American Redstart
captured by D5 / 800f5.6 AFS
You’ve heard me say it many times, backgrounds are everything. In wildlife photography, we should be aware of that background for its pluses and minuses. The background is the stage we create to show off the star, our subject, and use the background to tell its story. That’s a real challenge and a lot to ask from something, show off something and not get in its way in the process. It’s one reason why wildlife photography is so challenging because we can’t control the subject to put it in front of the best background when we want it. This whole issue intensifies when we narrow our subject down to birds. This is when you start hearing, darn that twig!
Northern Parula
captured by D5 / 800f5.6 AFS
Just like all wildlife photographers, I run into this same issue. When I started out 40yrs ago the only option was to get it right in the camera. I still rise to that same level of perfection which is why I shoot with the D5 / 800f5.6 AFS. Optics to control the background. That was the solution I found I liked best and still like best for controlling the background. The 800mm and its very narrow angle of view, especially when you add its 1.25x teleconverter and you go out to 1000mm. But guess what at times, I still say, darn that twig.
Pronthonotary Warbler
captured by D5 / 800f5.6 AFS
I’ve put up four photos here that show those times when you might say, darn that twig. So after you get that long lens to control the background and your start understanding that even with that long lens, there are times you’re still going to say, “darn that twig,” you gotta ask yourself, “what’s wrong with that twig anyways?” Seriously, who made the rule that you can’t have a twig(s) in the background? Isn’t that twig part of the subject’s world and if you’re telling the subject’s story, is not having that twig changing its story? Yes, I have made some bad jokes when I see a photo with a twig “skewing” a bird because in that case, the twig is simply not helping the storytelling. But there is a happy medium which is why I posted these four images when it comes to twigs in the background. So what I’m suggesting is that you don’t freak out about twigs, don’t feel you need to resort to Photoshop or peer pressure to remove it, and use it instead to tell your story. Because you might then say in an enthusiastic voice, darn that twig!
Sharp-tailed Grouse
captured by D5 / 800f5.6 AFS