Photographing Birds in Flight January 22, 2014

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1 Photographing Birds in Flight January 22, 2014

2 Birds in Flight Pictures are Cool but very challenging

3 Concepts Discussed are for All Uses of Bird In Flight Photos A great photo stands out On your wall, desktop or in a presentation If you are selling photographs If you are entering them in a salon All of the images in this discussion were made by NVPC members

4 The Challenge Birds move constantly and quickly They fly away from you They don t cooperate Some are small Some are very small They are most active when the light is challenging The best pictures are when they are flying and doing something else catching or carrying food, interacting with other birds or the environment

5 A little math A bird flies about 30 miles per hour Your camera has a msec. delay from pressing the shutter to taking the picture Your subject moved 2-4 feet while you were taking your picture Body blur occurs when the bird moves more than 1/4 inch during your exposure Shutter speeds of greater than 1/500 second are required to stop body blur Wing flap rates Large birds (cranes, raptors) 1-2 beats per second Medium birds (robins, blue jays) 2-10 beats per second Small birds (chickadees) beats per second Hummingbirds beats per second Shutter Speeds to stop motion Large 1/50 to 1/500 Medium 1/600 to 1/2000 Small 1/1000 to 1/10,000 Hummingbirds 1/5,000 to 1/50,000 A high speed flash is required to stop wing motion or even slow it down on small birds

6 What Makes a Great Bird in Flight Photo Any bird in flight photo is good A bird in flight doing something is great Catching or carrying food Interacting with other birds Taking off or landing Reflecting the landscape Common themes you will hear Birds are always in motion shoot 1/1600 or faster to stop the motion Probably requires use of ISO 400 and up ISO 1600 is not uncommon Expose to the right Use spot focus if you can keep focal point on subject Caution if you can t keep the focal point on the subject, use a multipoint focus Use spot metering if light on bird is less than surrounding area Degree of Difficulty in getting a photo means nothing

7 All Great Flight Shots Do Not have to be Full Frame of A Single Bird Some times the light, the background and the birds come together

8 Key things before we discuss the categories of birds Bird photos do not happen by chance Go to where the birds are Go when the birds are active Learn the habits of the birds when and how they hunt, how they fly, what they do Learn to tell when a bird is going to take off or land Be patient, then be more patient Practice, practice and practice The luck will come with time in the field

9 Depth of Field (feet) The Tradeoff between Shutter Speed, ISO and Depth of Field Priority 1 Shutter Speed Stop the Action Small amount of wing motion is acceptable to show movement Priority 2 Tradeoff Between ISO and Depth of Field It depends on what you are shooting ensure adequate DOF then select ISO for adequate Shutter Speed F mm lens F4 300 mm lens F mm lens F4 600 mm lens Distance to Subject (feet)

10 Different Birds Require Different Techniques We will discuss groups Raptors Eagles, Hawks, Osprey Large wading birds Cranes, Egrets Ducks and Geese Alcids oceanic species like puffins Passerines songbirds and other perching birds Hummingbirds Owls

11 Raptors Which Images Jump Out At You these are all Osprey Photos taken by club members

12 Great shots are made when the bird is active in his environment Catching fish and carrying them make for great shoots Go where the birds are Damariscotta Mills in May Newburyport in January Go when they are feeding young they hunt more Take the longest lens you have Use a telextender Remember to keep the speed at >1/1000 ISO >600 is normal

13 Taking Images of Raptors Hunting All images are taken with high shutter speed >1/1000 Generally large depth of field is not required Small depth of field isolates subject from background 300 mm is generally the minimum focal length mm is better but lenses get heavier Depending on subject- use up to 1000 mm Great opportunity to use a telextender To hand hold or use a tripod? Function of multiple factors including location, focal length of lens, your strength and steadiness

14 Cranes, Herons and Large Wading Birds The good news They are plentiful in many locations and slow moving still shoot 1/2000 second In many locations in Florida you can get close to them They are colorful The challenge Making your image memorable

15 Good images Decent images but nothing special mm ISO 400 1/1600 seconds f5.6 and f9 Note very fast shutter even with a large bird

16 Better images Key items Not looking directly up See the bird s eye Put the bird in environment Get the bird s color All ISO , f5.6-8, 400 mm or less, 1/2000 second

17 Including Environment makes a better image Slight amount of foliage improves image But don t let the background mask the bird

18 Sometimes Formation Flying Makes for A Great Image

19 Ducks and Geese Great flight shots are difficult as ducks and geese don t do anything in flight but fly Look for takeoff and landing shots Multiple birds taking off or landing simultaneously The key is being close enough Land blinds or canoes as blinds Use very high speed to capture bird and water

20 Single Bird in Flight is OK but not Great High speed 1/2000 second to stop action Depth of field not critical Hand held as they are moving and you are most likely on a boat need image stabilization in one plane High speed continuous shooting mode to capture position of wings

