Digital cameras go wild

Still shooting chickadees, loons, moose and northern lights with a clunky old 35 mm camera, the kind that uses up countless rolls of film? Afraid a digital camera wouldn't ever be able to capture the detail and color that you work so hard to get?

You're not alone. But at least one respected professional wildlife photographer said he long ago decided to toss those traditional cameras into a drawer and step into the future.

"How many of you have a 35 mm at home with film you started … some time?" Wasilla photographer Doug Lloyd asked members of the Mat-Su Birders wild bird club during a presentation and slide show last week. A few people in the audience laughed and nodded their heads.

"And how many of those pictures are normally worth a diddle-damn?" he asked, and people laughed again and called out "One. Maybe two."

This is where a digital camera can become invaluable, Lloyd argued. With ever-improving technology, a photographer can determine whether a photo is worth keeping without ever bringing it home or printing it. Lloyd said his wife, fellow photographer Ruth Ann, used to go through roll after roll of film, often shooting the same exact scene twice. The cost and time involved with processing these rolls is daunting, but now Lloyd said his wife will shoot hundreds of photos on one excursion without ever having to invest the time and money on shots that aren't worth keeping.

"You shoot, download and in 30 or 40 seconds the pictures are up," Lloyd told the crowd. "Then it's, 'Oh, yuck … click, gone … click, gone …' and you save maybe three or four."

But can digital cameras really capture the same quality images as a traditional camera? More and more, according to Lloyd, and certainly if you are willing to spend the money up front. He said for around $700 or $800, a photographer can purchase a digital camera that will be able to produce photographs that most people could never distinguish from a 35 mm shot. Printing out 8-inch-by-10-inch prints becomes an easy, at-home project, and with the right computer programs photographers can easily adjust lighting and other aspects of the shot.

Lloyd said he recently printed a 24-inch-by-19-inch print of a moose using the original image he shot with his digital.

"I could not do that with a 35 mm," he said, explaining that he would have had to take it to a professional studio to have it printed.

To prove his point about the growing quality of digital images, Lloyd included a slide show in his presentation. Crystal clear photographs of sparring bull moose, shimmering northern lights and snow-capped mountains flashed across the screen. In a few, Lloyd demonstrated the abilities to capture details with a digital camera with close-ups of birds. In one, the individual iridescent feathers on the head of a drake mallard glinted in the sunlight. In another, a gull was caught in crisp mid-flight.

Also at the presentation in the community room of the Palmer Public Library, the Lloyds brought an impressive display of their digital cameras and accessories. People inspected them and asked questions, including how much all of this would cost. Thousands of dollars, Lloyd admitted, but added that it can all be done for cheaper while still getting quality images. The Lloyds have opted mainly for Sony equipment, but he listed Canons, Nikons and Kodaks as among the other manufacturers to consider.

Part of the fun also seems to be enjoying the expanding opportunities that technology offers. Lloyd described digital cameras that, with the assistance of adaptors, can be hooked to long-range spotting scopes that allow photographers to capture images from 100 or more yards away.

All this high-tech equipment doesn't take the hard work out of wildlife photography though, Lloyd emphasized. He said he still spends hours dressed in camouflage waiting for the perfect moment to capture the images of certain birds.

"You still have to get to where the birds are," he said.