Welcome to the All About Birds photography site. We hope you'll take a moment to enjoy the beautiful photos in our featured photographer gallery. We also hope you'll consider sharing some of your images.

If you'd like to learn more about bird photography, check out the tips from experts about choosing gear and trying new techniques.

Share Your Images 

Sharing your images with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology supports our educational and conservation programs. You may be considered as our monthly featured photographer or your images may be used on our web sites or printed publications. To contribute, read our guidelines.

Featured Photographer

Each month, the All About Birds web site features the work of an amateur or professional photographer.

September featured photographer: Neil Losin

You can request to be our featured photographer. Selected photographers will have their work featured in this section of the web site.  If you would like to be considered as our featured photographer please send an email to the editor.

Learn More

Mastering the Art--Essays from the Experts

Developing an Artist's Eye, by Tim Gallagher
Learn the elements of effective picture composition and the quality of your bird photographs will soar

Give Your Bird Photos Soul, by Marie Read
Creating bird images that stand out from the crowd

Photographing Beach Birds, by Tim Gallagher
Tips on photographing birds at the seashore

Blending into the Background, by Tim Gallagher
Hints on hiding yourself from birds

White Birds . . . Exposed, by Bobby Harrison
A simple formula for taking perfectly exposed pictures of the most challenging bird subjects

With a Wing and a Prayer, by Bobby Harrison
Mastering the art of photographing flying birds

Birds in Flight, by Steve Wolfe
The low-cost, red-dot approach to photographing birds on the wing

Film vs. Digital

Film or Digital--Which is best for you? by Bill Horn

Selecting Equipment

Personal preferrance and budget play a large role in the selection of a camera and telephoto lens. Canon and Nikon are the most popular with professionals, but other less expensive cameras and lenses can also produce images of excellent quality.

The information that follows was provided by two photographers who spend a lot of time taking photographs. They are both very familiar with the equipment they have elected to use and their different perspectives may be of interest if you are considering the purchase of a new camera or lens.

Canon Cameras and Lenses, by Arthur Morris
Detailed information about Canon camera bodies and lenses.

Nikon D70 and Sigma Lens, by Cindy Creighton
Cindy is a recent Featured Photographer and might be best described as a semi-pro. She works with a Nikon D70 and a Sigma 170-500 mm lens. Although not inexpensive at about $2,000 for the two, the combination is well under the cost of the top-of-the-line Canon products described by Arthur Morris.

Tripods and Window Mounts
As described in the All About Birds digiscoping section, a quality tripod is critical when utilizing high magnification telephoto lenses.

Responsible Bird Photography

Good photographers respect the rights of others, and the birds they photograph.

Digiscoping

Visit the All About Birds digiscoping section for information about gear, techniques, and more.