Taking Terns

NorthernFocus

These were taken at a local bird sanctuary where arctic terns (among other species) come to nest. I'm a bit puzzled by the blurry wing tips in these shots. Taken at the same ss I have some shots with crisp tips and some blurry. I'm thinkig it is a DOF issue rather than motion blur.

D4, 200-400VR w/1.4x TC

1/1600s f/5.6 at 380.0mm iso1600

1/1600s f/5.6 at 550.0mm iso1600

1/1600s f/5.6 at 550.0mm iso1600


Nikon D7000 ,Nikkor 200-400mmVR
1/500s f/8.0 at 550.0mm iso800


Apparently terns don't eat fish exclusively.

Dick on Aruba

Blurry or not Dan, these are fantastic. The first is my favorite.

NorthernFocus

Thanks, Dick. That one is my favorite as well. It is amazing the way they can articulate the two long feathers on the forked tail. I have several shots in which those two feathers are curled under.

JohnDC

These are nice BIF shots. Wing tips move faster than other parts of the bird. When a tern maneuvers, there is a lot of variation in the speed of wing movement. 1/1600th is borderline low for stopping fast bird motion. I don't think it's a DOF problem--parts of the bird closer and further away (tail and bill) are in better focus. Try going to 1/2500th or 1/3000th or faster--to better stop the wing tip motion, if you want, but what's wrong with some motion blur at the wing tips to show action?
---John

NorthernFocus

Thanks, John. What led me to think it's DOF is the fact that it isn't on all shots at the same ss. And in the shots here it's possible that the tips are closer than other parts of the bird. These were all taken as the bird is "backpedaling" to decelerate and land. It's easy enough to try. I'll just have to make another trip down to the marsh.