Become a Successful Bird Photographer! | What you NEED to DO & How We Got Started!
We all start somewhere, no one is born a master bird photographer, so today we share our journey into bird photography and how the most important things we have learned along the way that will help you to become a great bird photographer yourself!
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
0:45 Near Death Experience
1:24 The First Kit
11:57 Find Your Passion
3:06 How Jan Started
4:01 How Glenn Started
5:03 Duade's First Gear
5:20 Extender Trap!
6:43 Jan's first proper Gear
7:43 Glenn's First Proper Kit
8:08 What lens is needed?
8:56 Why do we all shoot Canon?
9:46 From 0 to Competition Winner!
13:48 Important Lessons
15:47 What are your struggles?
16:07 The IMPORTANTCE of Editing
17:39 What kits would we buy today?
23:35 Questions for Duade & His NEW Book
25:02 Favourite Piece of Equipment
You three are my favorite bird photographers. My husband died 2 years ago and I became more serious about birding to help me deal with the loss. I have always loved photography but after buying the R5 it became more serious. I thank all three of you with your videos, Jan's masterclass and Glenn's ebooks, your prosets (recently purchased) and most of all your passion! Duade, your story has so inspired me. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for watching and having confidence in our products Karla 🙂
Sorry to hear about your loss Karla, but glad we could help you get started in your new hobby
Boy, this started my day off great. The only 3 bird photographers I subscribe to, all together on one show! Thanks for all the great information and I hope you do more episodes together.
Glad to hear you enjoyed the show!
Glad you enjoyed it. Looks like we need to do a few more of these
My 3 favorites too!
Ditto for me !
Haha same same! And they had so much fun to do it! Priceless!
Great video mate, thanks for having me on, it was a lot of fun. Cheers, Duade
Any time!
Thanks so much for joining us mate!
We hope you all enjoy the show! Let us know if you want to see us have more guests like Duade on the show! Thanks for watching! 🙂
Thanks for having me mate, Cheers, Duade
@@Duade Hey Glenn, just having Duade himself more often in the show would be the best ;-)
Duade hit it on the head when he said get out there and take pictures. That's the single most important thing you can do to improve, in my opinion. I've been taking pictures since I was a little kid, but when I started wildlife photography several years ago there was a whole new set of things to learn, and skills to practice. I expect that I will continue to work on improving in those areas for the rest of my life. :)
Definitely. Time in the field is so valuable.
The more you go out the more nice images you will take :)
Challenges for bird photography = birds in flight. I took a ton of shots of birds on a feeder and when I decided to try BIF, I gained a whole new appreciation of the skill required. Having to use a very fast shutter speed, trying to track a subject moving that quickly with a very long and heavy lens, getting a good exposure at a fast shutter speed, etc. The challenge is great because I was finding it too easy to shoot birds perched on a feeder. Also that I am disabled so I have physical challenges. I'm not going on a long hike or trying to get my walker through mud.
Yes BIF is definitely one thing where you need to actually develop your skillset. Practice practice practice.
You can also try to use different perches etc to spice up the feeder experience :)
I’m not really a bird photographer, and I have no real ambition to become one. I’m more like a jack of all trades and master of none. The kind of photography I’m the closest to mastering is candid portraits. I love birds, but not enough to make me travel to find them. My first camera I got in 1996 when I was 36 years old. I hadn’t bought one earlier because I knew what an expensive hobby photography can be, especially when one is as easily tempted as I am to buy stuff one can scarcely afford, so I had wisely stayed away from cameras. But then on the first of August 1995 I found a sensationally gigantic Bolete (Boletus Edulis) with a cap the size of an LP (slightly oval between 27 and 33 cm), a 9 cm diameter stem and weighing 1550 grams! And it was absolutely fresh!! I’ve been into picking wild mushrooms since I was a teenager, and I already had a collection of books on the subject, so of course I picked it, cleaned and sliced it, ate some of it and put the rest in the freezer, and the taste was Divine! But I couldn’t take a picture of it!!! Later the same year I found another one, not as big, but it was growing right in the middle of a cluster of another species, known in English as Deathcap! (Because it really will kill you if you eat one). So by then I knew I had to get a camera! I only wished I’d bought it sooner! But what to go for? I knew I wanted an SLR (of course no DSLRs existed yet), but what brand? A friend of mine had taken some beautiful pictures with a Canon, so maybe that was it? I had to save up some money first, and in September 1996 I came by a shop window with a Canon Eos 500N with a 28-80 mm kit lens, and I just walked in and bought it. (Little did I know that I had now married into a system). A few days later I was back asking for a lens with more reach! Now, this wasn’t a camera store, but a radio/tv shop that also had a bit of camera gear. My new camera was no doubt the most expensive they had. The man said “okay”, and placed one lens on the counter, and I said “okay” and bought it. It was a Tamron 80-210 which I quickly came to love. I later upgraded to the Eos 50E (with the wonderful eye-controlled autofocus which I still miss) And I bought a few more lenses, mostly used. Among them a Tamron 200-400 F5.6 which was sharp for its day, but not good enough for a digital APS-C body. It once gave me a few nice pictures (on film) of a green woodpecker in my parents’ garden, though. But I didn’t think much about bird photography until I got my second DSLR, the 70D and the Sigma 150-600 Contemporary. I still find bird photography somewhat difficult (because I don’t practise enough), and birds in flight pretty much impossible. I’m just not the type to go out on location at dawn etc. I take pictures of birds that I accidentally come across, and in such cases the light is never good. I’ll never consider myself a Photographer (with a Capital P), let alone a Bird Photographer. I’m a casual photographer and quite happy to be so.
