Assuming the world hasn't ended with the birth of the new millennium, this month we will discuss the use of electronic flash (as opposed to magnesium powder or bulbs) in bird photography. It is often very helpful in situations where the light is very low or where you have strong shadows cast upon your subject. It seems rather obvious to use flash when there is little ambient light, but one of biggest advantages of flash can come during the middle of a sunlit day. During this time the sun will be high overhead and will cast strong shadows on your subject. The shadows can be from branches or just due to the angle of striking the bird. The shadows can ruin a photo by obscuring the eye, or simply from the high contrast created. The contrast is particularly a problem with slide films as they are only capable of recording a limited range of contrast. (See tips # 4) Flash helps us here by "filling" or lighting up the shadows thereby reducing the contrast to a level that can be recorded. Another advantage of flash is that it will often give the colors a little "pop", that they might be lacking due to dull lighting.

As we know, the shutter speed and aperture determine our exposure at any given time. Since the flash is of short duration, say in the area of 1/10,000 second (varies on the flash and output) the camera shutter speed does not affect the flash. The aperture however, does influence the flash and will determine the maximum distance it can operate over.

The "look" of using a flash however, may not be something that you like. In cases where the ambient light is very low, your photos may look like you used a flashlight at midnight! For example, compare the two photographs of a Red-bellied Woodpecker. One demonstrates a "balance" of flash and ambient light, the second, a situation where the flash provides most of the light. To decrease the "flashlight" effect it is necessary to decrease the contribution of the flash to the exposure. (Note that in cases of very low ambient you MUST use the flash as the primary light) Depending upon your camera and flash it can be downright easy or time consuming to do this. Higher end flashes or those with a lot of features often have "exposure compensation" functions built into the flash itself. In addition some cameras offer automatic "fill flash" that you can try.

Before dealing with the mechanics of how to do this, we will first discuss how much compensation to try. Generally, most of the compensation we use is - 1 to -1 2/3 stops. When the lighting is even on the subject, use - 1 2/3. In situations such as strong sidelighting, or in overhead light with strong shadows, try - 1 stops. Once again, experimentation is necessary to determine what effect you prefer and what works best with your camera system.

Now the tricky part! The actual mechanics of this may be as easy as selecting this function on your flash. Check your camera and flash manuals and see if your flash/camera support this. If so, simply dial in the compensation you want, and the camera will do the rest. If not, there is still a way to do it, although somewhat labor intensive. First, set your camera on manual exposure. This is the mode where you have to manually select the appropriate shutter and aperture. This usually entails selecting some combination that balances a needle or bar graph. Once this is done, manually set the ISO on the camera to one stop FASTER than the film you are using. This will trick your flash into thinking you are using a faster film. Therefore, the flash will UNDEREXPOSE by one stop. For example say that you are using ISO 100 film and you manually set the exposure to 1/125 second at f11. Reset the ISO to 200. (The camera will now say that your are OVERexposing by one stop) Take the picture. Now because you set the exposure manually, you will expose correctly for ISO 100 film, BUT because the camera thought the film was faster, it will shut the flash off sooner. (Delivering one stop less light than if you had left the ISO setting alone.) Obviously, this is not a method that will "work on the fly." This method, while effective, is time consuming and best suited for setups. (see tips # 1)

One final note concerns the effect of flash on your subject. Birds will react to flash in varying degrees. Most will become accustomed to it after the first few flashes. If your subject flees or reacts negatively, it is best to avoid the use of flash on these individuals.

In summary, the judicious use of flash can add life to a photograph by adding an eye catchlight, enhancing color saturation and reducing contrast in harsh lighting situations.

You must however, be careful of light toned objects such as sticks, as the flash will overexpose them and create distractions. (See tips # 6) Next month we will re-visit special lighting situations with a discussion on backlighting.

In situations where your subject is completely backlit, in order to expose your subject correctly(without flash), you will overexpose the background. Use of flash here fills the dark side of the subject and a well-balanced photograph results. (Unless a silhouette is your desired effect...and that is another story for a tips article) Photo by John Reaume, Nikon F4, and 500mmF4, fill flash.

In comparing the two photographs of the Red-bellied Woodpeckers, note that whenever you use a flash, there are TWO light sources that expose the image. The first is the ambient light, which is determined by the existing lighting conditions. (Sun, cloud, etc) The flash determines the second. How much each contributes to the final exposure determines the "look" of the photograph. In the first photograph, the two sources are "balanced", and contribute approximately equally to the exposure. In the second, (shot in dim light) the ambient contributes little to the exposure, thus the photograph has the appearance of been taken with a flashlight at night. In future articles we will discuss flash in greater detail. Photo by Scott Fairbairn, 500mm, 1.4x teleconverter.

In the ovenbird photograph, the flash once again provides most of the light, but because there is not a dark shadow cast behind it, the effect is less pronounced than with the second Red-bellied woodpecker photo. Photo by Scott Fairbairn, 500mm, 1.4x teleconverter.