Low and Shallow

April 27, 2018, pre-8 AM birding walk to the water retention ponds behind my office before clocking in and starting the day.

© Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 78344343 - Killdeer; Walton County, Georgia. April 27, 2018.

Even though it may look like a shorebird on the beach, this Killdeer was in its typical setting: a gravel parking lot! To make the shot possible, I had to get low and shallow. I’m not talking about shallow waters at low tide, but referring to camera angle and depth-of-field!

Next to the animal shelter where I work is the Public Works compound. It’s a series of gravel and dirt drives, a few piles of fill dirt and stone, and a myriad of large construction and paving equipment. It isn’t the most flattering landscape. But there are two large retention ponds nearby that attract all sorts of birds and wildlife. The challenge is photographing these birds without the unsightly equipment in the background.

That’s the beauty of adjusting your camera angle. A few feet to your right or left can eliminate an ugly background. Or getting as low to the ground as possible to move the bird to eye level can create some dramatic scenes. The use of long lenses (also known as zoom or telephoto lenses) can also help to create that shallow depth-of-field which blurs out the background and makes the subject stand out.

© Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 78344342 - Eastern Bluebird; Walton County, Georgia. April 27, 2018.

The photo of the Killdeer looks as if he’s standing on a beach. But that is the magic of getting on my belly for the shot. The bird is actually on a dirt driveway not far from a large tractor! The Eastern Bluebird is on an old pile of unused decorative stone. The shallow depth-of-field blurs out the ugly piles of fill dirt nearby.