Thanks for sharing your story and thoughts!
Same thing happened to me after back surgery. A friend showed me a spot I now call “Jurassic Park” a year ago in South Carolina! I told him it was on my bucket list to get a bird with a fish, as I said it a Heron flew by with a large fish. I immediately upgraded to an A1 with 200-600 and it’s been a year now!!!
You're hooked! 🤣
Ha, nice! That's a really nice combo
Great YT guys , I think most bird photographers would see some parallels with all your “getting started stories “ . I don’t see any harm in letting bird photography become somewhat obsessive , such a great hobby .
agreed!
Good to see three of you on the video together. I follow all of you on KZhead.
Awesome! Thank you!
Absolutely love mention of your first cameras. My first Canon was an Elan 7, first digital SLR was the 10D (I worked at a camera store at the time and bought it used from a customer after selling him a 1D), followed by the 40D. No plans to switch away from Canon.
Exact same as me! 🙂
It's encouraging to hear where 3 of the best started - there's hope for me yet!
There sure is!
all gotta start somewhere :)
The biggest challenge I’ve found with bird photography is getting close enough to get the type of shots I want.. Also finding birds in my area that are not so common. upstate NY..
Yes, that's a tough one for us all. So finding tame birds can help a lot
All three of you in one video has made my day. I started out doing iPhone photography, landscape and nature, but as I started to notice the beautiful birds around me, I realized the iPhone could not capture these birds. I decided to invest in a camera and purchased the canon R6 with the 100-500mm . Incredible combination. I do have the 1.4x as well, but hardly use it. After 2 years I’m still learning my camera, but proud to say I have 154 species in my life list in just 2 years! I self learned with incredible tutorials on you-tube. Thank you for all the information you constantly share with us to help us improve. 😊
Such a wonderful conversation! Weather you are an oldster or a newbie to bird photography, there is always something helpful or interesting about conversations like this! Thanks. Catherine
Glad you enjoyed it!
Top video. I really enjoyed viewing it. Would be good to see the Three Amigos together a few more times :) Cheers Z
Glad you enjoyed it. I think that may very well happen again!
At last, Duade is here! :)
:)
The people I enjoy watching the most together on a show, my day is just blessed already. I really want to see more of this talk with all of you. Thank you guys 🙏
Looks like we will have to make a few more of these :)
Liking this one before I even watch it! Three of the best wildlife photographers in one video. It HAS to be amazing.
haha....what could go wrong!
I hope you liked it haha!
Another great video. My Dad was into wildlife photography in a big way in the70s- 80's and 90's, when he passed young. I ended up with a boat load of film equipment many many bodies lenses motor winds tri-pods (some I still use when I am knee deep in salt water the old stuff is rugged). I tried to capture birds with a Nikon f2 photomic (film), a 400 mm mirror lens, manual focus and a light meter. It was so discouraging I don't know how he did it. So I sold all that kit and forgot about photography for 25 years. 2 years ago I bought a Canon M-50 to record some musical artist (has some nice features for that application). I saw a video of a wildlife photographer using an M-50 and thought let's give it another shot, so went out and bought a used 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II and an EF adapter. I took it with me on a long weekend to a Wildlife Sanctuary and came back so excited compared to my earlier experience. I was hooked this time (the images don't look so great to me today). The equipment was capable but I was still very green. Next I found you three guys (an expensive discovery). I upgraded the body to an R6. Sold the M-50. Oh no I learned what a crop body was and now I didn't have the same reach I had with the M-50 but a much improved ability to focus. So I bought the 800 F11. Then came the upgrade from the EF 1-400 to the 1-500 and a 1.5 teleconverter. Then I upgraded to the R5 and again Oh NO it was not as capable at the sort of ISO's I was using on the R6 with the 800 mm (I have really sharp clean photos at 25,000 ISO on the R6 and the 800). I am now waiting for the RF 600 F4, which I have on order ... Now because of you guys I am broke, waking up pre dawn, in the mud or freezing at 5 below zero here in Maine :) THANK-YOU I LOVE IT ! Keep these videos coming.
