jay print
Jay in snow
Jay in snow
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Jan, 2016Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This jay was photographed at a local park during a cold and wintry spell. Whilst jays can be quite secretive and shy birds, at this park they readily come down for food. They will take monkey nuts and peanuts from the ground at distances of less than 6 feet from you. You have to be quick to get any photographs ,as they don't stay still for long. The park is Golden Acre Park, sited north west of Leeds in the United Kingdom.Time
The photograph was taken in the morning, most birds are still hungry in the morning and look for some choice snacks. Monkey nuts and peanuts are quite irresistible to jays and many other crow species. The crows actually follow you around this park and will alight on the ground, just a few feet away from you, being very vocal in the hope that you will throw them some food. In the afternoon, they tend to move off into the neighbouring fields and rides.Lighting
The image was slightly overexposed just to compensate for the brighter snowy background. Also the area where the jays can be found is heavily tree'd, being on the verge of woodland. I think this is why they are so tame here, because they feel safe in this environment.If it isn't sunny, the lighting can be quite poor here, so expect to have to use a higher ISO, or reduce the dof to compensate.Equipment
The equipment I used wasn't anything special. Because the birds come quite close, anything between 100mm and up to 200mm is good enough for these larger birds. A zoom lens is better for framing, but not essential. A 300mm or 400mm lens is required for smaller birds, even if they will alight closer to you. At this location, quite a few bird species will take food direct from your hand. Capturing that is quite a challenge, though easier to do with video rather than still photographs.Inspiration
I have been feeding birds and squirrels here for a number of years. Jays had been quite elusive, but because of the poor weather were hungry and slightly more accommodating on this visit. I always take my camera with me, just in case there are any opportunities. Often it remains in the camera bag.Editing
The only editing I do is a slight levels and/or contrast tweak to make the final image more pleasing to view. I may crop the image and also undertake a sharpening tweak, because the camera doesn't apply that by default. I always shoot in RAW.In my camera bag
This image was taken years ago, when I had slightly different gear. These days I carry my 70-200mm lens with a 2x extender most of the time. This is for birds and other animals that might show on my travels. I also usually carry a macro lens and twin head flash for those smaller subjects. I always have spare batteries and memory cards in my kit bag.Feedback
Be patient. Take many shots and hope that one or two will be clearer and in focus than the rest. Keep your shutter speed as high as possible, because camera shake will almost certainly be an issue with woodland areas. If you are shooting at 200mm, you should shoot at greater than 1/200th of a second. That general guide should hold you in good stead, except if you want to freeze a bird's wing in flight, then you'd have to look at something around 1/1000th second. Adjust your ISO and dof to suit, but be aware of image noise.
