I think these birds are Marbled Godwits. What a great name! I spent an hour or so one cold morning recently photographing the shorebirds out on East Beach with my D200 and 70 - 200mm VR lens with a 1.7 teleconverter. I am SO bad at panning. It could be my technique, my lack of upper body strength, or the focusing mode the camera was in. Many of my shots where the birds aren't flying are not sharp either. But, birds are not a subject I shoot very often and I haven't attempted to do so in over a year, so I am out of practice. And I need to find a way to stabilize myself and not slowly sink into the sand (I seriously considered laying down but didn't think Mike would let me back in the car). Even though these shots aren't great, I enjoyed watching all the different birds there that morning and shorebirds are some of the easier birds to get relatively close to, so I will try again.
First shot is my favorite, and the sharpest, though Tim T will go for flight shots any day of the week. Nice job trying to get BIF. It takes some time to get it down. I still have not mastered it, especially with the 500mm handheld.
ReplyDeleteTalking about lying down in the sand. Be careful; be very careful...bird photography can be addictive. See your closest B&H Photo if symptoms persist.
Although the fourth shot is sharper, the third shot is my favorite--although, everyone must remember, Larry aien't no bird photographer! I like the position of the wings on this one. It makes me think: ACTION.
ReplyDeleteI might consider either cropping-out or cloning out the closest two waves. Removing them should make the reflection much more evident. Good job.
I like them alot too, especially the colors of the bird vs the water. I try and shoot in-flight shots at 1/1000 of a sec if possible, shutter priority ... and select dynamic area focusing. Regardless, nice stuff.
ReplyDeleteWell, I USED to have a mentor who gave me a lot of tips and would take me out for some in-person training, but something has happened to him :). I thought I was shooting the birds feeding in the surf and then every so often one would fly by and I would take a stab at panning. I'll have to remember to take my camera off of A priority....I think the lever is stuck there.
ReplyDeleteMost of us regular bird photographers shoot in aperture priority. That way you control what is in focus and what your BG looks like. You just have to ensure your ISO lets you maintain enough shutter speed to freeze the action of BIF.
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