Ha! Thanks for sharing this amazing story! It sure does sound expensive :D
Birds triggered a feeling of recovery in me. I get lost looking for the beauty in this world that happens to be so ugly so much of the time. Birds are beautiful and offer a respite from all of that ugliness. They can be admired in many different ways and for many different reasons.
Finding birds was one of the hardest things. Also understanding what AF modes for what application and what the limits of my camera were and what was me not having the knowledge to use it to its fullest potential.
Finally - the holy trinity of birding KZheadrs!! Great show gents. Thank you.
Haha 😎
Our pleasure!
first bird photography gear was an olympuus e330 and zuiko 14-150 mm yes that was quite short but i did manage some nice pipit and shrikes shots with it. on those days 2004-2010 lots of migrating birds use to come compared to what we get now. they say this is the case for much of the northern hemisphere.
sad to see so many birds disappear
Wow…my three favourite bird photographers in one show…well done guys
Thanks!
Glad you liked the episode 🙂
It was great to see Duade with you guys. I've been a birder since I was a kid in the 70's but didn't pick up photography until my early twenties. I had started working with a photographer that specialized in headshots and model portfolios. She used Nikon gear. An F3 with a 70-200 lens. That's what I took my first bird photo with. A Osprey landing on its nest along the overseas highway in the Florida Keys. Needless to say it was horrible, but at the time I thought it was pretty cool. It was so soft (manual focus you know) but at least I got the exposure right. That's why I shoot Nikon to this day. Eventually I got a D70. I used until in died in the middle of an assignment. I replaced it with a D7000. When I joined a local Meet Up group for photographers I started shooting a lot of landscapes in the Blue Ridge of North Carolina. One night at a meeting I ran into a guy with a D500. The next day I bought one. Shortly after I got a Tamron 150-600 and started photographing birds. I used You Tube as a resource. I think the first wildlife photographer I followed was Steve Perry. He's a Nikon shooter and the info was a big help. I remember finding your channel Jan and being amazed by you photos and how you used perches. I gobbled up everything you posted. Then I started following Duade's channel. Then Glenns. So I guess you guys have been my mentors. I've learned so much from each of you. Especially about what makes a good bird photo. And then I saw a post from Scott Keys where he talked about making the switch from being a birder to being a bird photographer it a whole different way of seeing. Edge checks, what's the background, how is the light. So many more things to think about than just adding another species to my life list. That really helped me elevate my images from images that would be appropriate for a field guide to (sometimes) really good artistic photos. Another You Tuber that helped is Ray Hennesy. He showed me that shooting looser, showing the bird in its environment, could make for for amazing images. It takes a village, right. (That reference may be lost on you guys as it refers to something Hillary Clinton said during the 2016 election here in the US). Anyway., thanks to each of you, Jan, Glenn and Duade for all your tips and insight. You have each helped me become a better bird photographer. I do still shoot the D500 but now I have a Nikkor 200-500 f5.6 lens. It is definately shaper than the Tamron. I frequently pair it with the I-photo Cobra monopod and a gimbal head (Thanks Duade for that review you did). I'm hoping to upgrade my camera body to to Z8 when it comes out. The additional autofocus help it will give should really up my BIF shots. Thanks again guys. Jack
Thanks so much for sharing your story Jack!
Thanks for sharing your story Jack! Very interesting
Really nice to have Duade on the show guys. Great conversation.
Glad you enjoyed the episode!
Thanks Julian!
It's always time with me. Being full time it's a bit of a problem. But this June I go part time so alot more time to play and at the end of this month I'm off to Peru machu pichu and amazon jungle.
Awesome! An incredible place to visit!
