968 replies to this topic

[raptrlvr]

We got a fresh light blanket of snow last night which seemed to drive the birds away. Pretty windy so I went to the lake with the camera. Didn't see much, but, I got these shots of birds in flight. I was using the Nikon 300mm 2.8 with a Kenko converter. That lens weighs about 5 and 1/2 to 6 lbs by itself making it pretty difficult to handhold it and try to follow the flight and get a focus lock on the birds. Still its fun just to be out there. Not sure of what type of swallow this is. I think it might be a violet green.

Swallow   1/1250 f4 ISO 100

Great Blue Heron   1/2000 f4 ISO 100

Turkey vulture   1/200 f7.1 ISO 100 

 

[Possumbird55]

Great pics, raptrlvr!  I think you may be right about the violet-green Swallow.

[Corbett]

Nice photos, and yes, it is a violet green swallow.

[raptrlvr]

Thanks. I was trying to sneak up on the great blue heron, but, a guy and his dog got there before I did and it started flying right into the sun.

[lyceel]

How the heck did you track that swallow with that giant lens?  I had trouble with my comparatively tiny f/5.6 zoom, and I had a whole swarm to pick from.  Nice work!

I tried to sneak up on a Great Blue once.  The odds were with me, he was facing directly away from me, and it was very windy, which helped with noise.  This is as close as I got, though.  Two more steps and he turned around, spotted me, and was gone.

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[Photgog]

These are nice shots rapterlover... I guess that is what the abbreviation is for... Big lens... subject in motion.. there is no time to adjust. 

On my shots I am lucky to get the critical focus right on about one of 20.   I'm never sure if it was me or the camera... probably me.

Fraser 

[Rarepony]

I'm so jealous! (lol). I get so excited when I try to get a flight shot that I either miss it or its blurry. I manage a decent shot 1 out of about 200! Seriously!

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[raptrlvr]

The picture of the swallow in flight was the best one out of about 40 shots. I was trying to see if it made a difference in shutter speed if I shot in raw or in jpeg fine. The only thing I forgot to do was actually make the change in the program to put the camera in jpeg fine,so, I ended up shooting in raw. I'll have to try it again. I love trying to follow the fast moving swallows although, I have never taken a really decent picture of them in flight. Practice makes perfect one of these days.

[Photgog]

My statement of one in 20... is perhaps my dream...

I love "birds in flight" shots... but alas the really good ones are rare.

I post a shot of a swallow that I took in Kansas... I think.  With age, memories fade and ... well ... Who could remember exactly where you were,  when making a road trip across country, last year.

I remember that I started from Arizona and ended in Duluth.  I remember that I was behind a Walmart.  Beyond that is speculation.

Fraser

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[lyceel]

Hey, is this turning into another theme thread?  I've got a few!

Here are three pair of Blue-Winged Teal.  This was a one-off shot that somehow turned out pretty good.

 

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[Nancy]

 

Wow,

lyceel,  that almost looks like one of those 3-D illusions where you kind of cross your eyes to see the 3-D image pop out!   Great photo!

Everybody's photos are great!

Thanks for sharing!

Nancy

[Photgog]

You say "pretty good"... I'd say Terrific.  in focus... action... the light from the right side.  These are rare... at least for me.

Fraser

[lyceel]

I spotted this guy landing in the reeds just up ahead of me.  I figured he would pop up again as I walked down the trail a bit farther (that's just what Great Blue Herons do).  Sure enough, as soon as I got fairly close to him, up he came and I was ready for him.  You can still see the water from the marsh dripping off his feet.

This is a full-frame shot (no crop), and no sharpening.  I had my EV a bit low on the original photo, so I did alter the exposure a bit.

EDIT:  Changed my mind, I think a small crop looks better...

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[lyceel]

OK, one more, and then it's someone else's turn

I kind of like the lighting in this one.  It's almost like a spotlight on his head.  Osprey are one of my favorites.

 

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[birdseye]

Lyceel... amazing shot of the group of ducks flying...what did you set your camera at on this shot? i have chances for shots like this daily, and i never get it right...love to see photos like this, look just like what they looked like in the field. great job.

[lyceel]

birdseye:

Lyceel... amazing shot of the group of ducks flying...what did you set your camera at on this shot? i have chances for shots like this daily, and i never get it right...love to see photos like this, look just like what they looked like in the field. great job.

Thanks for the compliments, everyone.  Here's the data:

Nikon D300, 70-300mm AF-S VR, f/8, 1/640", Aperture priority at -0.67 EV, matrix metering.  Focal length was 300mm.  If I remember correctly, I quickly switched to 51-point AF mode just as the ducks went airborne, and trusted the camera to get them in focus for me.  It didn't let me down this time 

Picture was shot in JPEG Fine, cropped from 12 Mpx to 2250x1600, subtle sharpen applied, and I slightly warmed up the color balance (had the camera on Auto WB, which tends to go a bit cool for my taste).  Finally, it was rescaled for posting.

[birdseye]

wow, my camera only has a 7 point AF.. well i am leaving right now to go to the lake..about a mile away.. i will use your info as a reference point.. I know no 2 times and situations are identical, but this is a good starting point... thanks

[thekiwi]

birdseye:

wow, my camera only has a 7 point AF.. well i am leaving right now to go to the lake..about a mile away.. i will use your info as a reference point.. I know no 2 times and situations are identical, but this is a good starting point... thanks

birdseye make sure you have the autofocus set to AI Servo that will give you continous focusing on moving objects such as flying ducks. and set to burst mode

[birdseye]

well, so much for that idea... did't get one good shot...only flying shot i got was a killdeer...i hate DSRs...just shows that ya gotta be smarter than the camera... anybody got an old brownie?

[thekiwi]

ok what are you doing birdseye

are you using an IS lens (if so make sure the IS is turned off or it will try and compensate for the panning motion) have you set the auto focus to AI Servo.

upload an image here and we may be able to help you

what do you have the metering set to ie if spot then focusing will have a harder time trying to keep up.