Hawaii Wrap-up

This will be my final post for my Hawaii trip. In this blog post, I will reflect a bit on each of the included images from a photographic perspective. The African Silverbill above is one of the 50 new species that I added to my life list on my trip to Hawaii. This photo is a classic “bird on a stick” photo. The characteristics of this style are a very blurred and non-distracting background, a simple branch or stick perch, and a very clean portrait of the bird. It is a minimalist style that focuses the attention directly on the bird. In this case, the thorns add some extra interest to the stick, and the background compliments the color pallet of the bird, both of which are examples of extras that help improve a photo.

This Yellow-billed Cardinal image provides a bit of a compare and contrast opportunity to the African Silverbill above. This photo is similar to the “bird on a stick” style but deviates from it as well. The background is blurred out just like the Silverbill photo, but the branch is much more prominant than in the previous photo. The greenery on the branch surrounding the bird adds some visual interest. However, I feel that the branch in this photo is too cluttered, especially the broken bit in front of the bird and the small branches below the main branch. I want the viewers attention to be drawn to the Cardinal’s red head. With this photo, I find my eye’s attention is tugged between the bird’s head and the branches below. Overall, this image gives up the minimalist simplicity and clarity of the African Silverbill photo, but I find that the complexity of the branch does not produce a compensating visual gain. Consequently, I am less satisfied with this photo.

This photo of an Hawaiian Coot illustrates another classic bird photography technique, getting low to the ground. This accomplishes two things. First, it puts the viewer on eye level with the subject of the photo thereby increasing engagement. Second, it blurs out the foreground and background helping to place the focus squarely on the bird. This is a very common approach when photographing birds on the water because of the etherial look it can create.

The Ruddy Turnstone is a common summer bird on Cape Cod. While not a new species for me, I have included the photo because it is good illustration of shooting from the ground to create a more engaging photograph.

One of the important lessons in my bird photography journey was developing the apparently paradoxical understanding that for my photography, the bird is very rarely the critical element to a great versus a good versus a poor photograph. Instead, it is the image framing the bird that proves to be critical. In this photo of a Sanderling, it is the shore in the foreground and the ocean in the background that make the photograph. They provide a visually interesting frame that both highlights the bird and provides context for the image. The Sanderling could easily be replaced with the Ruddy Turnstone from the previous photo, and the photo would work just as well.

The idea of getting low to the ground is not limited to photographing birds. Here is a sea turtle resting on the shore. By lying on the ground, and using my big lens to focus just on its head, I was able to get this image which I find both interesting and a bit different. In this case, there is a direct parallel between the turtle resting its head on the ground and the viewers perspective resting on the ground as well.

This Black-necked Stilt is another of my new life birds from the trip. In this photograph, I was rather limited in how I might create an interesting photo. The location was a wastewater treatment plant which was located on the other side of this pool. There was also a fence between the pond and me limiting my ability to move around for different perspectives. I found a place which was elevated that allowed me to shoot over the fence and just capture the tops of the grasses in the foreground. The blue in the water is reflected from the sky as the water itself was very gray. Given that the background was not going to be compelling, it was important to me that have the Black-necked Stilt itself create interest. I think this photo does that by highlighting the stilt’s visual characteristics: its long pink legs, its long pointed beak, and its black and white coloring.

This photograph of a Red-masked Parakeet has a busy environment around the parakeet. However, I think it works well in this case for a couple of reasons. First, the surroundings are the natural habitat of the parakeet. The parakeet’s green feathers with bits of yellow blend in perfectly with the greens and yellows of the leaves. Second, there is a nice opening for the parakeet’s upper body and head, so the greenery provides a visual frame for the bird. Finally, the brightest part of the photo is the white portion of the sky behind the parakeet. The viewer’s eye tends to be drawn to the brightest portion of the image, so the viewer’s eye will tend to start there then automatically shift to the color in the parakeet’s head which is exactly where I want the viewer’s attention.

Sometimes it is possible to put together multiple positive elements and end up with a fabulous photo. Other times, the elements are not there or I am not creative enough to identify them and figure out how to use them. One afternoon, I spent a couple of hours looking for a Short-eared Owl, eventually finding success. However, what I could do with the photo was limited. The sky was overcast, so the light was uninspiring. The owl was also a very long way away. The best I could do was to capture an image with two characteristics I was targeting. First, the owl was flying somewhat towards me so its face was visible. Second, the owl was in the valley below so the background was the hillside rather than the gray sky.

I will end this post with a sunset photo I took with my iPhone. I had been photographing birds along the shore as the sun was going down. As sunset approached, I was thinking about what sort of photo I could take. For my good camera, I only had my long lens, so I decided that I would use my cell phone instead to get a broader perspective. I had enjoyed the crashing of the waves since I arrived. I watched how the waves crashed in different spots along the shore. Eventually, I found this spot where the waves sometimes created a bit of a “U” shape. Once I found this, I aligned the sun in the correct spot and took photos as the waves crashed in. Some waves were too weak, so the splash was negligible. Others were too large, so they blocked out the sun. Eventually, I got this wave which framed the sun nicely.

There is no single or right answer to what makes a good photo. However, there are a variety of ideas that often contribute positively to a photo and can be used as building blocks by photographers as they construct their images. One of the ways that I work to improve my photography is to learn from and be inspired by ideas and techniques that I see in the work of photographers that I admire. I also learn from comments others make about my work. I would love to hear which of these images capture your interest and why.