I am primarily an astrophotographer but I am now getting into bird photography. Each type of photography has its own challenges. Editing the photos is always the big challenge regardless of what type of photography you are doing. The challenge is what makes photography such a great hobby.
Totally agree
A VERY SPECIAL GUEST, INDEED!! Great to see you all in the same show. Neat stories, too
My first kit was a Canon 80D and the 100-400mm V2! A real dream come true!!
Definitely a great kit!
nice!
What an amazing video! So inspirational. I started getting really into bird photography after moving to a remote location and being awed by the variety of visitors to my feeders. I then started watching KZhead tutorials on bird photography and found Duade which spurred me on. I was in a serious accident last year which has stopped me being able to get out much but I still have my seasonal birds visiting and I love watching all your videos so hopefully I will be able to go walking again soon and seeing different birds. Thanks guys.
I hope you will recover quickly. Having great birds in your yard is awesome!
I was not interested in birds or insects before the pandemic. Here I am spending time every week to get macro photographs of bugs or driving to find more birds!
Its a slippery slope!
It sucks you in fast!
Congratulations, gentlemen - you complement each other so well! I hope you maintain the trio thing as a regular feature. I stated back in the film days with a 100-300mm and a 500mm mirror lens. Hopeless. Never enough light, shutter rate or speed, sharpness, magnification, stability or money to buy, develop and print film. Now the joy of the digital mirrorless world where the correct exposure is so easy to achieve; machine gun shutter rates are standard; sharp, lightweight lens are affordable; everything is stabilised; and, the IQ and pixel count is so good you can crop forever. Nirvana! Cheers…. Chris
Yes, technology has come a long way
Big fan of all of your videos, all 3,which have taught me a lot. I got started in 2012 when my wife who was a birder (and probably trying to get me more interested in birding) got me a Canon Rebel T3i, and a 300mm Tamron zoom lens. I started taking photos while she was birding for fun and it gave me more of a reason to go out in birding trips with her. EBird allowing photo uploads got me more hooked, but I really started getting better photos when I got the EF 400mm f5.6 that Duane also used. Then I moved up to a CanonT7i body, with better results. On Jan’s recommendation (in his KZhead videos) I got a Canon R6, as a mirrorless upgrade, and the RF 100-500mm. That and now often a Canon 1.4x extender is what I use most often. Having fun and my wife and I are having great times birding all over Florida…
Awesome Gary. Thanks for sharing your journey.
Awesome, thanks for sharing Gary
Started with canon RP and tamron 100-400 Just got the R6 and RF 100-500 can not believe how sharp this lens is and how good the focus is in the R6
Yes, very good lens!
Great morning talk for my sunday coffee! Although I'm a Nikon Z shooter trying to get into the wildlife (I'm mostly a street shooter) at the end of the day the laws of photography are the same no matter the brand we use! My "bird" story is kinda boring. For 10 years I couldn't afford anything but when the "pandemic" hit I invested a lot in the Nikon Z system and my first telephoto is the latest 100-400mmS which I'm getting out more these days with the approaching spring. 400mm is rather short but I don't want to invest in "old" F lenses so we'll see.
Thanks for sharing. At 400mm you can definitely try to work on m ore tame birds, feeders, and wider environmental shots. So still lots to do!
@@GlennBartley Thank you, and true and I love it! In my country the birds are mostly small and that's not so massive problem as I'm kind of shooter who loves to include nature as a character but on the other hand the new 800mm would fit perfectly on a second Z body 😁
Thanks for sharing. The new 1.4x works pretty well on that lens fort some extra reach
3 of my faves in one spot. A great way to start a Sunday. Like Duade I started with a wonderful 40D paired with a 70x300. It was a great way to start out even if it was softer than a marshmallow from 200 on. The R5 is such a different tool now. Thanks to the 3 of you for your regular inspiration. You are much appreciated.
Thanks for sharing! The R5 certainly is a beast!
Very nice to see you all together. cheers
Thanks 👍
Duaaaade!!! :) Really glad to see you Guys together again
Glad to hear you liked the show!
Great to see Duane on the show...my first was the same as yours Duade 40D and the 400F5.6 I am on my 3rd 400f5.6 i sold my first one but regretted it, so bought another, then got bored with it, but missed it too much, so on my 3rd one..haha. would live a 500f4, but just cant afford it.
Haha...I think you better keep the 3rd one!
Ha! I had one and sold it eventually, I missed the IS too much
@@GlennBartley yep, definately keeping this one.
