first attempt at birds in flight

pmaxwell

I'm really starting to get into wildlife photography. I am realizing that landscapes and people are MUCH more cooperative subject. My wife gave me on a photo safari for Xmas, and yesterday was the day to take pictures of bald eagles in Havre De Grace, MD.

I found birds in flight to be difficult to acquire and track (hand held) with longer glass but given enough opportunities I was able to get track and capture a couple (OK, a lot more than a couple) of pictures. I was truly surprised that the focus was so far off on so many of the pictures. I have posted the best 6 of these on my smugmug.

I'm posting these here, not because I think they are particularly good, quite the contrary, compared to the extraordinary work here they are mediocre at best, but that is OK. I'm posting them to give you an idea of what the best I was able to capture is and to ask for tips and advice on how to get better.

I'd really like to work on getting better with wildlife and birds in flight in particular, so lay it on me suggestions, reading, homework, whatever.

The entire gallery can be found here.
Eagles @ Conowingo



Canon 7D
my canon 300 F4 w/1.4x TC
hand held
straight from camera, no cropping or editing



Canon 7D
instructores canon 300 f2.8 (non IS) w 2.0x TC.
on tripod with sidekick
cropped, but no other processing

wlpearce

Aside from maintaining focus capture (which is always challenging with birds in flight and a big lens), light is the biggest issue for me. You can see the importance in the contrast between your two photos. Light from the sun high in the sky is not normally conducive to a good pic of a bird flying above your head. Your second pic where the sun is low on the bird's starboard quarter is just about perfect... but of course you're kind of at the mercy of where the birds are flying from. As is the case with most outdoor shooting, dawn and dusk are your best bets, perhaps even more so with birds in flight as you can get nice highlights (your second eagle's yellow foot for example).

I love shooting birds (with a camera), and sports because both are so challenging, as you note. With both, you can capture moments that you just don't see in real time. It's exciting to get home and find that one hidden gem that you might not have even realized you got at the time you shot it. Wish you all the fun!

Bill

http://www.wlpearce.com/

pmaxwell

Thanks for the input Bill. I agree the first image have issues (shadow, etc). I posted it because it was by far the best image for focus.

This was a lot of fun, and I can't wait to do more.

The second picture, is OK at best focus, but that may be the distance of the bird, or my panning, I'm not sure what to expect out of that image for focus.

BTW, does anyone know if lightroom or any other program allows you to see the selected focus point after the image has left the camera?

Harryb

Bill, what were your focusing settings for your captures?

I have always maintained that wildife photography is tje most difficut type of photography I have ever tried. You need a decent subject; you need the subject in decent light, and then you need a good BG for your capture. Its hard to get all three factors in a static capture and its even harder for flight captures.

The first thing you want to do is take a look at your location. Where's the light coming from? Where are the good BGSs? Then observe your subjects. What are there flight patterns? Is there a direction they usually come from? etc, etc.

You want to start tracking (if possible) your subject when it is too far out for a decent capture. Keep tracking it until it comes into shooting range and then let go with a sequence of captures. Experiment with your camera's focusing options until you understand them and know which settings work best for you. Birds in flight can be mastered but it takes practice.

pmaxwell

The focus setup on the 7D were:
Manual Select: Zone AF (primarily the center zone)
AI Servo ( tracking sensitivity set to mid point)
High speed continuous (drive)

We were not blessed with many eagles that wanted to fly at cooperative ranges this weekend. I think I'll try and spend a lot of time practicing with local birds.

wlpearce

"BTW, does anyone know if lightroom or any other program allows you to see the selected focus point after the image has left the camera?"

For viewing focus points, I use the Digital Photo Professional software that came with my 7D. And the results can be quite revealing. I see you're using a 7D... you probably have the same software.

Bill

http://www.wlpearce.com/

wlpearce

"Manual Select: Zone AF (primarily the center zone)"

I too use center zone AF on my 7D for birds in flight. I don't use the outer points because I (usually) can keep the subject at least somewhere near the middle of the frame, and I don't want the camera trying to focus on something way outside center frame. I use a single point focus for relatively still shots and try to focus on the eyes.

Bill

http://www.wlpearce.com/