Bird photo comp - shortlisted entries

[Archer Callaway via Canberrabirds <>]

(Mark feel free to delete)

David, expensive equipment can go some way towards compensating for lack of talent or allowing you to fully express your vision, but patience, experimentation, and an eye for composition and lighting go a long way towards making photos taken with cheaper gear stand out amongst those taken with the latest flashy and expensive kit. Ideally, one would have both the perfect equipment and skill, but that is not always possible, nor necessary. 

In fact, the majority of my favourite bird photographers are younger folk, many of whom are keen to upgrade their equipment but cannot, and instead direct their focus on perfecting their craft. You may not have much exposure to their work given your use of Flickr, as opposed to Instagram which tends to be their preferred platform, but I can help point you in the right direction to a selection of our favourites. While the below list still represents a wide range of setups, some considerably more expensive than others, what you'll see is that they have all developed their own style that sets themselves apart from the crowd - they aren't just another bird photographer.

Charlie Sonnemann (18yo) https://www.instagram.com/charlie.sonn/

Indra Bone (19yo) https://www.instagram.com/indrabonephotography/

Byron Hakanson (17yo) https://www.instagram.com/byron_hakanson/

Ronan Mann (16yo) https://www.instagram.com/ronanmphotography/

Caleb Hoover (16yo) https://www.instagram.com/calebg.hoover/

Caleb Robins (15yo) https://www.instagram.com/calebrobinswildlife/

and of course, Lach https://www.instagram.com/lachlan.read/

I am not much of a photographer myself, but I too have won a category of a World Wetlands Day photo comp previously - with my bridge camera that was $450 new.

 

You frequently comment on other's photos on Facebook regarding their equipment choices 'if only you'd captured it in 4K video with an external mic', 'you should get a camera with x sensor' and so on. The same narrative repeated over and over is getting tiring. Perhaps it is time to accept that you can't blame equipment whenever you see great photos, or whenever something of your own doesn't turn out how you would've liked? Good equipment is a privilege, and will never be something that everyone has equal access to, so it is unhealthy to be fixated on this. However, developing your skills is open to everyone, and that is where the focus and the celebration should lie.

Archer

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From: Canberrabirds <> on behalf of Rory Read via Canberrabirds <>
Sent: Monday, 18 October 2021, 5:16 pm
To: David Rees
Cc:
Subject: Re: [Canberrabirds] Bird photo comp - shortlisted entries

I can tell you that because I know some of the shortlisted photographers, and many other wildlife photographers. 

I think it's likely that a fair proportion of the more expensive lenses used were purchased second hand too, as is standard. How about we focus on congratulating the individuals that were shortlisted rather than obsessing over the fact that *some* of them paid more than 20k for their gear. 

On Sun, 17 Oct 2021 at 22:31, David Rees <> wrote:

Yes, I am more than aware that it is time on the job that makes the difference. I certainly do not use gear that costs 20K nor can I afford it. The question remains, how do you know that the individuals have bought the gear secondhand, or is it the more likely case that it is the gear said individuals have used for a very long time and have got very good with it.  Camera bodies are one thing, they change over frequently, glassware much less so. as we know, camera bodies are the cheap bit, and therefore much less than half the story. 

David

On 17/10/2021 7:26 pm, Rory Read wrote:

David

Some of the shortlisted images were taken with gear that cannot be purchased new in 2021, such as the Canon 5diii, Canon 450d (released in 2008 and can be purchased for $150), Nikon d800, et cetera. It is not disingenuous to use secondhand prices in this discussion because many of the options don't have a new price, and much of the gear used will have been purchased secondhand.

Many of the images shortlisted were taken with gear that would cost you much less that 20k to purchase new. The competition is very accessible and skill and time invested are far bigger factors than gear price.

Lachlan

On Sat, 16 Oct 2021 at 17:11, David Rees via Canberrabirds <> wrote:

Bit disingenuous that, For fair comparison I have used new prices, yes, sure you can buy second hand gear, you can buy second hand gear at any price level, a $1000 camera for $350 sort of thing.  My comment still applies as a rational standard of value. 

David

On 16/10/2021 1:58 pm, Con wrote:

Martin

IMO, $20k is not necessary. Most of the shortlisted Birdlife images could have been captured by second hand equipment costing less than two thirds of new. Quite a few cameras/lens combos get purchased and then spend most of their lives in a cupboard. The very latest bells and whistles might lead to a higher success rate per capture, and might confer some advantage in specific conditions (say birds in flight, or rainforest birds in dull light), but most of the Birdlife images could well have been captured with equipment with a market value of well less than $10,000. I know several of the photographers who are shortlisted and the main answers to their success are time in the field at all hours of the day and night, becoming adept at post processing, and seeking constant improvement.

kind regards

Con

On 10/16/2021 1:35 PM, Martin Butterfield via Canberrabirds wrote:

I think at the first COG Meeting  I attended - mid 1983 - Graeme Chapman presented hints on taking bird photos, illustrated with some of his best images.  From memory the cost of the kit he put up was something tripod $1000, camera body $3000 and telephoto lens $3000.  Allowing for inflation (about 3.5 x ) that would cost $25,000 these days.  So $20k is good value!

Martin Butterfield

http://franmart.blogspot.com.au/

https://mallacootaweatherwildlife.blogspot.com/

On Sat, 16 Oct 2021 at 11:02, David Rees via Canberrabirds <> wrote:

Thanks for that, some glorious images, however from inspection,  most of them needed about $20K plus worth of gear to take. 

On 15/10/2021 7:00 pm, tlawson wrote:

https://www.birdlifephotoaward.org.au/gallery-shortlist-2021

 

The winners of each category, and the portfolio winner, will be announced in early November. Watch this space and good luck to all shortlisted entrants

 

 

Sent from Mail for Windows

 

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