@@jan_wegener i wish it was is, but still sharp enough for me
Thanks for this amazing video! My three fav bird photographers in one video! 😂 Gotta have Duade in more episodes of BPS!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Ya I have a feeling we'll have Duade on again 🙂
Hardest thing for me is keeping the flying bird in the viewfinder at 500mm and up. Gotta work on my reflexes.
Practice practise practise!
Yes, we talked about that in our Birds in Flight Episodes. Crucial skill
Great video guys!
Thanks so much!
For me, birds got my attention at the age of 13. Could not afford a camera and lens, ran around with a minolta srt100 and my fathers panagor 135 mm as telelens. Wasted lots of money on film😏 In 2017 i bought the sigma 150-600 to my cheap canon dlsr giving birdphotograhy a try. Liked it and it was finally affordable for me. During a workshop I listened to the other photogr..,camera’s around me and the cheap dlsr was replaced by the 7DMii. Last year switched to mirrorless
Sounds similar to me!
Nice, thanks for sharing!
thank you, gentlemen!!!
Cheers Gosse!
Our pleasure!
Wow, what a treat of a video; I did see each of you on your own, then I saw Jan and Duade, and Jan and Glenn. Now the three of you; it was great knowing how you started with some gear that you improved and learned over time; just a great video, thank you all
Our pleasure!
Great story of finding photography, Duade. My story involves recovery from an addiction - in my 60s. Photography became my hobby, passion and outlet. Not suggesting it applies to all photographers but an addictive personality lends itself to this hobby.
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much for your honesty guys. Easy to forget that learning is a process of trial and error.
In the end it's all about perseverance and sticking with it
I had the Sigma 150 - 600 sports, way too heavy, an absolute beast.
Great video, informative and entertaining. And great guest appearance By Duade. Three of my favorite bird photographers! One essential piece of gear that I never leave without is a good rain jacket. In a pinch it can save your gear even if you end up getting soaked. Keep up the great work!
Great call!!
Yes, that's one that I always forget
A great conversation with people that can make a person new to bird photography so much better. Definitely recommend. Really great information. Appreciate all the time and effort you put into the videos you do. Great to see Duade and him giving his history and start in bird photography - I am a big fan. As I got started a little over a year ago after the loss of my wife. It just seems that the focus on a bird and being in nature let me heal a little and really appreciate the guidance these videos have provided as I am still learning. Need to get back out this week and take some pics :)
Thanks for sharing, glad we could help you in these difficult times
Hope to see more from 3 of you! The only 3 bird photographers I follow in KZhead!
I was overjoyed seeing the three of you. You made my day. Thank you❤️❤️
So happy to hear it Danny!
So glad!
Sounds like the start of a joke. A German, a Kiwi and a Canuck walk into a KZhead channel; the German goes “do you guys like bird photography?” and the rest is just an awesome show :-) Thanks guys, always great to see you guys interact. Different backgrounds, different stories, different paths and one common passion. Cheers.
Haha...I like it!
It sure does! Glad you enjoyed the show
Great to listen
Thanks :)
It was awesome to see all three of you in this video. I enjoy checking in regularly to all three of you. I have learned a lot over the past few years from each of you. While I am not opposed to getting down and dirty like you Duade, my poor old arthritic body just say NO! LOL
Awesome! Thank you! Yes, it gets harder with age for sure!
Glad you liked the episode. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment.
Fun video guys. Its always good to hear your perspectives and experiences. Jan -- you brought up the micro 4/3 camera as a tempting option for folks just starting out. I have really appreciated the reviews that you and Duade have been doing on your channels, so a request to either/both -- A formal review of an Olympus kit. I totally understand the shortcomings of such a small sensor, but would find it really valuable to get your perspectives on the system after some real-world testing. Keep the great videos coming!
Ya Olympus keeps getting more and more interesting for sure!
I am not opposed to it at all, just need to get an Olympus kit
For me amount of time was a major struggle. Coming from an outdoor profession, getting close to birds and bird behavior was easy. And in the 1980's I was in film school so the technical side of photography today has carry overs from that time in University. BUT I am now 78 work days away from retirement so I know I will have a lot of time to photograph birds...that is if my wife gives me permission!!! lol. And don't discount the 300mm focal length on a crop sensor. It is my personal favorite (and I have. 150-600 sigma and prefer 300mm). Great video guys. You three should consider a regular series.
