They do enjoy my cooking.
Set up a camera/tripod and manually focus on a spot where you previously poured bird seed. Then go for coffee and bring it with you when you return to the camera. As I found out, birds will, in time, show up. I don’t know how they know where to go, especially since I’m not really that good a cook. While they do leave with a smile, birds around the Camera Clubhouse are lousy tippers. For you camera setting people, here’s what I used: 200mm focal length, f13 @ 1/60, ISO 250, WB Flash, Camera exposure compensation -.3, Flash exposure compensation: -1 1/3.
It’s always good to brighten an outdoor scene with a bit of flash. The important thing to remember is to dial down the flash output so it’s not visible in the scene. I use an off-camera flash and always start at 1 1/3 stops Under-Exposure of the flash with a diffuser over the flash head. It’s a good starting point and that light level works at least 85% of the time. I can, and do, adjust the light as the scene warrants. Try it.
