The technique changes a bit depending on the bird species. Gerry states, “When I photograph hummingbirds, I don’t use the remote trigger. The multiple flashes however, are crucial in photographing them. One would think a trigger would especially be needed for these little guys but not so! A hummer will come to the feeder or flower and stay there for a bit to get a drink so a person is able to get shots by snapping the shutter the old fashioned away, with their finger.”
Photo: Gerry Sibell
Birds are sensitive to light, the way they have their ‘ritual’ of singing as the sun goes down is quite a mystery, as they obviously see the changes within the sky. If these photos are harming the bird it would be another example of ‘human intent’ like tagging animals to save them & making pandas watch porn.
Modern electronic flashes are incredibly fast, usually much faster than any shutter speed, meaning the photo was over and done with long before the bird had any opportunity to look startled or anything else. As for bright flashes causing harm, do local bird populations die off after lightning?
This type of “set up” photography is becoming very popular in the USA the primary proponent being Alan Murphy – the multiple flash setup are used more as filler light than primary exposure – modern electronic flashes under the control of a professional DSLR camera can control the flash output – nobody gets blinded any more than they would looking in the direction of the sun.
