2026-03 Front Page

Seeing Without Being Seen: A Low Impact Approach to Bird Photography

Seeing Without Being Seen: A Low Impact Approach to Bird Photography

As a bird photographer, I’m often asked how I manage to capture such close, intimate portraits of birds that are naturally wary of people. A fellow birder recently encouraged me to share my process, because while viewers see the final image — a sharp eye, a relaxed posture, a bird going about its day — what they don’t see is the quiet, careful setup behind the scenes.

True Royalty

True Royalty

It was the bewitching hour. The hour before dark, when the Empress-Sun lights the sky, outlining each puff, strand, and wave of clouds with her lavender, silver, and yellow highlighters. Each night, she sets the stage and calls in her subjects to see her fall. She had called me to watch her cross the crimson horizon, to see past the earth into the cosmos, to know that our world is just a finite piece of infinity.