If it is something we tend to not always get all the time it’s practice.  Whether it’s a nine to five job getting in the way, just having a full schedule, or not having the time to get out and travel as far as you want to where you want to be (I know the feeling.) One way is to find a subject you or others would find common and mundane and work as hard as you can to make them interesting. I can guarantee you those common day, often seen, animals are just begging for someone to show them how they truly shine and matter to their ecosystem.

One common place to start is Gulls if you are coastal or even semi-coastal, or the most common of pretty much all waterfowl the mallard. With the right combination of early morning 3-stop light and a mostly blue sky everything will fall into place. Being in the lighting situation I described, the scenario is to leave your camera in matrix metering (maybe down a 3rd or 7th of a stop if the contrast is strong) and fire away. Keep in mind background and trying to tell a story of what and where these animals live. These are great opportunities to get you into photographic shape for when that rare moment happens.

One way to do it is to bait the animal. Now I am talking the common spoiled animals that are constantly fed (although I shouldn’t; it was and is a conflict of interest for me) such as gulls and common waterfowl. I’m not telling you to go bait a bird of prey or any other gull/animal that depends on its normal feeding habits to live day to day. Feeders is one route via use of perches or the use of bread and unbuttered popcorn (butter is extra calories and if we don’t need it you can sure can bet they don’t either.) Rice for any bird or small animal is a big no no! Rice will swell in their stomachs and lead to death, not your ideal subject or in the best interest of the animal.

You don’t always need to go buy fresh materials, I would even recommend you don’t. Ever have left over bread ends or bagels that were saved for a tad to long (avoid the moldy stuff)? Popcorn is also great because it swells to approximately 40-50 times its original size and you get a great bang for your buck ::insert your favorite popcorn advertisement and music jingle here::. If you have a friend to go out with or a guilted spouse the process can be a bit easier. Have them stand slightly away from you and out of range of your angle of view your going to be working in, but not below the gulls if you catch my drift . You have them crumble the bread into smaller sizes and toss the pieces you have away and out from you. Keep in mind your background so when your shooting you don’t have distractions or worse a black bird from behind a white sky. Now if your by yourself it is a bit tougher, but completely do-able. Start slow. A few pieces just to attract them. Their interest will be peaked and they will swarm near the food. By throwing the food in small intervals you will keep them centrally located and give yourself time to shoot. Patience will be a tad more useful here and will pay off in the end.

The best thing I have found about going back and looking at my images is the different way we visually perceive gulls and birds in flight. That with one shift of a primary, catch of a thermal, or gust of the wind yields a new perspective that might not have occurred to you before. You can really see similarities in birds that are more characteristic of other bird families flight patterns. With all that said…get out and shoot!

The combination of those wispy clouds on a beautiful blue day really adds to the image. A bland all blue background sometimes just doesn’t allow the viewer to put themselves there.

Don’t forget about verticals. This is definitely harder, but with practice becomes easier. It is all about timing and keeping a close eye on their behavior. This way you can predict when they are coming in for their maneuvers you need to snag the shot.

This is an example of what I meant by background. The Bayonne bridge was in the background and gives you an idea of what to watch out for. Some might like this and others it may big a big turn off. So don’t be eager to toss those images so fast. …and I know what your thinking. That that dust he forgot to take care of before going out? No sir, that is a bird blurred via the bokeh of the lens. I wanted to leave these images with little to know editing besides a black point set.

This is a photograph with my new poster layout and a different bird for good measure. With use of Moose’s video seen here (heck of a lot easier then trying to figure it out when I came back from base camp.) They are a tad smaller, but I feel it will bring a better display of the images to share with you all. Although I find the iridescent head eye catching, watching that hind end knocking it down an extra third of a stop might have brought down the intensity. What do you think? Is it steering the viewers eye in the wrong direction?

So keep on trying. With practice, a little effort, and making use of your photographic mistakes to grow and learn; you can create images that will inspire. Stay tuned for big news in the coming days