BIRD IN FLIGHT ONLY -- share your BIF photos here

[DominoDude]

Red Tailed Hawk on the hunt. This one was taken a few weeks ago with the 5D3 and the 400 5.6L prime. It is cropped to about the same field of view that my new 7D2 would have full frame. Tough call for me which would have been better in this case. The 5D3 definitely holds its own here. Would have liked a faster shutter than 1/1250. Wing blur is a bit distracting but it also tends to focus the viewer on the Hawk's eye which is nice..

It's perfectly fine!
You have focus in all the places where it needs to be. The wing position is mid-stroke, and we expect movement of the wing at that time. I can literally see it forcing down a massive amount of air to get the speed up when it's taken like this. To me, it makes the hawk more powerful.

If anything, I would say that with that background it could probably be cropped a little bit looser (if there are more of those branches) - the light in the eye pulls me straight to the hawk anyway.

If my vision of what a photo should become isn't matched by the outcome, I, too, tend to think it's a "miss", but it can still be exactly what others desire.

 

[DominoDude]

Red Tailed Hawk on the hunt. This one was taken a few weeks ago with the 5D3 and the 400 5.6L prime. It is cropped to about the same field of view that my new 7D2 would have full frame. Tough call for me which would have been better in this case. The 5D3 definitely holds its own here. Would have liked a faster shutter than 1/1250. Wing blur is a bit distracting but it also tends to focus the viewer on the Hawk's eye which is nice..

It's perfectly fine!
You have focus in all the places where it needs to be. The wing position is mid-stroke, and we expect movement of the wing at that time. I can literally see it forcing down a massive amount of air to get the speed up when it's taken like this. To me, it makes the hawk more powerful.

If anything, I would say that with that background it could probably be cropped a little bit looser (if there are more of those branches) - the light in the eye pulls me straight to the hawk anyway.

If my vision of what a photo should become isn't matched by the outcome, I, too, tend to think it's a "miss", but it can still be exactly what others desire.

Hey DominoDude, thanks for the feedback.

I still wish I had a bit faster Shutter on this one but it is what it is.

Cropping for me is always the most difficult part of editing. I always use non-detsructive crops because I know I'm going to go back and tweak it a half-dozen times. You are right, this is a very tight crop. I started out with much wider view and I probably tightened too much.

This is going to sound kind of nerdy but I thought the tight crop helped convey a sense of constrained power. An open field bird hunting in the forest. A bit of claustrophobia.

I also like the way it emphasized the similar geometry of the tree and the Hawks right wing. Which creates a line that takes you straight to the Hawks eye. Like I said, I'm kind of an image construction nerd.

Anyway, here is the alternate crop, as you described, if you are interested. I can't go any lower, that is the bottom of the frame. - Brian

Bah! Now I can't decide which of them I like most...
I see your point of similarity, Brian. I perceive that to a lesser amount in the loose crop.

We would all be so doomed if it weren't for kept RAW-files and non-destructive editing. Good to go back to old files half a year after shooting and manage to see a totally different shot hidden in plain sight of a photo.

 

[Jane]

Great shots Roger and GraFax. Think I prefer the tighter crop GraFax, more impact.

 

[Jane]

Northern Gannets - 7D 70-300L

 

[Click]

4 shots from the neighborhood. (Idaho) I took up photography a couple of years ago. Now I am an addict. My poor wife is looking for a BIF support group. So far no luck.

Very nice series Roger.

 

[Click]

Anyway, here is the alternate crop, as you described, if you are interested. I can't go any lower, that is the bottom of the frame. - Brian

Great shot Brian. I also prefer the first picture. Well done.

 

[Click]

One more from yesterday. The 7D2/400 5.6 "pocket rocket" combo

Beautiful shot. Excellent timing.

 

[Skatol]

One more from yesterday. The 7D2/400 5.6 "pocket rocket" combo. You may wish to avert your eyes if you find "crop" sensor high ISO noise disturbing. Don't say I didn't warn you

Wonderful series Brian. Looks like the MII is holding it's own. Just curious as to what ISO this was shot at. Trying to get real world idea of how it compares to the 1DMIV. Maybe I'll see you at the dam sometime. Hopefully will be down next weekend if the snow isn't too deep.

 

[Click]

Great shots Brian. I especially like the first picture. Well done.

