Depending on where in the world you are, this time of year may or may not be perfect for photographing both local and/or migrant birds. Today’s ‘Photography Thursday’ Video Corner walks us through how to set up a small pond ideal bird photography. First we’ll look at how to put the pond together (see tips below the video), then we’ll take a look at a couple of photographs taken at the location used in the video.

Tips: Setting up a Pond for Garden Bird Photography

• Position the pond for earl morning light and shooting into a diffused neutral background
• Position the hide for a low level camera angle
• Ensure pond has shallow sides - only about 2-3cm deep
• Low camera position gives high impact images
• Choose a long telephoto lens or a telephoto zoom lens in the 100-400mm range
• For smaller birds, teleconverters can be added to increase lens magnification
• Use manual exposure and take meter reading off grass or neitral tone
• Use fast shutter speed of 1/500s or higher with wide aperture around f/4 or f/5.6