Capturing the artistic moment Spending time photographing birds in their natural behavior is our idea of quality time. One of our bird photography goals is to capture images with feelings, images that convey a message of some sort. This involves aiming for creative and even artistic composition. This is what we strive to achieve in this video.

Patience Paid Off! We spent three days photographing birds in northeast Iceland. We had a great time enjoying nature and relaxing. Watching birds do their thing is a meditation in a way—one might say mindfulness. The camera is sometimes an excuse to go out and relax, but this time, we got some really good photos and videos.

For years, I have been experimenting with microphones to record nature sounds. Today, we are focusing not only on bird and wildlife photography but also on videography. Videography is essential since we occasionally sell nature-related footage. In this video, I ramble about my experience over the years with various microphones. Microphones are not all created equal, and even though quality matters, ease of use and minimalism are also issues when the goal is to keep everything in one bag.

There are no rules in photography that cannot be broken. Direction in images is one of them. Most photos have some direction. A picture of a person looking to the right, for example, directs attention to the right. When I was learning to design magazine layouts, a lot of emphasis was placed on the direction of images accompanying text or graphics. Images were supposed to guide the reader’s attention to where you wanted it to go. Most images have a directional flow, and you can guide the viewer’s attention using this. Sometimes, the goal is to create balance in the image so that the viewer’s eye lingers. At least, that’s how I see it. Guillemots are an extreme example of a subject with strong direction. Their heads are like arrows pointing to where they are looking. Three guillemots, all looking in the same direction, can lead the viewer’s attention right out of the frame. On the other hand, three guillemots, where two are looking left, and one is looking right, can create a sense of balance that holds the viewer’s eye within the image. Guillemots looking in opposite directions create a certain balance, as does when they look straight ahead. Similarly, two guillemots and two puffins looking in opposite directions can also form a sense of equilibrium. These reflections of mine about balance and direction in images are well-known concepts in all areas of design. The direction within images, especially in bird and wildlife photography, plays a significant role in determining which photos are suitable for a project or worthy of inclusion in my portfolio. Photographing guillemots can be challenging. They usually live in the middle of cliffs or on rocky slopes, which are difficult to access. With some luck and the right spot, it’s possible to photograph guillemots with a clean background and foreground. When photographing...

Experience has taught me that sharpness in nature photography is a fragile phenomenon. It’s easy to make mistakes that compromise sharpness. Even assuming the camera settings are appropriate for the conditions, several factors can ruin an image’s sharpness despite having the “right” settings. In my experience, while the quality difference between lenses does matter, how photos are taken plays a much more significant role. During winter, seals occasionally lounge on the ice that forms at the estuary of the Eyjafjarðará River. While reviewing photos of ringed and gray seals taken on a good day, I reflected on some considerations regarding sharpness. Most of the photos turned out well, but some lacked sharpness, which would not have been a problem with the proper techniques. The intention here isn’t to list all factors affecting sharpness. There are countless articles online about that. Instead, I aim to share what I keep in mind when photographing in certain conditions to ensure sharpness. These factors often get less attention than camera settings or lens selection. The difference in sharpness between expensive and moderately priced lenses pales in comparison to the impact of specific techniques that can compromise sharpness. While shutter speed, aperture, and tripod use are undoubtedly important, I consider other aspects as well. Nowadays, seals can relax at the Eyjafjarðará River without worry, as seal hunting has largely been banned in Iceland. Hunting seals was banned in 2019. Before that, seals were shot near river estuaries to protect the interests of anglers. Today, the Directorate of Fisheries may issue limited hunting permits in regions where such practices are traditional. However, seal hunting is mostly a thing of the past. The accompanying photos were taken with a Nikon Z7ii and a Nikon Z 400mm f4.5 lens, using 1.4X and 2X teleconverters. Hidden Causes of Poor Sharpness in Bird and Wildlife Photography Heat...