8) What is the most difficult situation in photography of birds with your Canon camera? And how do you over come it?

The 1D Mark II N is an excellent performer and does well in just about all bird photography situations. However, it has limitations as do all cameras. In low light situations when using my 2x converter which decreases the amount of light hitting the sensor, the autofocus speed of my setup sometimes slows drastically. To compensate for this, I adjust the AF limiter switch on my lens so that the lens only goes through a part of its focusing range, therefore finding focus and locking onto the subject quicker. If possible, I try to prefocus on an area close to where I predict my subject will land, that way the lens has to adjust even less before finding focus. All cameras focus by detecting contrast, so if my camera is really struggling, I will attempt to point it at an area of the subject where dark and light areas meet. If all else fails, manually focusing is easy enough to do and works just fine with stationary subjects. If a subject is moving, there would be so little light by the time my autofocus was failing that I would not be able to get a high enough shutter speed to freeze the action anyway.

Pink Lady Slipper

Pink Lady's Slipper, Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Delaware, USA, May 2007
Camera: Canon 1D Mark II N, Lens: Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS USM with Canon 2x Mark II Extender. Settings: 1/12s, f/11, ISO 250, RAW capture, 88% full frame, manual focus, mirror lockup and cable release, Gitzo tripod and RRS ballhead.
For this shot of a pink lady's slipper orchid, I used my 300mm lens and 2x converter to get a nice diffused out of focus background. This setup is heavy and very prone to camera shake, so I mounted it on a strong tripod with a locked heavy duty ballhead, turned on the Image Stabilization feature of my lens, and used a cable release and mirror lockup on my camera to reduce any movement of my equipment during the exposure. I took many frames, trying to capture moments when there was no wind and the sun had gone behind the clouds, so that my subject would be still and evenly lit. When I went through my shots, this one stood out for the even background and soft lighting. I really like the subtle pastel colors of this shot.

9) Is there any book you might want to suggest to beginners and pros alike? Have you read any books related to Canon digital cameras? Or any books that have given you the idea to switch from your previous Nikon digital camera to a Canon.

Most of the “How To” books out there are for people just learning photography, and I found that I haven’t gained much useful information from them. If you are just starting out, getting one of these may not be a bad idea, but I find that just researching articles on the internet and joining an online photography forum will end up giving you the same or better information and usually much more up to date. Online forums also have the benefit of being able to provide personal feedback from other members if you post photographs or ask questions.

The photography books that I like are those that inspire me, usually coffee table style books by other photographers. Some of my favorites are Africa by Michael Poliza, White Nature by Vincent Munier, On This Earth by Nick Brandt, The Natural World by Thomas Mangelson, The Living Wild by Art Wolfe, Silence & Solitude by Tom Murphy, and Galen Rowell’s Inner Game of Outdoor Photography. If bird photography is your primary interest, then you should get a good bird identification book and local bird finding books. David Allen Sibley’s The Sibley Guide to Birds is the best North American bird ID book out there, and Sibley also has guide books for the Eastern and Western region of North America and books on bird behavior that are very good. The National Geographic Guide to Birding Hot Spots of the United States is a good book that covers the entire U.S. and by searching online you can find books that cover your state or region. The American Birding Association offers a wide selection of books for sale at its online bookstore (www.abasales.com) and has a great variety of regional and specialty books that can be difficult to find elsewhere.