I though i had it nailed, but no!

[marlunn]

Arghh, though I had this BIF shot nailed but once home and on the computer screen - I can see it was so near, but so far away

ah well - practice, practice, practice - oh and a bit more light would have helped



would not normally put up failures but C & C on the composition welcome for next time, there is space in the frame all around the bird

[Nicks Pics]

I like the composition, the diagonal line of the wings from corner to corner is neat IMO, with the bird's body right in the center.

[marlunn]

Thanks Nick, was gutted when I saw the head was slightly out of focus, I was playing with auto iso and fixed shutter speed of 1/500, gave me f7.1 and iso 320, on reflection I will try next time with fixed shutter of 1/1000 to get slightly more depth and freeze on the focus

[John 2]

Like the composition Mark but the head needs to be sharp IMHO.

[chauncey]

Aah my friend...tis indeed a rare combination of gear and photographer's technique that allow an
image such as that to come to fruition. Acceptance of occasional failure is necessary on that journey.

[marlunn]

John, yep - thats the kicker with this one - close but no coconut
William, ah indeed sir, now to work on the total requirement for sucess instead of parts of it - and with some 'luck' and minor skill on my part - one day I will suceed !

[chauncey]

FWIW, the folks herein that are good at those BIF things use good, well tuned gear as well as a
deep knowledge of how to use that gear.

[Nicks Pics]

Maybe indeed it was motion blur more than missed focus!

[Stagecoach]

Nothing wrong with posting failures Mark, we learn from these also.

I would question whether this is motion blur or focus being off, the 'birders' may spot some clues.

[marlunn]

Nick, Grahame, I suspect focus as it was flying straight toward me and the wings etc look to be okay so between focusing and the shutter was sufficient time for it to move forward in the frame in front of the focus point

[Nicks Pics]

Shutter lag, perhaps? Still, I think you'll probably do better with 1/1000.

[marlunn]

yep - I think that was the kicker - I seem to recall that being stated as the starter shutter speed for BIF shots on the forum previously, aint hindsight great

[Shadowman]

Nice effort.

[Dave Humphries]

This is an extremely difficult angle to shoot with such a subject and background Mark,

If you look carefully, it seems as if the focus is sharp on the wings and tail - which is exactly where the best contrast is for the AF to lock on to. Keeping the AF point actually on the eye/head is difficult enough, but since it is low contrast compared to the wings/tail (against background), the chances of AF success are slim (assuming the AF and lens focus motor can track the speed of approach).

Well that's what I tell myself to explain my very similar failures
The engineer in me is comfortable with this theory.

... and AF is all about engineering - if it were magic, it might be more reliable at succeeding (with what we want)

[marlunn]

Dave,

As an ex-engineer, I can but agree with you, I think the af tracking was on 9 point - next time I will try single point and see what a hash it makes of it on that but I suspect the best option is higher shutter speed, greater DoF and a prayer to divinity of choice with burst mode slected rather than single frame

[Brownbear]

Hi Mark,

Indeed you almost nailed the focus... Very hard to do, especially so with a head on capture and foliage in the background. I believe that even faster shutter speeds are especially helpful for head on captures when the bird is close. I'm sure if I checked the few I've managed they would all show a higher shutter speed than usual. Just to confirm that yes single point auto focus (center point, continous (release on focus only (my preference)) helps immensely especially with foliage in the background.

Here is a very helpful and informative thread started by Joe whose bird images are truly exquisite.

Birds In Flight... My Way

[marlunn]

Thank you Christina, I will take a leisurely read later and look for more opportunities to capture this one properly as I do really like the composition and the light on the wings/tail

[NorthernFocus]

That was definitely a challenging shot, Mark. The background is double trouble. First, it has higher contrast elements than the subject so easier for the camera to lock on the BG. Second it's a messy BG for the final image. Dave has already pointed out that the soft head appears to be a focus issue rather than ss. The first clue is that if there is anything in the image that is sharp, then you can rule out ss. In this case the bird's wings etc. look to be pretty sharp. Not sure what camera body you are shooting. The head OOF can either be due to the focus point being elsewhere on the bird or the camera not having predictive focus. Though with a slow bird like a gull the latter is not likely an issue.

I'll not get into the debate regarding single vs multipoint focus etc. We all seem to do it differently. Which suggest that results may have more to do with magic/luck than with the technical aspects

Regarding the composition, a little more room beyond the wingtips might help.

[marlunn]

Cheers Dan, yep think I will sacrifice first born on a pagan altar before I try that one again

there is a bit more room around the gull so could include more but given the focus faux pas - wont bother

Camera is a Nikon D5200 - lens was a Tamron 70-300mm @160mm

[JBW]

the only thing missing in this shot is just a wee tad of good old fashioned blind luck. You will get it the next time, or maybe the next next time?