Caspian Terns

[Bobobird]

Some Caspian Terns looking for food.
Beautiful and graceful birds imho.

Thanks for looking.

Comments please, good or bad. I have thick skin.

1.

2.

3.

4.

[Donald]

Bobo

Apart from the first one, which I don't think really shoes off the bird very well, these are super. Very well exposed, given the lighting challenges brought about by sunlight on a white surface. #3 is a classic 'pose'.

Don't know how tight;y you've cropped to get these and whether you could maybe take them in a bit more ... maybe?

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Bobo,

#2 is the clear favourite from me.

Although as Donald says, none are bad technically.
Unless you 'machine gun' these birds in flight, it can be surprising how rare it is to get techinically good with a 'nice' pose

Good series,

[Bobobird]

Thanks Donald and Dave (Double-D) hehe

The crops are not that heavy but 300m @ 50-60 feet are not frame fillers. What would you suggest ?

None were burst shots because my camera would take a long time to save the sequence. Some may have been quick succession double, at most triple shots.

My panning and tracking skills are yucky at best so was concentrating on pan, acquire, shoot and improving my technique more then anything else. But the birds were cooperative.

[Donald]

Definitely not frame-filling. I think you still need plenty space round the birds.

[Bobobird]

Yes, I did not want them floating. Hence these 12x8 crops appeared to give the best balance between space and subject.

There are 10-15 shots that came out ok. Some may have been closer so will re-check to see if a head shot is possible.

[Dave Humphries]

I hesitate to suggest any alternative techniques as you are doing so well.

I do shoot in burst mode, but limit myself to about 2-4 shots in burst, average 3.
It isn't often the time taken to clear those is a problem, also if I don't fully release the shutter button between bursts, it adds a second batch to end of first, when I do finally release fully, it can take a while to clear about 10 shots.

In cropping, I don't limit myself to predefined aspect ratios, I just go with whatever size and ratio suits the image, only after the artistic crop is applied, do I look to see if I have 'gone too far' e.g. reduced it below say 2,500 pixels on longest edge, as that won't give me much room downsize and sharpen and still have a decent image like yours.

Practice makes perfect, but luck plays a part,

[Bobobird]

Thanks Dave, good to know and will note for future use - "not fully release". Never thought of that!

As for cropping - sometimes friends want to take a pic for a print. I am fine with that but not with when they complain about the "non-regular" size of irregular crops. If a "regular" crop works will just leave it at that otherwise may look to either pano or square crops depending on the subject.

As with photography, presentation is still very much a new thing to me as is PP and everything else.... Learning from here and the insights that you guys provide have helped me tremendously. Thanks everyone here for that.

[Nihia]

I love the way you caught them, especially the 2nd, but all are beautiful. That bird has a difficult head to focus on I notice.

Cheers

Nihia

[Bobobird]

Thanks Nihia.

One would need to be a medal winning marksman to get the center dot on the head. At those distances and their size it is usually enough to just have the focus point on the front part of the bird. If they fly closer or lower then I will try the eyes but it is very hit and miss.

Mind you I am no expert either at photography or panning. Need to do this more often to get it just right.

[Dizzy]

I liked them all Bobo, and if I had to give preference to one it would be #3, as that high wing position makes the bird appear very graceful, even with those very long wings.

Mike

[Bobobird]

Thanks Mike.

Btw, I really like that Coolidge quote of yours. Nice one and so true.

[KeithH]

A lovely sequence of shots Bobo and #3 is my favourite too.