The ruffed grouse.

Grouse are peculiar birds. They are large, chicken like creatures which are resident species, meaning they do not migrate. I have seen a variety of grouse species, including dusky (previously known as blue), sharp-tailed, spruce, and prarie chicken. They all have similar habits, which are to stay motionless in the presence of a potential predator until flight is the only available means of retaining life. This habit has had the usual effect of wreaking havoc with my nerves, as a quiet moment in the forest is suddenly turned into an exposion of feathers a few steps from my position.

I enjoy walking in natural areas where there are oppotunities to witness beast and bird alike. Many times my travels will result in the placid experience that only nature can provide; free of excitement but surrounded by the peace of life. I bring my camera with me in the event that some amazing creature will share its existance with me. Although usually a fleeting moment, I may end up with a photograph that excites me.

This was the way it happened while strolling along a solitary forest path one day. Absolute silence followed by a heart pounding burst from somewhere beside me. Two ruffed grouse birds bolted into the air, one disappearing into thick vegetation behind me while the other flew twenty feet or so away and landed on an inviting branch. I pulled out my camera and, while standing as motionless as I could, photographed the subject using a variety of camera settings. I generally have my camera's exposure mode set to manual and dial in reasonable aperture and shutter speed settings before such an encounter, but may have to tweak those values a bit. I like to get a few shots off before making any changes, which results in images that may not be quite properly exposed. Since the grouse was still present I could alter my settings (only mildly) and get a few more shots.

I use manual exposure mode to shoot for the light at the moment. This is especially true with birds as they are often backlit and would be harsly underexposed if an auto mode was employed. For me, manual exposure mode seems to be the best choice. I usually set my aperture to its minimum value (certainly with long lenses) and adjust the shutter speed as necessary. If the speed is too low or faster than I need, I will alter ISO accordingly.

Overall I took about 20 shots of the ruffed grouse. The cloudy day and shaded woods required an ISO of 1000. This gave me a shutter speed of 1/125 and an aperture of f/6.3 (wide open at 600 mm focal length). The cropped sensor camera I used gave me a relative focal length of 900 mm; I could fill the frame easily with the bird. The shuttter speed of 1/125 would be low if it was moving, but because it was relatively still I obtained clear images. The lens' built in vibration correction technology ensured 3 to 4 stops of improved shake reduction. I could have possibly used 1/60th of a second, but that would likely have resulted in some blur.

Thanks for reading. www.ericspix.com Eric Svendsen

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