new BIF technique and quick stop to SJWS

jeff lapoint

i've been having a heck of a time trying to get those darn terns in flight. i had been trying to shoot them with my 400 attached to a monopod (with mostly shotty results). last weekend i got fed up with the monopod and decided to hand-hold the camera, use AI servo, and track the little buggers like i was using a shotgun. i'm sure this is old news to 99.99999% of photographers, but it is something i was never told/taught to do and i thought i'd share.







and an egret for good measure (and to make the egret haters do a little )



on thurs i was able to sneak out of work a bit early and the DW and i decided to check out the san joaquin wildlife sanctuary in irvine. unfortunately, the better half left the map at home and we ended in a remote part of the santuary (read: long hike). it was nice just to be outside! i was lucky enough to run into a few critters...


this hawk landed right next to me...to bad i couldnt get the shutter speed higher

had to switch to the 200 2.8 for more light and found some babies being fed





soft and alittle noisey...but i know where they are for next time and maybe you can all follow any improvement with me!

thanks for looking and for making it through the entire post

-j

Prezwoodz

Looks great. The one with the baby feeding looks like the baby is bigger than the parent!

The bird shots look very sharp. Good job with the handheld!

Ann McRae

Hi Jeff

The diving tern is superb. All of the tern shots seem a tad dark to me, and the 'perfect' animal shot has some catchlight to the eye - it is sooooo hard to do! Otherwise, they are really good. Love the feeding swallows.

ann

jeff lapoint

Ann McRae wrote:

Hi Jeff

The diving tern is superb. All of the tern shots seem a tad dark to me, and the 'perfect' animal shot has some catchlight to the eye - it is sooooo hard to do! Otherwise, they are really good. Love the feeding swallows.

ann

thanks ann!

i think i may have been shooting egrets at the time and left the -EV on to avoid blowing out the highlights. now that you mention, it they do look a tad dark to me as well. i fear it will take a few thousand more shots to get the eyes properly...i can barely see their eyes when they stand right in front of me! thanks for stopping by and i very much appreciate the comments.

-j

bfjr

they look just great on my Mac monitor
way to go DocJeff
teach when we see each other again
let's plan a trip to this new wildlife joint

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