Birds and People
Lesson 20 from: The Art of Photographing BirdsFrans Lanting
Birds and People
Lesson 20 from: The Art of Photographing BirdsFrans Lanting
Lesson Info
20. Birds and People
Lessons
Introduction
04:19 2Introduction to Location Shoot
01:45 3Camera and Lenses
06:09 4DSLR vs Mirrorless
12:38 5Field Trip 1
23:22 6Getting Close To Birds
13:41 7Camera Settings
06:57 8Settings For Creativity
07:16Point of View
06:19 10Bird Portraits
14:32 11Birds in Flocks
32:40 12Birds in Flight
15:56 13Field Trip 2
11:04 14Behavior
19:43 15Birds in Landscapes
10:56 16Field Trip at Sunset
14:12 17Impressions
08:13 18Qualities of Light
01:46 19Birds as Designs
03:23 20Birds and People
11:08 21Locations
14:15 22Student Critique
1:07:35Lesson Info
Birds and People
I mentioned earlier that birds are everywhere and so are people, and it leads to really interesting juxtapositions. Ostriches are big, but if you put an ostrich in the foreground behind a small car, it looks definitely gigantic. I captured this in Nairobi National Park in Kenya, but you get the idea, especially in places where we come toe look at birds, you're going to see all kinds of things. I made some really interesting pictures of people coming to the Colusa National Wildlife Refuge in addition to just photographing the birds by themselves. So here's another situation in Brazil where there are flightless Rias, and there's a lot of, um, unfortunate collisions with car. So I made this image of the warning sign, and then I waited for a car to come by and the camera was on the tripe out slow shutter speed and the car becomes a blur back to the albatrosses one more time, which I've covered in gray detail in many different places. The plastic problem. Yeah, we are all aware of it now, b...
ut when I made these images, it wasn't really on people's radar screens, but ever seeing all the plastic that had accumulated in the albatross colonies that was brought back by these birds foraging on the open ocean. And then I started collecting the bits and pieces and put it next to your one family of perch. And then I thought, Well, this looks pretty junky. So I went a step further, and I laid out individual pieces of plastic so that the viewers would b'more able to appreciate the sources Predator of is a G. I. Joe a toothbrush or any of these other things that we throw away and they end up in the oceans. And of course, now we know what a gigantic problem it ISS. So these are the negative connections between birch and people, but they're positive connections is though we know Charles Starving and the Olsen, though, how inspired he was by the Galapagos Islands and the diversity of the finches that he saw there in other called Darwin's Finches. So I brought together the title page of a first edition of Darwin's book The Origin of Species, with some specimens of finches in the museum. Here they are together, and that leads me to this notion. I'm gonna take you back one more time to my beginnings as a bird photographer. Remember those sandal ings on the beach? And yet the time it took me to understand the birds and to be able to photograph them really well, well, that came because I connected with this guy. Pete Myers was an ornithologist who were studying sandal wings, and I wrote him a letter and I said, I would like to come out with you on a field trip and at first he was reluctant, and then he agreed. And it was by hanging out that Pete and understanding Hiss scientific approach to the birds and his field knowledge that I really began to appreciate Shandling's. So I covered him, and I covered the process of science here. He's holding up a bird with colored bands and then all the data sheets that Pete accumulated in order to understand the patterns of behavior of the birds. And it was thanks to Pete that I became a better bird photographer. I like to hang out with people who know more than I do, so I go to scientists and I go to conservationist and I hang out with other artists to mom or albatross. Picture this person Eyes just is in love that these little albatross chicks is I've us and you could just see the relationship there. So think of other people you can associate yourself with. Think of people you can bring into your pictures of birds. Birds are everywhere and so are we. And then as a last yell stimulus for you on I've got a set of pictures here U S Produced is is a Dutch photographer. And, uh, he started photographing one Burt won Flamingo that had been re happed in an island in the Dutch Antilles, Curacao. And it was taken care off by somebody in the Jaspers family. And this flamingo is now used for educational projects. So Odette takes him to schools. And here the Flamingo. His name is Bob. So he's known as Flamingo. Bob is off to yet another school trip, and he's riding along video. That and Jasper photograph this one flamingo in many different settings. Here's Flamingo Bob being operated on on the surgery table, and here he is again interacting. Or actually, it's kids interacting with 10 and then flamingo Bob goes for a swim and then ultimately ya spur photographs himself floating along with Flamingo Bob and these air Just five images, and he's got dozens of other images. And this set of photos is now nominated for a World Press Photo Award, and you have it in a couple of weeks. Yes, Purple learned that, or he will get this this amazing recognition for his talent and for his persistence. So I'm sharing these with you because I think there's no better evidence that I can submit to you that you really don't need to go to Antarctica. I'm not even to Galapagos. All it takes is one bird in a rehab center, and you document it's