Goldenstars08 said:
Hi all,
I am very new to bird photography. So I have a few questions to ask.
1)What lens did you use on your DSLR?
2)What F-stop should I use?
3)Where are the places to go for bird shooting in Singapore? I don't mean Jurong Bird Park....;p
4)Any other tips and equipments that are needed?
Many Thanks in advance...
1) a lens that is about 400 to 600mm like wat our brother has mentioned. [If u dun mind a smaller bird in ur pic and not particular abt the quality and details of the bird, u can settle for a cheap 300mm lens eg. nikor 70-300mm f3.5-5.6g(abt $250) or sigma apo 70-300 f3.5-5.6 dg macro($340) ]
2) F stop around f8 is pretty ok in my opinion. but to go to high f-stop numbers, be sure the surrounding light is bright enough or mount on tripod and shoot at slower shutter speed but u risk not able to take flying birds pics.
3) jurong bird park is a good place actually, especially the lorry sanctuary. u can also go bukit timah hill, sungei buloh wetland reserve, botanical gardens[this 4 is the most recommended] or u can try our several reservoirs.
4) for birding, a
tripod or
monopod is indispensible as hand shake effects is amplified when using long lens. And especially so if u wan to shoot low shutter speed at high f-stop numbers, unless u compensate with high iso.
u also need a
good ear to listen to bird calls to know where they are, and make sure u keep a lookout -> always using
peripheral vision to spot any moving things.
Wear
green, beige and duller colours clothings to the place. White, red, yellow all this colours are too bright and ättractive and might scare the birds away. And dun wear black -> mosquitos love black colour and many will stick onto ur black clothing or bite u
Bring
insect repellant[u will regret if u dun bring, trust me the mosquitos are infantry mosquitos and they dont attack alone, they attack in herds of >10 in some places] and lots of
water n some food, sungei buloh for example there is no vending machine inside the jungle.
and dun forget ur
camera and lens, and ur
camera cleaning kit especially the blower and lens cloth, and some
spare dry cloth to wipe ur sweat and dry ur bag,
umbrella[u never know when it will rain]
If u have, its also good to bring
binoculars to quickly spot birds, and then mount ur camera setup and shoot them!
And lastly, if possible bring
ur friends along and enjoy and share ur heavy stuffs load!
Hope the above helps