The first time I photographed a piping plover was while I was sitting on Mile Beach at Reid State Park in Georgetown photographing two surfers. All of a sudden I became aware of movement slightly behind me and there it was.
It was charging at me. Then backing away. It may have been doing some of the injured bird routine while backing up, but no feigning injury while charging at me. I was so interested in watching the behavior that I almost forgot that my Canon was hanging around my neck.
Credit: Courtesy of Dave Small
My camera has a focus grid. It allows me to manually select a predetermined area to set the focus, like left, right, center, and many areas in between. I have most of my settings preset to allow the best capture based on being able to quickly get the exposure.
Occasionally settings get changed simply by handling the camera. I normally have my focus selection on center. That allows me to aim my shot through branches and hone in on eyes, head and small objects.
In the excitement of having the opportunity to photograph my first ever piping plover, my camera would not focus on the bird. And I couldn’t remember where the adjustment was on the camera. I had to focus to the right, trying to keep the plover in the viewfinder.
Credit: Courtesy of Dave Small
A few clicks were successful. But, the end of the plover’s theatrics were done and the little bird disappeared into the grass. Lesson learned.
Watch more:
