How to photograph bats

Pallid Bat REFLECTION (Antrozous pallidus Chauvre-souris blonde) Amado, Arizona, USA. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Canon EOS 1DX mark II, 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS II USM @300mm. Jobu Designs Algonquin Tripod & Jobu Jr. 3 Photo Trap and four flash set-up. ISO 500, f/18 @ 10 second exposure in Manual mode. PURCHASE A PRINT or LICENSE IMAGE FOR PUBLICATION HERE.

 

I'm just back from my Arizona bat workshop, and thought I would share one of the techniques we use to photograph bats and their reflections when they fly over a pond to drink water. It really is simpler than you might think; first, we set-up four flashes to light the bat from the front, then we set-up the phototrap to trigger the flashes every time a bat flys through an infrared beam. This set-up is not connected to our cameras at all; the cameras are set-up on tripods and focused at the exact same place as the infrared beam which triggers the flahes. Exposure was set manually to ISO 500, f/18 and 10 seconds. A remote trigger release is locked on, and the camera is set to make continuous ten second exposures, one after another. The images are mostly black frames, with images of bats captured every time they fly trough the beam and trigger the flash.

So, why not trigger the camera and flashes together? Because there are several different species of bats that frequent the pond and each of them flies at different speeds. Triggering the flash is the best way to ensure anything flying through the infrared beam is frozen at exactly that point; resulting in a perfectly sharp image.

If you would like to learn more, and perfect your phototrap set-ups, join me, Christopher Dodds, at "The Pond at Elephant Head" for an incredible high-speed bat photography workshop. Bats are some of the most misunderstood creatures on earth and there aren't many photographers out there photographing them. I've designed this workshop with only three participants and enlisted the help of Phototrap inventor, Bill Forbes, to ensure you get the images I would be proud to call my own. Learn how to use the Phototrap and high-speed flash photography to create stunning action images on your own. Learn more Here.


Creating Intimate bird portraits

Crested Auklet Portrait (Aethia cristatella, CRAU) Saint Paul Island, The Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea, Alaska. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Canon 1DX, 600mm F4 L IS II , 2X Teleconverter III & 25mm Extension Tube, Jobu Designs Algonquin Tripod & Jobu Jr. 3 ISO 2,500 f/16 @ 1/500s Manual Mode.  PURCHASE A PRINT or LICENSE IMAGE FOR PUBLICATION HERE.

Here's an intimate portrait (of what has to be my favorite bird) from my recent Saint Paul Island Workshop; the Crested Auklet. Getting close and isolating the subject against the dark cliffs requires lots of patience, but the real secret is simply approaching the cliff edge slowly so they don't flush before you even know they are there. Always remember to use a small enough aperture to maximize the depth of field, which is extemely narrow at the lens/extender/extension tube minimum focusing distance. Choose your shutter speed to freeze the birds sudden movements and any feathers blown around by the wind if there are any.

Using a sturdy tripod with a good tripod head and micro-calibrating your camera are, of course, the foundation to crisp and sharp images.

How to photograph bats with the PhotoTrap

Big Brown Bat Drinking from a pond (Eptesicus fuscus, Grande Chauvre-souris brune) Amado, Arizona, USA. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Canon EOS Canon EOS 1DX, 600mm F4 L IS II Tripod & Jobu Jr. 3 Photo Trap and four flash set-up. ISO 400, f/16 @ 10 second exposure in Manual mode. PURCHASE A PRINT or LICENSE IMAGE FOR PUBLICATION HERE.

I'm back from hosting a five day private workshop to Amado, Arizona where we set-up to photograph bats drinking from The Pond at Elephant Head with Phototrap inventor Bill Forbes.

Among our projects, we set-up the photo trap's infra-red beam to trigger a four flash array to illuminate the bats as they skimmed the pond to drink at night. We arranged our cameras for the best angle of view, the four flashes to properly light the subjects and adjusted our manual exposure to f/16, ISO 400 at 10 seconds. Once set-up, we installed our intravalometers which engaged the shutter release to continually take ten-second exposures; one after another. The flashes would fire every time a bat broke the beam; relying on the flash duration to freeze the action was the key to successfully producing well exposed and sharp images.

Be sure to learn More about the High-speed Bat Photography Workshop HERE


Lens Envy

Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica, Macareux moine, ATPU) Vertical PuffinScape latrabjarg, Iceland. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds www.chrisdoddsphoto.com All Rights Reserved. Canon EOS 1DsMKII, 17-40 F4 @21mm. 550EX Flash manual mode. ISO 250, F10 @1/250s Manual mode. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A PRINT or LICENSE IMAGE FOR PUBLICATION.

I hear it all the time: "I could make some great bird images, if only I had a 500mm Lens" or "wow, look at that lens, I bet you get some great shots with that".

There's nothing better than the resulting dramatic storm clouds from bad weather to add drama to a wide-angle image of a bird in it's environment, and I love being out in the rain or snow to increase my chances of creating  artistic images. The problem during a recent trip to Latrabjarg in Iceland was that the better part of the first half of the trip was plagued with very heavy rain and a featureless, dark and less than pleasing sky. I first visualized this image shortly after arriving, so I was ready the moment the clouds started to lift, and become more appealing. Pre-visualization and planning is key when conditions are likely to change.

TIP:

Think wide, think different and think environment. The lens of choice among bird photographers is the 500mm F4, but don't limit yourself to close-up "bird on a stick" images. The lens you choose is probably the single most important decision you make while trying to create unique images. While out in the field, I strive to capture compelling, artistic images of birds, often including the environment that my subject lives in and the weather they often endure. Try to step back and visualize unique, wide images that give a sense of place to your subject. I love being out in foul weather, and stormy clouds certainly add emotion to wide-angle captures. Some of my favorite bird images were made with the Canon 17-40mm F4 and the 16-35mm F2.8 Lenses.

To learn about my Deluxe Puffins Galore Photo Tour, CLICK HERE.