While photographing birds in early morning sunlight, Andrew noticed a beautiful 'rainbow effect as the light refracted through their wings He tells Geoff Harris how he did it
Bird and wildlife photography is massively popular, so how do you make bird images in particular stand out? Regular AP contributor Andrew Fusek Peters has managed it, but anyone looking for shortcuts or easy fixes will be disappointed.
For Andrew it comes down to sheer hard work, putting in the required time to perfect his craft and being prepared to get up at all hours to ensure the best lighting conditions. It’s also about having the best possible equipment, which for Andrew means using the OM System OM-1 Mark II high-end mirrorless camera, with its Pro Capture mode.
When you press the shutter button halfway, the OM-1 Mark II begins buffering a running series of photos. Andrew used this feature to great effect recently, when he managed to capture early morning light reflected through a blue tit’s wings, creating a beautiful rainbow effect which he describes as ‘ultra rare’.
‘I have been shooting garden birds in winter at home for seven years now – I sit in the kitchen, with seeds hidden in branches and other set-ups, always putting the well-being of the bird first,’ recounts Andrew from his home in the Shropshire countryside.
‘My interest is capturing birds fighting, and in flight. One morning a couple of months ago, just after dawn, I was photographing a ‘boring’ blue tit – I say boring as I wanted a greenfinch or one of the rarer birds! – and as its wings spread out, I captured this wonderful light reflected through them.
‘With Pro Capture on the OM-1 Mark II, I was able to shoot at 50 frames per second with full AF, and buffered about 70 photos on that morning. This feature is implemented particularly well on the Mark II, and my hit rate is now much higher than it was with other cameras. The newly developed AF made a huge difference in such low-light settings and it’s the main reason the image is perfectly in focus.’
Unique effect
Andrew was blown away by the rainbow/ stained glass effect on the blue tit’s wings, and soon realised he had a unique capture. He continues, ‘You can only hope to capture this effect for a few minutes when the sun is at a particular angle. There’s a guy who’s done this with hummingbirds, and somebody else in Wales who’s done it with garden birds, but I can’t find anyone else in the world who’s done it with blue tits.’
For this particular