life and you'll set yourself a challenge that will lead to its own rewards. So with that said, Let's see where we are now on, and I'm going to give it back to the audience. Yeah, friends, I would. We had some questions coming in earlier about photographing at, um at Sanctuary. Not sorry, not sanctuaries, but at rehabilitation centers. And what have you? Is there any issue with that on? Not as far as I'm concerned on it. Yet zoos are places where people have gone for generations to get inspired by animals you know, we take our kids there, so I see absolutely nothing wrong with it now, too. Pass off images that you made in juice and to pretend that they're made in the wild. Now that's another matter. So it all goes back to the Golden Rule, right? Disclose. Feel comfortable disclosing the circumstances under which you made the images. And when it comes to rehab Sanders, people who run these places are always in need of pictures to help publicize their activities so it can go both ways. Yeah, if you give something back, you will get access to situations. I did maybe rather specific question about one of the pictures you showed earlier, which is that remarkable picture of the blue goose feathers. And there's this issue that comes up around lighting in general with trying to deal, especially with darker colored feathers. You get these especially indirect light. You get these rainbow refer actions on them that don't look. They look gorgeous in real life, and they don't look so great in photographs. Since I wonder if you had any thoughts about how to deal with, you know, sort of direct light on feathers and the refractive colors that get generated. Great question. In my experience, when it comes to really delicate pattern surface textures and things like bird feathers, I preferred them to photograph them in open shade. And these days I often in the bouncing some extra light into an open shade situation by using a reflector. So I had a little bit more directionality to delight. And if you look at um, the course that I did previously for Creative Life, the art of she and close up macro photography, you'll learn a lot more about that kind of lighting technique. Awesome and similar to that. And maybe this is in that class two. But in terms of lighting questions, one from Alton Marsh had said, How do you keep that fill flash from blowing out white birds? So are you ever using flash with a weight bird? Um, that's a really good question on. I am trying to think of a better. There's an example in a course. I don't think so, but I've it. Lead it back to my earlier answer that when you're dealing that and with white birch in direct light, yet it is better to reverse the angle to delight and to, in the case of Snow G's, to position yourself so that the body of the snow goose's in shade. And because if you add direct light to that, that doesn't look so good. So and a flash is, of course, another example of direct light. So what I do in situations like that is I underpowered a strope these days. Most of the strokes that combined Vidar DSLR Savitt Amir Lis cameras are capable of being put in a T t l mode, so they are very good at measuring the right output. But then I typically will under power to stroke, and I'll dial it down by wanted to stops. Great, Great. We are calling for bumper stickers that say I heart from and go, Bob. So, uh, let me show you, uh, ya spurs particular contact details. So go to his website. He's really inspiring photographer, in my opinion, he sees the world in different ways, and not just when it comes to a single flamingo, but he's also really good at capturing urban birds, and that is what we've not seen off a lot yet in this course. So check out the Jaspers work and one, or shout out to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service for all their dedication around the country.
Ratings and Reviews
Carl Bergstrom
I was privileged to be in the studio audience for Frans Lanting's Art of Photographing Birds course, and it was amazing. The morning was a perfectly pitched lesson on the technical aspects of bird photography, intermixed with Frans's own photographs and excellent videos of him working in the field. The afternoon focused more on bird behavior, composition, and artistry, and was even more delightful. If you know Lanting's photography you already know about his ability to find unusual perspectives on the world. What really shone through in the class was his love for wildlife and especially for birds. His knowledge of natural history is as amazing as his photography, and I loved the message that to take great photographs of birds, one needs to understand them and their behaviors. I've admired Lanting as a photographer for decades. Today I learned that he is an equally talented teacher. I'll be purchasing all of his CreativeLive courses. Thank you, Carl Bergstrom
Marie Gessle
Amazing class! Mr Lanting is charming and full of knowledge about birds and of course photography. In every moment of this course you can see his great passion and love for these flying creatures. The course is full of tips for photographers who want to start capturing moments of birds life. Awesome!!!
E.L. Bl/Du
this is the best bird photog class I have ever seen. Fanz is a super excellent teacher. He is passionate about conservation, ethics and respect for the animals. He discusses gear needed and what to study before going out.about your subject, and leave it the way you found it. Kenna is the best moderator, and gets every single question answered, which is so valuable. I can say enough, now I know what settings to use on my giant new lens. Thanks so much for this class.