21 HOWEVER Since Ducks and Geese fly in flocks, they make great subjects for collective images Images taken at long range with 700 mm lens at >1/2000 sec ISO 800

22 Alcids Alcids are pelagic birds which come to shore to breed Puffins, Razorbills, Murre s, Auks They dive for fish and fly underwater Mostly black and white fast fliers Best shots are flying or landing with fish in their mouths Nesting locations like Machias Seal Island are the only reliable way to get flight pictures

23 Good photos but wrong month Puffins and razorbills mate in June but feed chicks in July Imagine these photos with fish in the bird s mouth All photos taken with mm lens (some with telextender) from a blind or boat, ISO 400, at over 1/2000 second

24 If you can not go when they are feeding Go for takeoff and landing photos High shutter speed to capture water drops and motion Taken from boat so enable image stabilization in one plane only as you are panning Usually 400 mm equivalent at f4 or f5.6, 1/2000 second

25 Passerines (perching birds) are very challenging Passerines come in two varieties Flitty, fast, unpredictable fliers Very flitty, very fast and very unpredictable fliers Capturing them in flight alone is challenging and does not produce interesting images Knowledge of their habits and flying characteristics is critical Every bird flies differently

26 Nesting and Feeding Generate Best Images Provides action and interest Body motion is slower and wing motion shows movement so slower speed of 1/500 second can be used

27 Best Approach is to Go Where They are Feeding Their Young Adults come back with food which makes for a great shot Adults feed young after fledging which makes for even greater shots Learn the habits of each species Here DOF and shutter speed become important Tripod is very valuable also 1/3200 sec, f8, 390mm, ISO 800

28 Sometimes the color of passerines in breeding plumage makes the shot great Wood Warblers in the spring are extremely colorful Short window of opportunity in early May Still high speed 1/2000 sec f6.3 ISO mm

29 Remote triggering can generate interesting shots Laser trigger set up where birds come to feeding station Processor such as Camera Axe triggers camera Time delay adjusted to catch birds as they land Flash used to stop motion focus, aperture and speed preset

30 Now we get to hummers Most hummingbirds found in southwest 18 species in US one east of Mississippi Shutter 1/1250 sec motion stopped by flash Difficult around NE due to small number of birds

31 Photographing Hummers with Flowers Many Photographers put Sugar Tube behind flower Also have plain paper to create contrasting background Second Flash would have brought out gorget better

32 And then there is the next to impossible flight shots Swallows in flight catching food or drinking from a pond on the fly Kinglets the flittiest of the flitty

33 Finally we have Owls Some owls are diurnal (fly both day and night) and some are nocturnal (fly only at night) 19 owl species in North America Common diurnal owls around here Barred Owl, Barn Owl, Long and Short Eared Owl, Great Horned Owl Mostly seen at dusk Snowy Owl in winter Common nocturnal owls Northern Saw Whet Owl, Eastern Screech Owl

34 Photographing Owls in Flight Challenging to say the least Most hunt small rodents in fields so you need a long lens Go where they are seen and when they are seen Be prepared to spend a lot of time in the field High speed often with a flash with a Fresnel lens Better Beamer Snowy Owls erupt periodically (like this year) Coastal or water locations Study the habits of individual birds

35 Diurnal Owls in the Wild Problem is that they tend to fly away from you Hard work and planning pay off ISO 800 1/800 f10 210mm Note close in requires greater DOF and higher ISO

36 Saw Whet Owl Flight Photographs Saw Whet Owls migrate however information about habits is only now being discovered Surveys conducted under US Geological Survey Bird Banding Laboratory Number of birds banded varies widely from year to year Fall migration is at night in October-November Birds netted, banded, data collected and released Photos taken during release

37 Two variations of Photographs Taken During release from an arm Sometimes if flies toward photographer I was about 15 feet away 200mm lens, ISO 1600, f2.8, 1/800 second, flash

38 Flight Photograph after release Used IR sensor to trigger camera and flash Preset focus, fstop, shutter speed Release close to ground with hope of flying through sensor Six attempts before successfully shot Parameters similar to other owl shots

39 One word on Gulls Generally produce uninteresting photos but they are great to practice on They come to you, fly slow, hover Shoot 1/1600 second and take a lot of shots Get volunteer to toss bread in the air

40 If you are going on a once in a lifetime trip and want animal motion pictures Plan ahead Talk to the trip organizers about equipment Look into borrowing or renting equipment Practice the type of shots you will be going after Think about all equipment Filters, remote shutters, spare batteries and memory cards, flash extenders

41 A Final Word about Bird Photography Ethics A bird photographer observes and captures nature Birds struggle to survive a photograph is not worth disturbing them Many great bird photos involve the bird feeding their young in some way Be observant of bird behavior and if a bird appears nervous back off Excessive motion such as tail wagging When in doubt back away, stay low and don t move

42 HAVE FUN AND GOOD LUCK