Feather in His Lens CapDavid Guy Maynard captures intimate bird portraits during long nature hikes with his Tamron SP 70-300mm VC lens. |
Article By Jennifer Gidman Images by David Guy Maynard |
David Guy Maynard doesn't have to stray far from his Florida home to find subjects from the indigenous menagerie to pose in front of his camera. "Our entire state is like a bird sanctuary," he says. "If you're a nature photographer, this is a dream location. When we moved in, the moment we pulled the U-Haul into the driveway, we were greeted by two sandhill cranes that walked right up to us. What a welcome!" |
The roving photographer either heads to a local nature preserve to photograph birds on nature hikes ("there are so many reserves around here that all you have to do is take a walk 15 minutes in any direction to spot something!") or simply sets foot in his own backyard. "Right in back of my house, we've got red-headed woodpeckers, two cardinal families, even a couple families of squirrels," he says. "This is such a pure form of photography. When I do my commercial work and fashion, there are always lights being set up all over the place and several things going on at once. With this type of photography, it's just me, the camera and lens, and whatever my subject is." |
Maynard's Tamron SP 70-300mm VC lens proves ideal for this type of photography. "I have 300mm F/2.8 prime lenses, but you can't hand-carry that kind of lens for long," he says. "It can also be harder to get a decent shot in low-light situations if you don't have that Vibration Compensation feature that the 70-300 does. You can go down to F/2.8, but then you're slowing your shutter speed down to compensate for that lower light - if you're handholding the camera, you can't even breathe. With the VC, I can nail the shot at 300mm. Everything is crisp, clean, and sharp. Before I got this lens, I'd often take a monopod or tripod along. Now it's rare that I have to because of the VC." |
Knowing Your Subject and Your Surroundings |
Before you head out on a birding hike, be prepared for the trek ahead of you. "Especially here, it can be really hot, so make sure you bring lots of fluids, and remember to drink them," Maynard says. "You can become so focused on watching every little thing in front of you during these hikes that you're not paying attention to yourself and become dehydrated." |
Maynard also suggests wearing comfortable shoes ("that can change the entire tone of your hike!") and avoid wearing cologne, perfume, or aftershave. "The same rules that apply to hunting apply here to hunting with your camera," he says. "The more natural you smell, the better." |
What time of day Maynard sets out on his ornithological adventures depends on the birds he's looking to photograph. "Mornings are usually when many birds are the most active, or in the evening," he says. "The red-headed woodpecker you'll find early in the morning or approaching sunset. Birds of prey, though, are unpredictable. You really have to know what you're shooting and their habits." |
For example, Maynard knows he can go to a reserve about an hour from his home to find nesting owls in the thicker part of the forest. "You'll see a lot of activity early in the morning or just at dusk - if you're lucky, you'll catch the mama owl coming to feed her babies," he says. "They're quieter during the day because they're nocturnal. The best shots I've gotten with these guys has been very early, like half an hour after sunrise. You're not overpowered by sunlight then; the light is warm, soft, and golden, very conducive to shooting." |
No matter which species he's shooting, Maynard emphasizes his respect of both his subjects and their environment: "The first rule I have - and this goes for my macro work, too - is you don't leave a footprint. You have to be careful what you're doing as you're shooting and make sure you're not disrupting anything, moving things around, or leaving trash." |
Some birds don't seem to mind posing in front of his lens, while others are more apprehensive. "You can get as close as 15 or 20 feet to herons and cranes, crouch down, and get all the pictures you want, as long as you don't get into their immediate space," says Maynard. "But certain birds, such as woodpeckers and birds of prey, are a little more skittish. Don't freak the birds out, especially if there are baby birds involved." |
Also be mindful of where you're walking. "You may be looking up, for example, so you can see a nest above you, but as you're looking, you may end up stepping on another bird nest on the ground or crushing the entrance to a turtle hole," Maynard explains. "You have to always be aware of all of your surroundings as a matter of respect for the subjects you're capturing." |
Birds Have Expressions, Too |
Maynard has captured compelling shots of birds in flight ("one of my favorites is when I photographed two seagulls swooping out of the fog on the bank of a lagoon, right in front of a scary gray storm"), but his personal preference is bird portraits. "I like to get right up tight and do head-and-shoulder portraits of these birds, really get the expressions on their faces," he says. "Or I'll do full body shots of them nested or perched. I can do both kinds of shots with that 70-300 lens." |
To ensure an eye-catching portrait, Maynard says to always focus on the bird's eye. "A portrait of a bird is no different than a portrait of a person," he explains. "I'm typically in one-shot focus for this type of shot. I lock the focus, then I'm done. And even though you do want to generally keep quiet and respect the bird's environment, making a small noise, like snapping a twig, can get the bird to turn its head toward you so you get a shot of it looking right into your lens." |
By opening up the aperture on his 70-300, Maynard is able to really hone in on his subjects. "At a lower aperture, that lens compression and distance, you can get a nice bokeh behind whatever you're shooting," he says. |
If he does try to capture a bird in flight, Maynard switches over to AI focusing. The 70-300's Ultrasonic Silent Drive (USD) autofocus drive mechanism proves ideal for the precise, fast photography that's required for this type of shot. "Using AI allows me to lock whichever one of those little focus points I choose," he says. "If the bird is flying from my right to my left, for example, I'll pick the focus point where I want it in the frame. So if I want the bird's head and I'm going just a little ahead of it, I'll either pick a midframe focus point or a back-frame focus point. Then I just lock on the bird - as the bird's moving and I'm moving, the camera is constantly adjusting." |
For Maynard, his nature hikes don't simply produce beautiful images. "It's a very natural, symbiotic thing that happens when you're out there," he explains. "No matter how many jobs you've got going on or what stresses in life you're dealing with, you take your camera, go out there, and the world disappears. It's therapeutic." |
To see more of David Guy Maynard's work, go to http://www.dmaynardphotography.com/ |