You must have some nice tame birds around :)
@@jan_wegener not really. There are some locations where you can get close to certain species because they are habituated to humans but those spots also are overrun with people and I prefer to be out alone without anyone around (except my wife when she come with me to photograph as well -she prefers large wildlife (moose, deer. bears) so I am generally alone for small birds). I think it's how I was raised, being an Indigenous person , and that hunting was a regular activity so being stealthy comes more naturally maybe??!!
Great episode Jan and Glen, i am so stocked to see Duade with you, i have learn a lot from you and i am looking forward to meet you in person in the coming birdlife photography conference. I took interest into bird photography last year and started with my canon 1300D and tamron 70-300 and I couldn’t get any decent results and I started to get frustrated, so I bought 6D mkii and tamron 100-400 with some basic improvement and then i sold old my old gear and bought canon R6 and canon 400 f5.6l to see significant improvement, then i came across Jan and Duade channels which was the land mark in my photography that really got me hooked up, i owe you guys so much of i know about bird photography, many thanks for your brilliant work.
Thanks for sharing :)
Great video guys. I watch your individual videos and really enjoyed seeing all of you on this one. I may have to break down and get that ground pod. I’d need a mount as well right? What do you wear to protect yourself when laying on the ground? Ticks are becoming more prevalent in upstate NY each year. Keep up the good work.
Duade has a Wimberley Style Head attached to it.
@@jan_wegener I guess he goes top shelf. No fooling around.
Great episode.. Loved it
Thanks :)
That is awesome. My top 3 together. Love it.
Definitely the 2 biggest issues I have are finding time, and then finding the birds. I've got a few spots that I can go to, and get consistently the same birds, but always looking for new places and new species that I have not seen or shot well before. Plus, between my wife, and having a 5 kids in the house from 4th to 10th grade (ages 9-16) deciding to leave them all behind and spend 2-6 hours trying to shoot birds is not always a choice I am comfortable with.
That's a lot of kids, I struggle with one at times! Having moved to a new area, I am also still working on finding the best spots. It takes time
@@jan_wegener hey, is that janwegener08 you? Or some.scam-bot?
@@monkeywizard77 scam-bot of course :) Tried to get rid of him, but it;s very hard
@@jan_wegener dang, got my hopes up! :-D Keep putting out quality videos. You do great work!
Awesome video. Three of my favorite bird photographers in the same video. Super cool! My first camera was a super zoom Canon sx10. Now I use a Canon T7 and a Sigma 150-600 mm (thanks for the amazing review Duade) and I hope buy a Canon 90D this year. All the best guys!!
Cheers Tomaz!
Thanks for sharing!
Just brilliant, thanks guys
Thank you!
very nice discussion. love you all really. your style of photography is so beautiful. and yes Olympus and lumix are really great system. always in my bag take them with me wherever i go, one never know when the bird of your dreams will pop up for you. thanks again.
Nice!
I got a canon sl2 that is ok.. 9 focus points, paired up with the canon 400mm f5.6. I just got lens due to duade's videos and i love the lens paid just under 650 us. Everyone one of you guys help me get better shots with the wisdom you share. I just started shooting about a month n half ago. I was using my sisters 75-300mm kit lens. Such a big change in sharpness with the 400mm. So i say thank you too all of you.
I am a bit embarrassed to say this, but when I finally transitioned to digital, my first DSLR was a refurbished Nikon D40X, and I had also got two DX kit lenses, a 18-50mm and a 55-200mm. I really didn't do much bird photography at the time, but I was an avid hiker and the 55-200mm was the first longer focal length lens I ever had. I tried photographing a heron one morning and actually got a pretty good shot and from there I was hooked. I eventually migrated to better and better equipment and used a Nikon D500 with a Tamron G2 150-600mm for a long time with excellent results (for an amateur) and I recently transitioned to mirrorless with a Z9 and the Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 (with a 1/4x tele used often). It has really upped my keeper rate and, although the D500 AF was pretty good, the Z9 has really changed the way I shoot as it has allowed me to focus more on composition than just getting the shot. I would love to have the new Z 400mm f/2.8 TC, but it is out of my budget, but I did preorder the new Z 800mm f/6.3 PF lens, which I believe will make a good combo with the 100-400mm out in the field for many of the more elusive and smaller birds we have in my area. Great video, it is always great to hear how people develop as photographers. Thanks!
