Category Archives: digital photography

PhoneSkoping

I have pretty much transitioned to using my iPhone 5 for digiscoping using an attachment called a PhoneSkope. As I mentioned in a previous post, I always have my iPhone in my pocket and it’s a handy way to shoot through the scope. The quality gets better with each iteration of the phone, and an iPhone 6 may be on the not too distant horizon.

Each PhoneSkope is tailored for your camera and your scope. The cost is about $80 for case and adapter.

Each PhoneSkope is tailored for your camera and your scope. The cost is about $80 for case and adapter.

The setup is simple. You just put your phone or tablet into the case and attach it to the optic adapter by twisting and locking it in place. You then slide the optic adapter onto the end of your scope eye piece. It’s about a one-minute deal – I keep the case and adapter on the phone while I’m birding. (You can still use all functions of the phone.)

Here's what you see - and you can either photo or video, and change the scope setting to get in closer.

Here’s what you see – and you can either photo or video, and change the scope setting to get in closer.

There are lots of blog posts on using the iPhone (and other smart phones) so my suggestion is just to get out and shoot. It’s easy and even if there is some vignetting, you can reduce that through a finger swipe on the screen. The images are pretty good sized and  can be perfect for web work.

Here's what I lug around although I usually take the phone off the rig and zero in on the bird with the scope.

Here’s what I lug around although I usually take the phone off the rig and zero in on the bird with the scope.

Here are a couple of Mallards I got with the iPhone the other day -- nothing special but a nice easy shot as they cruised along.

Here are a couple of Mallards I got with the iPhone the other day — nothing special but a nice easy shot as they cruised along.

I know there are other adapters that folks use and like. PhoneSkope has worked well for me and I see that they have created them for the new iPhones and other tablets. Consider giving it a try – you’re likely carrying a pretty good camera in your pocket.

Add a Photo to Your eBird Checklist

After using eBird for several years, I’m learning more about some of the features that enhance my reporting.  I learned last month that the “comment” section for a given sighting is not viewable by anyone but reviewers and me — but is not the place to make bird-specific comments.  Last week, I posted about how to embed a map in a given report – which could really help folks from other areas find a spot where you saw that rare bird.

I’ve noted, in reviewing eBird reports, that some include photos of the bird(s) that they are reporting.  I was initially placing links to my Flickr image but just  learned a better way.  Here’s how the eBird folks describe it:

Guidelines for photo embedding

Although we want the photo embedding to be fun for eBirders and think it is a great way to document your rare finds or share a day’s birding with friends, we do want to make a few recommendations for how best to use this functionality.

1) Although it is possible to paste photos in both your Checklist Comments (i.e., from the Date and Effort page in Step 2 of data entry), we would like to ask that photos of birds be pasted in the species comments for that species. This ensures that they will be useful for documentation for that species.

2) Photos in checklist comments might be of scenery, people and friends, or non-birds seen on your trip. Please use these as you see fit.

3) Please limit your embedded photos to one or two examples per species. We don’t currently have a limit to how many photos can be shown, but remember that when the photos are embedded using code from the photo sharing websites they should link back to that site. We recommend providing representative photos that are helpful fordocumentation; the full suite of photos can be posted to your website.

4) It is very important that the photos you link to be of the actual individuals observedin the field. While it is not necessary that you have photographed the bird in question (i.e., they could be photos taken by a friend), posting photos of some other individual photographed somewhere else could be very confusing for reviewers, and other viewers, who interpret t as documentation of the bird you saw. Please use this feature to post images of the bird you observed.

5) The photos look best using medium dimensions. Most websites will give you an option of what size to display the images. We recommend using medium dimensions (about 400 x 400 pixels, or so).

6) It’s important to realize that you cannot upload photos directly from your home computer to eBird–at least not yet! For now, a third-party photo sharing site must be used, but there are plenty of great free services for that available online, such as Flickr and Picassa.

Linking from Flickr

If you use Flickr (www.flickr.com), a free service for hosting your photos, thendisplaying them in eBird is quite easy:

1. Go to any of your photos uploaded to Flickr and click on the image to get the full view with the full set of options.

2. Above the photo there are Facebook and Twitter icons and to the right of that is adrop-down menu called “Share”. Click on this and then select “Grab the HTML/BBCode”.

3. Select “Medium” size for the photos and make sure the HTML radio button is selected.

4. Then select the text (one click selects it all), copy, and then paste this string of code into the eBird species comments.

Be sure that the photos are set to “public”. When you save your eBird checklist you should see the photos displayed.

