If anyone knows a roseate spoonbill like the back of his own hand, it’s James Shadle. The Tampa Bay nature and photography specialist, who also has earned the designation of U.S. Coast Guard Captain, is a pro at shooting the birds that frequent Florida when the weather up north sends them to the Deep South.

Shadle uses his Tamron 200-500mm lens—as well as the 28-75mm, 28-300mm, 18-270 VC, and180mm macro lenses—and recently added the new 70-300 VC lens to shoot what he calls the “usual suspects” who winter in Florida between November and May: spoonbills, white pelicans, belted kingfishers, and a variety of ducks. “These are birds we normally don’t have down here in the summer, so they’re of particular interest to me in the winter months,” he explains. “The 200-500 is great for its light weight when I’m out in the field, as well as its focal length and magnification. The 70-300 is so fast-focusing, and the Vibration Compensation is terrific in low-light situations and when I’m handholding, such as when I’m catching birds in flight.”

When seeking out birds that “winter” in your area, Shadle suggests finding a place where people fish. “Fishermen tend to throw scraps or small fish, which birds are attracted to,” he says. “Here in Florida, birds are also quite acclimated in any national park, as well as fishing piers or fishing camps. In these types of locations, birds are incredibly approachable—they’re going to let you get closer to them so you can observe their behaviors. Once you become accustomed to their behaviors and how they react, it’s much easier to photograph them in areas where they haven’t been habituated if you want to get some more shots out in the real wild.”

Shadle will occasionally wear camouflage (“for a belted kingfisher I’ll camo up and hide in a blind”), but for the most part, he simply wears subdued colors in the tan, green, and brown family and tries to stay out of the birds’ way. “I have a little saying: Love your subject more than your photography,” he explains. “To learn their behaviors, first just watch them as you approach. You can tell by their body language if they’re comfortable or not with you. If they’re preening or foraging, they’re comfortable; if you see them stop for more than a minute or two and they’re staring at you the entire time, they’re uncomfortable because you’re getting a little too close.”

Shadle likes to compose two different types of images when he’s photographing birds. “I love what I call behaviorals, or natural history shots,” he explains. “For instance, birds in flight or brown pelicans bathing while backlit, with all the water splashing around them, is gorgeous. I also love doing what I call wall-hangers, or art shots, where I simply use a light aperture and try to get a clean background.”

For these art portraits, Shadle often relies on his 200-500 lens. “This is a perfect focal range to get you closer so you can get a full bust or headshot, depending on the species,” he says. “In any areas where the birds are really habituated, you can use that lens to shoot wide open and fill the frame for a beautiful headshot.”

When he’s shooting his more behavioral shots, especially birds in flight, Shadle has to nail the focus. “It has to be dead sharp,” he says. “When I’m focusing on a bird in flight, it’s tough to get the sensor on the eye, so I’ll put the sensor on the neck and stop down just a little bit. If he’s flying past you, the neck is pretty much parallel with the eye.”

Captain Shadle often likes to head out on his boat to see what specimens he can find on the water. “I like to be on the boat and in place about a half hour before sunrise,” he says. “Typically, you want the first 2-1/2 and the last 2-1/2 hours of a day on a sunny day; on an overcast day, you can really extend that shooting time because the contrast is lower. If I’m photographing birds early or late, I like to have the sun at my back. I actually point my shadow at my subject if at all possible.”

Shadle uses what he calls “old-school” manual exposure. “I might start out with a bird against a very dark mangrove background, which means the camera’s going to overexpose unless I compensate,” he says. “The bird will take off from the mangroves and fly right into a light-colored sky—if I’m shooting in aperture priority or shutter priority, I have to make almost a two-stop swing to adjust for this exposure problem. In manual mode, the exposure doesn’t change: I just set the exposure for my subject, and that makes such a difference. All I have to concentrate on then is framing and focusing on the bird.”

While he mainly relies on natural light to showcase his feathered friends, Shadle will use a fill flash on occasion. “When I’m using the 200-500 and I’m working close, I’ll use some fill flash to wash out shadows or to put a little catchlight in the bird’s eyes,” he says.

Shadle uses a shutter speed of 1/1250th of second or higher to freeze the action—“I’m usually around 1/1600th if I can,” he says. To accomplish what he calls his panning blurs, where he’s tracking a bird in flight and blurring out part of the photo, however, he’s shooting at anywhere from 1/30th of a second to 1/125th of a second. “What you try to do is to get your sensor on the bird’s neck or head and pan with that bird at the exact same speed as the bird is flying,” he explains. “By doing that, the bird’s head will be sharp, because they don’t bob a lot in flight, the wings will be blurry, and the background will be streaked to get a real sense of speed.”

Not knowing their subjects and not being familiar with exposure theory are two of the most common mistakes Shadle sees beginning bird photographers make. “They’ll put their camera on program and not change the exposure,” he says. “If you have a real dark background and you’re shooting lighter-colored birds, they’re going to be overexposed and have no detail. A lot of people also activate the autofocus in their camera by pressing their shutter halfway down before they have their autofocus sensor on their subject.”

Shadle says to remember that birds have a mind of their own and can show unexpected behaviors even to the most experienced photographers. You simply have to know your camera, know basic behaviors, and be prepared before going out in the field. “It can be cold, there can be bugs—I’ll wear long sleeves and carry bug spray, plenty of water and snacks, and a first-aid kit,” he says. “Many people don’t think about these things before they head out for a day of shooting. You also have to be ready and in shape both photographically and physically. If you’re out of shape and have had several cups of coffee that morning, you’re going to have a tough time being rock-steady as you shoot!”

For more of James Shadle’s work, go to www.wildflorida.net and www.birdphotographers.net.