I am not the typical nature/wildlife photographer. Often when I am out shooting I am also walking my dog, Whisper. Since I keep him on a leash at all times my left hand is completely occupied. As a result of this self-imposed handicap I am forced to shoot using only one hand. Not only is shooting a bit tricky (I am completely dependent on my camera’s auto-focus and image stabilization features) but the very idea of trying to change lenses or set up and use a tripod are not options. Whisper’s other contribution to keeping my outings productive is that we do not spend much time in any one place as he is always in a hurry.
What this all means is that as I prepare for an outing I have to commit to a camera and lens combination before we even set out. This selection process is heavily influenced by my mood and certain expectations I may have about what I expect to focus on that day. In warmer seasons I certainly want to try for birds especially hawks, osprey and owls. Cooler weather makes me look for more scenic (slow moving) subjects. Unfortunately for my birding efforts, when I am shooting one-handed I am limited to lens choices of 200mm or less. I do have longer more suitable choices but they are way too heavy and awkward for only one hand.
With the gear decided on the next thing to do is settle on camera settings. This is done at the start of the walk. Standard settings include center-weighted light metering, auto ISO and single point centered auto-focus. I almost always set exposure compensation for +2/3 though, since I am usually shooting in Raw format, this is probably not truly necessary.
For shooting birds, whether perched or in-flight, I prefer to set the camera to Aperture priority and select an f-stop one down from the widest available on the lens in use. This setup allows the camera to select the fastest shutter speed possible so that captured detail is very sharp.
When I am going for the more scenic subject I switch the camera to Shutter priority mode. This allows me to select a slower shutter speed and the camera to choose a much smaller aperture (larger f number) to give me the depth of field I need. If I should be looking for a shallower depth all I have to do is increase the shutter speed.
Thus our walk begins. The only setting changes I need make along the way are to adjust focal length on zoom lenses and to switch between Aperture and Shutter priority as needed. We walk along and I take pictures while Whisper leaves his marks.
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My dog Whisper on one of his rarer unleashed moments.