How to embed photos from Flickr. Click the share icon at the top of the photo and you get a drop-down menu. Select the "Grab the HTML/BBCode" option and then click to select that text block. This is what you will paste in your eBird species comments.

How to embed photos from Flickr. Click the share icon at the top of the photo and you get a drop-down menu. Select the “Grab the HTML/BBCode” option and then click to select that text block. This is what you will paste in your eBird species comments.

Linking from Picasa Web

Picasa Web (www.picasaweb.google.com) is another free service for hosting your photos online. Here’s how:

1. Go to any of your photos uploaded to Picasa and click on them to get the full view with the full set of options.

2. On the right side is a little chain with the words “link to this photo” and an “Embdedimage” box where you can grab the HTML code to embed the photo.

3. Before cutting and pasting this code, be sure to select “Medium” size for the photos.

4. Then select the text (one click selects it all), copy, and paste into eBird species comments.

Be sure that the photos are “public”. The code that comes from Picasa is quite a bit longer and more complex than what Flickr uses, but it works just as well.

Here’s the report I filed today with two photos:

The eBird report I filed this morning.

The eBird report I filed this morning.

 

Birds in Hiding

One of the challenges for me in taking photos of birds is getting them in focus — whether it be in a breeze with the camera moving or the autofocus zeroing in and out on a branch instead of the bird.  Birding in New England (or essentially anywhere) means stalks, branches, vines, leaves are often between you and the bird.  It’s often a challenge with binoculars or a scope but usually manageable — the bird hops up for a few seconds and you at least get a good look.  Whether you can grab a photo is another thing.


I had a situation yesterday where a Grey Catbird was deep in a grapevine.  I could see him grabbing a grape and eating it but the camera auto-focus was jumping all around.  (I know, switch to MF but I had a dog on leash “helping” me.)  So I fired off a burst and the image below is the result:  not in great focus but it captures for me the grape-eating catbird that was entertaining me.

A furtive Grey Catbird hides out in a tangle of grapevines.

I’ve gone through some of my shots from this Fall and picked a few “I’m hiding” shots that are below.  Notice, aside from the Common Yellowthroat, there are no warblers.  That’s next year’s project.

White-throated Sparrows are rather cooperative, sitting still and just watching.

Likewise, Song Sparrows can give you a decent opportunity for photos.

Common Yellowthroats bounce around a lot in the underbrush, chipping away.

And they are often very buried in the bushes — you get glimpses but manual focus helps.

One of the nice things about digital photography is that you can rather easily, on a damp fall evening with the wood fire going, revisit some of the neat birds you saw during the spring and summer.  So some of the shots are a little blurred, you still can enjoy seeing once again some of the birds that are now thousands of miles south of here, and look forward to spring migration.

Digiscoping With Frozen Fingers

Two weeks ago, I was birding in shorts and T-shirts.  That was then, today in Vermont it was 28 degrees with blowing snow flurries as I birded early this morning at Berlin Pond.  A Bald Eagle was spotted there yesterday but I dipped on it today but saw a nice array of birds before quitting to thaw out a bit.  I used my point&shoot to try some digiscoping with so-so results.  Here’s a couple:

A Common Grackle looking pretty sharp on a Saturday morning.
Ring-necked Ducks are reliable visitors each spring.
A pair of Tree Swallows posed patiently but the photos were blurry.  May be the wind.

I fumbled with cold hands trying to set iso and aperture but ran out of patience.  So, it’s time to read the manual again.  One “expert” advised me to shoot automatic and let the camera figure it all out.  I think I’ll continue to work on settings and see if I can get the Canon SD3000 working the way others have it working.  Next time, it will be in a freezing-free temperature without a gale blowing.

Easy point-and-shoot cameras capture the outdoor experience

Sunday, March 27, 2011
By Shannon M. Nass, Special to the Post-Gazette
Bob Steiner
Red-bellied woodpecker.
No matter the season, nature is a beautifully painted canvas that offers the perfect backdrop for capturing outdoor memories.
As spring wildflowers come into bloom and wildlife activity increases, opportunities abound for taking photographs. A little imagination and some insight into the effective outdoor use of digital point-and-shoot cameras leave no reason not to skillfully preserve these moments in time.
“The final image that you produce is your own creativity … and the camera is a tool to get there,” said Linda Steiner, of Oil City.
Linda and her husband, Bob, have won numerous professional photo awards and were guest speakers at a Penn’s Woods West Trout Unlimited meeting held March 14 at the Brentwood Veterans of Foreight Wars. Topics included digital camera use and key elements to consider when taking photos outdoors.

Read the whole article: http://post-gazette.com/pg/11086/1134873-140.stm#ixzz1HnIuEof5