 

[Dylan777]

Here is one for folks who might like to put together long reach combo's with the 7D2. I shot for an hour or so this morning at Conowingo Dam handheld with the 7D2, 400 5.6L and 1.4x ii tele yielding an effective focal length of approximately 900mm. Sadly, the results were not very good. The 7D2 seems to focus fine at f8. It even tracked reasonably well. You can't use the Zone AF modes but you can use assisted center point and it had no trouble holding focus.

I think the problem probably is the 400 5.6L. I think the 7D2's resolution is about all it can take. It's an old design and I suppose modern ultra-high res sensors may have caught up to the pocket rocket. The 1.4x just puts it over the edge. 900mm is a lot to ask from such a small object lens. Even at 1/3200s the photos are mushy at 100%. I generally like 1/4x-focal-length for BIF's so maybe 1/3600 or 1/4000 would be better. But, stop down to f11 to help sharpness and now you are maxing the ISO.

So, maybe on a tripod for something that moves slower than Bald Eagles you may be able to get something decent but I wouldn't count on it. YMMV. A new body always seems to trigger another Lens upgrade cycle.

Anyway, here is one that is just about as good as I could do. It's not cropped at all. Cropping these was a non-starter. It works fine as a small image but even at page size it's pretty mushy. I think these would likely have been better shot without the 1.4x and cropped but I'm not sure. That is always tough to call.

I suppose if I was just trying to capture a rare animal or some unusual behavior it would be fine as a photo record if that is what you are into. - Brian

Great series GraFax

Thank you for sharing

 

[DominoDude]

One more just for fun! The immature (lower) eagle does a full 360 claws up back-flip at 40 mph. They really are fun to watch. If I haven't said it enough, loving the 7D2's AF. This was a total point, spray and pray. These two came rocketing out of the trees right over my head. I had my coffee thermos in my left hand. Camera hanging from BR sling strap. Needless to say the thermos went flying. Luckily I didn't hit anybody with the thermos. IMO these are in much better focus than I had any right to expect. Nice.

Lovely action!
I don't envy you the slightest... *pouts, sobs and kicks the dirt*

 

[DominoDude]

Lovely action!
I don't envy you the slightest... *pouts, sobs and kicks the dirt*

Thanks DominoDude. We are very fortunate to have the Eagles for 3-4 weeks every autumn as they move south to find food. Many of them gather near a local Hydroelectric Dam called Conowingo where the water never freezes, the fish are plentiful and they are protected.

Although there can be a lot of Eagles, they are not as plentiful as the photographers. There must have been hundreds of photographers there today. When all of the shutters are going at once it sounds like machine gun fire. But it's lots of fun for everybody and the Eagles have a safe place to hunt for a few weeks.

These birds were very rare in this area 30 years ago. Now they seem to be doing very well.

*nods*
We have around 700 nesting couples of Golden Eagles in the entire Sweden, and the White-tailed Eagle (most similar to your Bald Eagle) consists of roughly 500 nesting couples (>2000 individuals). They're slowly coming back, after being severely hit by the effects of PCB, DDT and similar toxins up 'til about the mid 70's. If I remember correctly the shells of their eggs got weakened and soft due to DDT and that had a huge impact. I can imagine that the data and situation is of the same kind on your side of the Atlantic.

 

[DiSnapper]

Canon 7D with Canon 70-200 L2.8 IS ii USM+Canon 2X Extender iii

Post processing: Contrast tweeking, selective noise reduction and sharpning. Canon DPP and GIMP

Northern Pintail landing


IMG_6731 dss by Ganugapenta NaveenKumar Reddy, on Flickr

Osprey


IMG_6833 dss by Ganugapenta NaveenKumar Reddy, on Flickr

Common Pochard male making a turn in air

IMG_6700 dss by Ganugapenta NaveenKumar Reddy, on Flickr

Glossy Ibis landing


IMG_7075 dss by Ganugapenta NaveenKumar Reddy, on Flickr

 

[Click]

I really like your last picture DiSnapper. Nicely done.

 

[Click]

Very nice shot Brian.

 

[Click]

Here's a nice look at the wing profile in flight. For those interested in fluid dynamics and such....

Great shot. 8) Well done.

 

[spandau]

Shot with Canon 70D f5.6 400MM at 3200 ISO(Auto) 1/2000 shutter
50% Crop
Only adjustment other than crop was small exposure and some shadow in Photoshop CC
Shot as Large JPEG

 

[allanP]

Panning with Great Blue Heron

 

[Click]

Well done allkar. I really like this shot.

 

[westr70]

Well done allkar. I really like this shot.

+1 Excellent work.