Capturing Canberra's Cockatoos with Your Phone

Canberrans don't have to travel far or carry bulky gear to photograph wildlife. The ACT's suburbs and reserves are home to sulphur-crested cockatoos, kookaburras and other birds that happily coexist with humans. With a little patience, a modern smartphone can capture them beautifully.

I took the photograph above on an iPhone at its 4× optical zoom setting, which corresponds to a 100 mm telephoto lens, a focal length long favoured for portraits and wildlife. The general rule with any phone is to stay within its optical zoom range. Digital zoom is just cropping into the sensor, so the further you push it, the softer and noisier the image becomes. Different phones have different lens setups, so it's worth checking your camera settings; many let you switch digital zoom off altogether. If your phone only goes to 2× or 3×, move a little closer while keeping a respectful distance.

The cockatoo was feeding in a wattle tree right next to the pavement in a suburban park. The tree wasn't tall, and the bird was perched just slightly above my head, so 100 mm was plenty. With cockatoos, your ears usually find them before your eyes do. Their calls carry a long way, and once you've heard one it doesn't take long to work out which tree it's in. I kept the sun behind me and waited for the bird to look up. Combined with Portrait mode, the telephoto lens blurred the background foliage for pleasing separation.

A small fun fact: adult males have very dark, almost black eyes, while females have a reddish-brown iris. The difference is real, but it only shows up at close range and in good light, so don't worry if you can't tell from your photo.

Composition: the rule of thirds

A common mistake, and not only when photographing animals, is to place the subject dead in the centre of the frame. Centred compositions can work, but they rely on strong symmetry, a topic for another day. The rule of thirds divides the picture into nine rectangles using two horizontal and two vertical gridlines. Placing your subject on one of the four intersection points adds balance and dynamism. On an iPhone, enable the grid in Settings → Camera → Grid. In my photo I positioned the bird's eye near the upper left intersection.

Ethical tips

• Be patient. Move slowly so birds don't feel threatened.
• Keep your distance. Use the telephoto rather than crowding.
• Respect habitat. Stay on paths and never trim branches.
• Don't feed wildlife. Human food can harm birds.

Canberra's wildlife offers endless opportunities, and the best camera is the one in your pocket.