25 Adorable Examples of Avian Photography by Alfred Forns

Alfred Forns is a professional photographer based in Florida, United States. He has a passionate interest in nature photography especially birds, winning multiple photography awards with his images. Besides this, he is a member and mentor of the Photographic Society of America sharing this avian passion with his wife Fabiola Forns. Together they conduct inspiring workshops at Avianscapes Photography.

We are happy to invite you to check the interview and the splendid set of bird pictures below.

Tell us about something about Alfred Forns Photography? I started photographing at an early age by talking my parents into letting me use the Leica 111f they just bought. Not an easy thing to do when you are ten years old. I only had two lenses, a fifty mm, ninety mm and no meter. It took me a while, but slowly started learning on my own, with occasional help form adults. Most of my subjects were people and landscapes. By high school, I started doing some sports but it was difficult with the rangefinder camera and I did not own an SLR until I got a Nikon F in college. At that time, I was intorduced to the darkroom and kept working at it until the digital age. I do miss that type work.

Other than people/modeling, I've done most types of photography, with underwater and birds taking the majority of the time and effort. Currently, my attention is toward birds and wildlife.

What’s your creative process like? I like my images to be a different and have a mood of their own. I am not content with record images, always trying to visualize the results. Also, I like doing unconventional images by using a slow shutter speed for blurs, both pan and motion. Images with light other than over your shoulder are challenging and can produce stunning results, always looking for alternatives.

Where do you find inspiration and why you like photography? I don't have to look far for inspiration, just need to look at the work my wife is doing. We seem to thrive on each other and makes us push the limits to become better photographers. I like the entire process of photography, it is more than pressing the shutter. You have to plan for time, logistics, equipment, weather, plan B etc It becomes a way of life.

What are some tips you could give to people that really like your work? Shoot as often as you can and make every image count. Do not get used to firing image after image hoping that one will turn out perfect. You strive to make every image perfect by using the proper technical settings and your best visualization for composition.

Can you name some photographers that inspires you with their works and why? My first goes way back and please don't laugh. Henry Cartier-Bresson. He was considered the father of modern photojournalism and one of the first to adopt 35mm format. It was taylor made for his candid street photography. Shifting gears and going many years ahead I will have to go next with John Shaw. He is a master in every aspect of photography. First, I became interested in his clean looking images, then was drawn to the technical side of his work. He is a friend and still admire his work as much as I did at the start.

Maybe you want to say something like next project/book and can't fit it any of these questions. My wife and I are always involved in writing articles, planing trips and dreaming of places we would like to go. We just finish work in St Paul Island, Alaska and will be going back early next year to work on eagles.

We asked Axel Hildebrandt, a great photographer and a close friend of Alfred to help us also with additional questions for this interview. Here are his inputs:

Can you briefly discuss challenges and rewards of wildlife photography? Capturing the moment is the challenge and reward. Not all outings are as successful as I would like but do learn from all and will be better prepared for the next. Perseverance and patience is the key.

What Photoshop plugins are you using to improve the creative process? I use the Nik filters particularly the Color Efex Pro 3.0 Anything you can do with these filters you could do with PS but they save so much time, are so easy and the results speak for themselves. For people not familiar, their website has a number of tutorials which are very detailed, helpful and easy to follow.

***

Thank you very much Mr.  Alfred Forns for this great interview and for the thrilling set of bird pictures.  It's an honor for us to feature the Forns family with such a beautiful portfolio and knowledge to the lovers of art. We would like to keep a close connection with you, and whenever you will have a new project we are here to add visibility to it. Good luck and a big appreciation for this fantastic work we did together.