The Z9 and that new 800mm will be an unbelievable combo! 😳
Thanks for sharing. I liked using the Z9 and 100-400. The 800 should be a fun lens, too
For me the biggest difficulty in bird photography is the frustration regarding how the photos are consumed. Whoever publishes a photo online, it's ending up in a never-ending flow of bird photos. Maybe someone looks at it for half a second, maybe a few seconds if it is really good. But then it is forgotten and buried under millions of others. That kind of takes joy out of publishing anything, no matter whether the photo is excellent or mediocre. There is of course the option to just enjoy the process and do it for yourself. But for someone who would like to do some more, it is extremely difficult nowadays when every other person is a bird photographer. I visited my home city a while back and went for a walk to a park area. I couldn't help noticing how many people had cameras with 500+mm lenses with them. Great news for someone selling bird photography courses, frustrating for everyone else. 🤔😊
As someone being on both sides, I can see your frustration for sure, but also like to see more people entering the hobbby
Excellent. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Another great episode. So interesting to listen to your stories. Perfect photographer trio
Thanks Heidi!
Very nice episode! I am loyal follower of your channels and learnt much of you. I am glad to see you three together and share your personel history and development. Keep on your good work!
Our pleasure!
Thanks for sharing all your stories, what a fun trip down memory lane. My first DSLR was a Canon 350D and a 70-200, which of course was too short and I got a 300f4 with 1.4x TC until I could afford a 500f4. That lens was pretty expensive for me because I was on a graduate student budget. The 1D Mark IV was the camera I kept for many years because of the 1.3 crop body. I also moderated on one of those bird photography forums and learned a lot by taking the time trying to give some productive feedback. These days, I wonder how people who start can get constructive advice because most forums don't provide this sort of service anymore. As we all know, most forums are not nearly as active as they used to be. I don't see any good alternatives, which is unfortunate for younger photographers and others starting to get interested.
Thanks so much for chiming in Axel!
Yes, we were on those forums a lot! The 1D IV did a great job for me as well. I think the younger generation has a lot of private group chats, telegrams, discords etc, so it's a bit more private approach, but also gives you more instant feedback
I enjoyed this video. It's interesting to hear how you all started off. My worst part of bird photography is sorting through them afterwards. It's a nightmare because I keep too many. It's even worse now I have been taking videos aswell because I have run out of memory storage.... again.
Yes culling can be a major hurdle until you get speedy at it.
Yes, I buy hard drives quite regularly
You 3 together...superb.
Glad you liked the combo!
Glad you had fun watching us :)
Love this episode so much!!! All 3 of my favourite in one video!! Love this!
Glad you enjoy it!
Thanks for your nice an honest phototalk. I enjoyed it.
Glad you enjoyed it
That was excellent guys you’re all fantastic photographers in your own right thanks very much for sharing I strive to be half as good❤
Great photographers! Thanks for sharing your photography experiences. Inspiring!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks....
You're welcome!
Three great bird photographers, love it
Glad you enjoyed it
You're my inspiration guys! 👌
Thank you!
Thanks mate
The three of you put on a fantastic show and was nice to see Dwayde there in the middle I really like that as far as getting down in the mud I agree many times I've been down in the sand at Aliso Beach in Laguna Beach photographing shorebirds of course one day a tourist literally stepped on my back she wasn't watching what she was doing and I got a back injury from that so always be aware of people literally walking on top of you , so keep up the great videos there guys .
Thanks for another great episode guys! Cool idea to get other great photographers involved, happy to see Duade here, love his channel! I think the greatest challenge for me is finding time. I often get like an hour or two to spare, but it is challenging to push forward with projects in that short timeframe. Yeah, I can go to the local forest and photograph some wrens and stuff. I do that a lot and I love it, but it feels like being stuck after a while. Then finally you have a weekend off... and sure enough, somebody asks you for help/invites you/... XD But the times it works out.... Oh boy, happy days! :)
Yes, time even as a pro can be tight sometimes
Another awesome show - Thank y’all for sharing your personal stories and for introducing us to another fantastic bird photographer! I always learn so much from y’all! Very inspiring! My first set up was with the Olympus line (OMD EM1)- my first “serious” lens was their 300mm F4 - really worked well for me starting out!
Thanks for watching and letting us know how you got started.
Yes, nice set up!
Really really great to see my 3 favorite photographers together, great video and great tips. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Fantastic convo guys! Valuable content! Thank you guys, please keep doing these. I got into bird photography during the Covid pandemic when I had to work from home. As I sat at my home office, I kept seeing these large birds flying by my window so I decided to take a quick break and step outside to have a look. Turns out there was a family of Red Tailed Hawks living in the eucalyptus trees. Started to take photos with my 80D and 24-105mm and realized it wasn’t cutting it and was coming short. Did some quick research and found the Sigma 150-600mm and everything changed.
