A hobby is an activity or interest one pursues relaxation or pleasure. Sounds simple, doesn't it? However, picking up a hobby isn't so simple. Hobbies involve overcoming initial learning bumps, sometimes investing heavily on equipment, and worst – the complex of being unable to do well at it. Some hobbies aren't so daunting, and bird watching is one of them. Once you have the ball rolling, the interest in these feathered friends more than often leads to another related hobby – bird photography. In this post, I will share with you how I got introduced to these hobbies and what are the things that make them incredible choices for hobbies.
Bird Photography – Why I Picked Up This Hobby
Just take a look at this picture of the ‘Common Pochard’ trying to take off from a lake, and you’ ll understand.
I was introduced to the amazing world of Bird Photography in 2012 by a colleague of our organization. Initially, I was not very sure whether I would be able to continue with a hobby which demands so much of time and patience. However, after spending eight straight years with it, I consider myself fortunate that I picked up this one. I was introduced to the amazing world of Bird Photography in 2012 by a colleague of our organization.
In these eight years, I took uncountable local trips, 34 long-distance birding vacations in and outside India, and captured tens of thousands of bird photos, out of which 617 are unique species (the Indian subcontinent has recorded approximately 1347 odd bird species), including the migrants. I participated in three joint exhibitions, organized a solo exhibition at Kolkata, got my work published in prime newspapers and nature journals, and in 2019, West Bengal State Forest Department selected one of my bird-photos as their conservation poster. Pretty rewarding, isn’ t it?
It is, but there are lots of collateral benefits of being a “Birder” besides these rewards. I am trying to list them out one by one with some explanations from my side, making it more relevant to a frustrating COVID-19 pandemic situation.
Why bird photography – few positive stimuli:
1. Appreciation for Nature: Bird photography invokes a harmonious union with nature. It requires one to spend time in the great outdoors where he/she inhales fresh oxygen, soaks up vitamin D from the sun, and communicates with nature. The uniqueness of birds inspires a love of all nature, and spending time in nature is great for your health.
2. Strategy and Patience: This is not a hobby for those who want instant results and gratification. Bird photography requires patience. It takes a lot of planning and strategic initiatives to get familiarized with the types of birds and where they are found, then time to travel to that location, then hours of waiting to catch a glimpse of a bird. Plenty of situations in the real world call for us to be patient and bird photographers are psychologically way better equipped to cope with these circumstances. In a way, beyond birding, it is a great mental gymnasium for any entrepreneur.
3. Perfect Me-Time: Bird photography is a highly immersive hobby. Birders spend long bouts of time in the quiet of the great outdoors without the typical distractions. Bird photography is a great path to reflect on your life or to just zone out and sink into calming thoughts. Self-meditation can slow the decay of your brain’ s grey cells, which happens naturally as we cross 40.
4. Improving Reflexes and Alertness: Bird photographers have to be ready to seize the opportunity after long periods of inactivity. A bird can appear out of nowhere and a bird photographer should have the skill to catch that moment with the camera without losing any time. Sounds like grabbing a deal, eh? A bird can be here and gone in the blink of an eye. Bird photographers need their brains to operate on many different levels, (almost like a sniper shooter) to make sure they can pick up on any clues (e.g. movement, call, the activity of other birds, bouncing branch of a tree) and make sure that a bird might be nearby and to take a picture before a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is lost.
5. The Health of Heart: Bird watchers often trek long distances in search of birds. Many birds are nestled deep in nature and are inaccessible to most humans. Certain species live high up on cliffs and mountainsides, and you need to hike to get to see them. All of these activities will keep a birder in great physical shape.
6. Community and Networking: Although individual outings can be either solo-trips or undertaken with a small group, bird photographers have fostered a strong sense of community. Hobbyists take pleasure in discussing the details of their latest trip and find both in social media and in person. This common interest is great for social health and making and keeping lifelong friends. I have managed to get a few great employees and a couple of B2B partners from the birder’ s network!
7. Knowing New Places (Even Locally!): Travel is part and parcel of bird photography – but if that’ s not an option, there are many local bird watching opportunities as well in nearby jungles, wetlands, and even your neighbourhood! In general, fans of this hobby are adventurers extraordinaire. Knowing a new place, new people, and a few new birds can go hand in hand.
8. Acceptance: We want to control every aspect of our lives, but sometimes things do not go our way. This can be difficult to accept, but it is a crucial part of maturity to accept that things aren’ t always going to go our way. Bird photographers gradually accept this harsh truth, as even after planning a trip meticulously, bad weather or bad luck may spoil a day or two. Accepting that not every trip is going to result in the perfect picture is a part of the hobby, and the benefits of this can be transferred to other philosophies of life.
Investment in gears:
A decent investment will get you an entry-level APS-C DSLR body with a 300mm consumer-grade lens. That can be a good start. Once the involvement solidifies, you can invest in an enthusiast-level camera body with a 400/500 mm prime or zoom lens. You may also need a compact binocular and few field guides (books for identification of birds).