Second Attempt at Birds in Flight

[Matty P (Matt)]

Well after my first attempt, I thought I would give it another go.

There are two Magpies that live near my house so they are good candidates for me getting some decent images. This guy landed on the edge of the roof and let me get close enough before flying away. I was able to snap one image of him while he was in mid air. Although slightly out of focus, I'm happy with it.

Here is my best bird in flight image to date. Canon 450D with 18-55mm lens @ 55mm.

Thanks for looking.

[leon]

Good effort Matty, just a bit more ISO speed and you probably would have stopped him/her in its tracks, well done.

Leon

[Dennis]

Very nice results Matt despite the limitations of your equipment (55mm fl). Do you “follow” the bird by panning and then squeeze the release and follow through?

Cheers

Dennis

[Striker (Tony)]

Matty,

Just think how good it could have been if you had a brick wall in the image....lol

Great effort with such a short focal length lens

[Matty P (Matt)]

Originally Posted by leon

Good effort Matty, just a bit more ISO speed and you probably would have stopped him/her in its tracks, well done.

Leon

Thanks Leon, I had the camera set on Auto so considering how quickly everything happened. The camera has done a great job IMO.

Originally Posted by Dennis

Very nice results Matt despite the limitations of your equipment (55mm fl). Do you “follow” the bird by panning and then squeeze the release and follow through?

Cheers

Dennis

Thanks Dennis,

Yes, I am still looking forward to the day I am able to upgrade to a better lens.

I tried my best to keep the bird in the FOV for as long as possible while I pressed the shutter release. It is definitely harder than it looks but I guess just like anything, practise makes perfect.

Originally Posted by Striker

Matty,

Just think how good it could have been if you had a brick wall in the image....lol

Great effort with such a short focal length lens

Thanks Tony,

Trust me, I was considering it...

[Dennis]

Hi Matt

I’ve found an effective technique to be as follows:

When bird flying from your right to your left:
Stand with feet shoulder width apart and face in the direction where you anticipate you will click the shutter.
Swivel your torso to the right and pick up the bird in the viewfinder and begin tracking it.
Just before it gets to the spot where you anticipate on clicking the shutter you should be more or less square; that is not twisting left or right which may affect your balance/stability.
Breathe out and squeeze the release a fraction before the bird hits the anticipated spot and then follow through smoothly so you will now be twisting to your left.

In reality, I start shooting just before the sweet spot and continue shooting after the sweet spot using the 3.5 fps option to grab as many shots as I can.

If you face the bird square on when you first pick it up, by the time you have got it centred and composed, you may find yourself a little off balance if you have to twist your torso significantly to either the right or left to keep the bird in the centre as it traverses the FOV.

Hope that all makes sense!

Cheers

Dennis

[Matty P (Matt)]

Thanks for the help Dennis,

I'll definitely give it a go next time I get outside with the camera. I'd love to see you guys in action one day imaging birds in flight. Maybe at IISAC 08?

[RB (Andrew)]

Coming along nicely Matt, it's not as easy as it looks but you've done well with that FL.
I'm hoping to get some time to give it a go too.

Keep them coming mate.

[ving (David)]

cool shot matty!
and only 55mm!!! sic