That's awesome. Thanks for sharing.
So interesting this conversation...thanks a lot ! 👍
Glad you enjoyed it!
I need to buy your proset one these days. I been only using LR to edit my photos and I only use Photoshop when stacking photos or some other very basic stuff.
I'm sure you'll enjoy them!
They work well in LR, so that should be good :)
@@jan_wegener someone is spamming here🤣
Hey fellas, like all of your material, this was great and it was cool to have the three of you together (more of this please!). I’m getting ready to invest in my first professional kit for photo & video (thanks for all of your combined reviews to help make that decision easy for me -Canon R5 / RF 100-500 and RF 800). I’m psyched to start taking photos and get familiar with the equipment…my biggest challenge is determining how best to efficiently deal with all the photos, learn the editing software, and set up a workflow. Other than cost of equipment, my biggest concern about making the leap into professional gear is creating a huge amount of office work associated with editing, so any additional instruction you can provide (or direct me to) that hand-holds a “newbie” photographer through each of the steps of: “So you just shot all these great photos…now what do you do?” would be awesome. Keep up the great work and thanks for the great content!
Glenn and I have talked about this in a few previous shows, that might be helpful for you.
MORE DUADE!
Hi Jan, thanks for the video. Very enjoyable. For me getting out is 80% of the joy for me. I shoot with a OMD EM1x and a 400mm lens. I also use a Metz flash and flash extender. However unlike your fellow photographer, I must shoot from a wheelchair. Thankfully I have a 4X4 wheelchair which gets me to most locations. Keep up with your videos, they are very enjoyable and informative.
Thanks a lot for a superb video, and great to see you three together there. When i started with bird photography as a 15 year old boy in 1979, i did live in northern Norway, so my biggest challenge there was to learn the light. Only in the summertime was there light enough to get some good photos with the equipment i had in that time, but i learned a lot about exactly light because of that. Better for a nature photographer where i live now, in South Brazil hehe.
Very different habitats in Norway and Brazil thats for sure.
Bad in winter, but in summer you had nice light often for 8 hrs straight!
@@jan_wegener Yes thats for sure, but it was in the wintertime i learned most i think. But photographing the eagles in the night in the summertime is a wonderful experience :)
@@GlennBartley A bit more exiting things to see here, thats for sure. I walk a lot in the Atlantic forest, so it's not always the light is so good, but wow the quantity of beauties we have here. Did live two years inside a state park here, and managed as the first person in history to photograph the jaguar in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Alone in the night staying three meters distance from one of the most powerful animals in the world, is an amazing experience :)
Hello everyone, as always enjoyed your show I can relate to the near-death also, double bypass and flat lined on the way to the operating room, I enjoy bird photography always. When I was learning everything was manual shutter speed, aperture, iso, and focusing. My dad purchased a camera for me. Took me forever to save for a Vivitar 400mm 5.6 lens and 2x converter had so much fun with the lens. Your shows are always interesting to me keep up the good work.
Thanks for sharing!
Wow - the bird league of justice.... the hawk, robin and the avocet! What an awesome video - totally enjoyed watching your living room-like discussion. Jan I have to add that your recommendation of what kit to start with is what I have and I absolutely love it. Thank you guys for another great video - take care and be safe out there....
Thanks so much for watching 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it! Good to hear my recommendation seems to work well :)
Great show, i live in Norway so we dont have any of those colorful birds that you have, but i get out as often as i can. Do alot of small birds like Goldcrest and Blue tits an now the Osprey are coming in to the lake here were i live. I have a Canon 70d and a Sigma 150-500 mm zoom lens and im very satisfied with it. Greating from Norway and keep up the good work.
And some beautiful breeding shorebirds up North. Get after those guys!
You know what's funny, many people from other countries find a Blue Tit quite colourful :D
Hi , I love watching all your works and the vlogs of all of you, it has helped me improve a lot by watching them , I want improve more but due to lack of time I am not able too right now
Thank you so much 😊
Great video guys, 3 best photographers. Greetings from Sacred Valley Peru.
Glad you enjoyed it!
love your videos, would love to see you guys make a video about where to (or how to) sell bird photos? it would be amazing info for all us newbies. Thanks!
Thanks! I think Glenn sells a lot more photos, for me selling photos is like 1% of my income.