BIF, easier in theory...

[ajohnw]

If local to gulls I think it's worth seeing what they get up to as the wind conditions change. I was standing on a high shingle bank. When I arrived they were hovering in the up draft from that as the wind was blowing directly on it and then, unfortunately for me switched to flying along it around 20ft or so from the side of the bank not all that much above eye level. At another place they swoop into a narrow harbour entrance at high speed and float up like a rocket when the reach the exit on the seaward side.

The other problem with the shot is mist. Looked fine in the viewfinder but when enlarged to levels well over the eye view it sticks out like a sore thumb. I find this often happens in some parts of west wales. No idea why. I also wanted this view so the only way to get a larger image would be a longer lens. and more mist problems.

Not unfortunately really. Just have to hope next time I go when conditions are suitable there will be less mist.

John
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[Shadowman]

when I am shooting birds in flight I almost always shoot at iso 400 or higher since I am tunneling that light through a longer lense if that puts my speed at 1 8000th a sec so be it the faster the better with a bif. I also use center point focus, and crop for desired composition.
nice sharp images here. " Sea gull you fly across the horizon and into the misty morning sun" Paul Rogers...

James,

Thanks for the comments and suggestions.

[Shadowman]

Very nice shots John. If you didn't say it was your first trial , I would never know

Thanks Binnur.

[Shadowman]

Tracking BIF is difficult at best...ya need a camera/lens that has a super accurate AF system that can quickly lock onto that bird and...can transfer focus points to lock onto it wherever it's at in your viewfinder when you fire off a burst. It goes without saying that keeping it in that viewfinder is somewhat imperative.

Additionally, it does help if you can anticipate the flight path of the critter in question...somewhat simple for the lumbering Egrets flying across a pond. The smaller darting birds, like sea gulls, makes the whole thing seem like an exercise in futility with an embarrassing minute keeper rate. Spending four hours at the beach with a single keeper is not my idea of a good time.

Hmm, exposure on a white bird against a bright sky...you hope it's fixable in LightRoom.

FWIW...using a 300 f/2.8 lens, with/without a 2X TC, I rarely go above f/4-5.6 to keep my ISO below 400, with SS 1000-2000 on the big birds and a lot higher on the smaller darters.

Thanks for the suggestions, I tried the same technique on some smaller terns and failure rate increased tremendously. I'll definitely try your suggestions next time.

[Shadowman]

I wont post any of mine John. I had one go for 1/4 hr in a cold strong wind and gained ear ache for my troubles. On m 4/3 at 300mm, finding them was fun and the focus sailed straight through on some attempts. Being fair they were white and the background was rather grey and just to make life easier they were coming more or less straight at me. Didn't check the preview and ISO was way too high.

Your shots look pretty good to me. Not sure what lens you are using but my 2x converter came of some one shooting with one of the to 300mm zooms and AF wouldn't work at longer lengths. It seems to be OK on F4 lenses on a D7000.

I will post one to show you what I mean. Way too much noise reduction needed. I should have waited until they were closer too as this is about 1/3 crop.



John
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John,

I typically use the Nikon 70-300mm lens. I wanted to avoid the noise you picked up but may try different sensitivities next time.

Your capture was pretty good, the micro 4/3rds for BIF takes some getting used to.

[Shadowman]

Hi John,

The 1st image is a very nice shot. Beautiful sharp focus and flying into the frame. Center point focus is easier but changing your focus point is nice for different compositions and doable, albeit less keepers.

Gulls are great to practice on... especially on windy days when they hover in the air for a while longer... Pigeons are also great to practice on and in the right light their colouring is very beautiful, plus they have character.

Christina,

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. The gulls are easier to come by, quite a few smaller birds (artic terns) frequented the area and tried my hand with very little success. Gulls are my go-to bird for BIF.

[Brownbear]

Small birds and fast flying terns are especially challenging. Gulls fly fast enough! If you have any big birds common to your area like Canada Geese these are also great to practice on... Easier to spot in the view finder.

Christina,

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. The gulls are easier to come by, quite a few smaller birds (artic terns) frequented the area and tried my hand with very little success. Gulls are my go-to bird for BIF.

[Shadowman]

Small birds and fast flying terns are especially challenging. Gulls fly fast enough! If you have any big birds common to your area like Canada Geese these are also great to practice on... Easier to spot in the view finder.

The artic terns are also diving birds and their speed is amazing.

[ajohnw]

John,

I typically use the Nikon 70-300mm lens. I wanted to avoid the noise you picked up but may try different sensitivities next time.

Your capture was pretty good, the micro 4/3rds for BIF takes some getting used to.

The biggest problem really was the range and the mist. I think I could cope with the noise but could have moved to F8 and down to 1/500. maybe lower as there isn't much sign of wing flapping.

The problem with the camera was getting it to lock focus but that aspect wasn't too bad. 4 misses out of 11 shots. Not sure why they missed. No sign of a bird in one. Blobs in the others. I tried one just as they were passing me and got a bum shot so should have framed earlier. I really needed some pink frilly ear muffs at that point. Others similar to the one I posted came out with the skyline in the wrong position for me anyway. I feel that the central focus point on Olympus cameras is larger than phase on a dSLR which helps on the other hand in continuous AF it will also track and that can be a real pain in some situations. Macro in particular. It might help in others.

I didn't have much of a problem pointing the camera at them but have since thought that a DOF preview button might help location. I might also try say 4 shot bursts with AF. I also want to try offsetting the central AF so that there will be more contrast on some subjects when they are centre frame. Basically there is too much to try on these cameras - fun though.

John
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[Shadowman]

A low flyer: f/8, ISO 400, 1/1000sec.

[Brownbear]

Hi John,

Just to say that this is a great capture! Tack sharp! The focus on the eye is incredible.

Aside... the yellows in the grass look a little too saturated (to me)

A low flyer: f/8, ISO 400, 1/1000sec.

[Shadowman]

Hi John,

Just to say that this is a great capture! Tack sharp! The focus on the eye is incredible.

Aside... the yellows in the grass look a little too saturated (to me)

Christina,

Thanks for the comments and critique. if I recall, I did an AUTO levels adjustment and nothing else. Some tones may have been changed with Noiseware but the settings were at the default. i'll do a few re-edits and see how it affects the grass.

[jamn4ex]

John I love the grass background. Just don't see that too much. Nice shot the grass color looks good to me. At f-8 that glass is like a razor. I can only hope to get bifs that sharp.

[Shadowman]

John I love the grass background. Just don't see that too much. Nice shot the grass color looks good to me. At f-8 that glass is like a razor. I can only hope to get bifs that sharp.

James,

Thanks for the comments.