I started this space to share the small moments my daughter (Tweet) and I (Talon) catch while watching birds. I’m not anywhere near being a pro photographer or an ornithologist; but I do love taking pictures, and birds make fun subjects.
If you’ve ever gone to a popular nature trail, you’ve inevitably seen those people crouched alongside some wetlands or staring up into a tree, a camera seemingly attached to the front of their face. They’re also bogged down with backpacks, enormous lenses, tripods, and thousands of dollars in gear. That’s not me. Not even close. Not that I’m knocking those people. I just don’t have the desire to learn how to use all that fancy equipment. Not to mention the fact that I don’t want to have to lug it around on the trail. I don’t even carry a purse if I don’t have to. On most days, my pockets are good enough for my ID, keys, and a method of payment.
Armed to Shoot
I did make a decent investment in the camera I use for birdwatching, however. I just don’t have any of the fancy lenses that you can swap out for each other. Instead, I use a superzoom, point-and-shoot camera with a dedicated bird setting. I don’t have to play around with manual adjustments or take a photography class to get great pics. I just put it in bird mode, point, and shoot. I’m able to capture moments I might otherwise forget with the simple press of a button. And I’ve caught some great photos “accidentally!” Just ask Songbird.
The camera I use is the Nikon Coolpix P950. It has an 83x optical zoom, 16 megapixels, and takes amazing photos. It has a bird setting and a moon setting, along with all the other typical scene settings—landscape, indoor, sunset, fireworks, etc. That’s about as technical as I get, but if you’re a camera techie or interested in becoming one, check out the detailed info on Nikon’s website.
The Picture That Sold Me
I had a little bit of buyer’s remorse after purchasing my camera. Just a tiny little bit. It felt like a super frivolous purchase that I was only going to be using occasionally and mostly on birds. I initially justified it by reminding myself I didn’t invest in a DSLR that would later require more investment. The remorse didn’t last long. I took it on one adventure and came home saying it was worth every penny. I watched a bird fly through the forest and land a tree that was ridiculously far away from where we were, and there were numerous leaves and branches between the two of us. I pulled out the camera, turned it on, zoomed in all the way, and pressed the button. And got a great shot of a Pileated Woodpecker! Amazing! You can even see in the picture how blurred some of the leaves and branches are. There was no way I thought I was going to get a picture of him. I’m glad I tried. From then on, no buyer’s remorse.
More Early Bird Photography
Some of these I think are absolutely amazing. Some of them just impress me because they show the ability of my gear. Not too shabby for a point-and-shoot!
More Than Feathered Friends
I would be a fraud if I didn’t admit that the fact that I also love moon photography weighed into my decision to pick up my Nikon P950. Something about a sharp crescent or full moon makes me want to pull out my camera and take tons of photos. The camera I had before this one took some decent moon pictures. It only had a 36x optical zoom, though, and lacked the dedicated moon setting. I have so many more than just these, but let’s be honest: the moon doesn’t really change all that much from one month to the next.
What Do You Use?
I’m totally happy with my point-and-shoot, all-in-one camera. It could be a little lighter and easier to carry around on the trails, but when I see what some of those other guys are hauling? I realize it’s not too bad.
If you’re already out there getting great bird pics, I’d love to hear what you’re using. Are you a gear minimalist like me? Or are you one of the people traipsing around like a pack mule with all the things?