lens, sometimes coupled with a tele-converter (a device that extends the lens focal length). But for amateur photographers who want to photograph birds without buying a lot of expensive equipment, there are always other methods and options.

If you’re going after the Andean Condor, you’re going to need a telephoto lens to get the shot, said Chuck DeLaney, Dean of NYI, America’s oldest and largest photography school. But if you’re mainly interested in photographing birds in your region, maybe just in your backyard, there are still plenty of options, like using a blind (hide) for getting good photos.

One strategy, employed quite cleverly by an NYI graduate, is particularly well suited for the backyard bird photographer. To capture songbirds (passerines) (who are notorious for their quick, erratic movements and thus difficult to photograph); she positions her Canon SLR near a feeder, sets the focus, aperture, and shutter speed, then retreats to the porch. She waits there until a bird comes to the feeder, then, when the moment is right; she uses her infrared control to trigger her camera’s shutter. Birds approach her feeders and backyard perches because she is out of sight, and, as a result, she’s able to get closer shots without using a telephoto lens.