A little help with my bird photography please - a few images too

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I'm hoping it's ok to post this in here. I've done it because it's specifically linked to bird photography. I've added a few images too.

First a bit of background info.

I'm a Canon shooter and have been for a number of years. I'm in a fortunate position in a couple of ways. I have been able to accumulate a good cupboard of equipment including a 'new to me' 1dx2 and a 300 f2.8 IS. So from a gear perspective there are no excuses I can use. Secondly I'm very lucky that I live about 3 miles from the Hawk Conservancy Trust at Weyhill. In fact I remember going their as a child about 40 years ago, when it was a zoo. I visit fairly regularly and happily donate images to them for their own use. They are a charity and who knows when I retire in years to come perhaps I will volunteer to work there.

And so to the reason for me posting .......... I'm sure this is nothing new by the way. I would like a little help with settings and to increase my keeper rate. I spend a fair bit of time trawling the net and watching videos from Arthur Morris and the like, but every day is a school day right?

How I shoot today ........

1. I hand hold. I have tried monopod and tripod, but because of the huge variety in flying positions of the birds I find it impossible without picking the mono / tripod up and waving that around periodically too.

2. I used to shoot AV, on a sunny day using something like ISO400 to get plenty of shutter speed. The problem there is a correctly exposed image against a grassy background is fine, but the minute it goes up and the background is sky, it becomes a dark shadow and nothing else.

3. I tried Manual mode and exposed a couple of stops off a grey cloud. This was fine sometimes, but on other shoots when the bird was low it whited out.

4. I tried Manual mode with auto ISO and added a little exposure compensation. I get reasonable success with this, but have to adjust as I go.

5. The rest is all the usual stuff I think. Ai Servo - BBF - AWB.

6. Oh and from a focus perspective I try to use the cross type focus points when shooting large birds so I can get on the birds face. When shooting smaller stuff I use the 9 point where the dots track around.

7. From a AF case perspective, I will move around a bit, trying to find the perfect one for me. I'm not sure I have yet.

8. I often shoot F2.8 or F4. I rarely stop down much.


Generally I do ok, but sometimes I don't do so well and I get frustrated that I have made a small adjustment which has sent me in the wrong direction.

And so to the questions.........

When shooting this sort of event where birds backgrounds change dramatically, how do you deal with it? What mode etc.

When shooting large birds, do you go for less active focus points and try to go for the head?

Do you stop down, or shoot wide open?

Sorry for the questions and I'm not trying to steal your trade secrets, just borrow a few of them from time to time ......

And a few of my better flight shots to make this thread feel like it's in the right place ;-)

1. Gotcha by Gary Kinghorn, on Flickr


2. Last couple from this set by Gary Kinghorn, on Flickr


3. Milky Eagle Owl again by Gary Kinghorn, on Flickr


4.Landing gear down, ready to land by Gary Kinghorn, on Flickr


5. Stork by Gary Kinghorn, on Flickr


6. Kite by Gary Kinghorn, on Flickr
 
Generally I do ok, but sometimes I don't do so well and I get frustrated that I have made a small adjustment which has sent me in the wrong direction.

And so to the questions.........

When shooting this sort of event where birds backgrounds change dramatically, how do you deal with it? What mode etc.

When shooting large birds, do you go for less active focus points and try to go for the head?

Do you stop down, or shoot wide open?

My problem at Weyhill is actually getting the critters in the viewfinder.

No problems waving monopods around, find a space to work in if anyone encroaches on your space and they get smacked by monopod leg or lens hood just give them a filthy look:mad:

Maybe a solution to the exposure conundrum is by using a smaller metering zone, any meter will get confused by a mishmash of backgrounds, I know the arena reasonably well. Spot metering and adjusting for whether bird is predominantly light or dark. Birds with the lighter feathers are really difficult to get right. Weather is so changeable that I get little time to consider my exposure and go for AV and to make sure my shutter speeds are ok, but ISO low. Since my last trip I have learnt to love auto-ISO, and set shutter speed and Av. As for focussing I try for the eye in particular, but found group zone works quite well...

Lovely photos by the way...shame about that blade of glass with the bald eagle.
 
I normally shoot Av with auto ISO and EC to suit... but metering mode is critical if the BG varies a lot (i.e spot/CW). Does the spot metering move with the active focus point on Canons?
 
That blade of grass is no longer there. Luckily they gave the tufts in front of the pond a trim the other day.

Good thought ref the metering zone. Not something I have tried before. Will give it a go.
 
I normally shoot Av with auto ISO and EC to suit... but metering mode is critical if the BG varies a lot (i.e spot/CW). Does the spot metering move with the active focus point on Canons?

When you say exposure compensate to suit, would you care to explain a little more how you do it please? My assumption is that people must adjust shot to shot if the bird moves from sky to grassy backgrounds? Or do you over expose slightly for the sky and know you will need to take it down a notch in post for the grassy background images?
 
When you say exposure compensate to suit, would you care to explain a little more how you do it please?
EC to suit the subject coloration... I.e. if it's a darker colored bird that fills a good portion of the viewfinder a little -EC should suit fine along with CW metering. If the subject is constantly changing then I would leave it at zero/default... then darker subjects will be overexposed a bit and you may clip light BG's (sky), but the subject will be recoverable in post if necessary (similar for lighter subjects).
 
EC to suit the subject coloration... I.e. if it's a darker colored bird that fills a good portion of the viewfinder a little -EC should suit fine along with CW metering. If the subject is constantly changing then I would leave it at zero/default... then darker subjects will be overexposed a bit and you may clip light BG's (sky), but the subject will be recoverable in post if necessary (similar for lighter subjects).

I haven't tried CW metering before. I normally leave it in EW. Then I find that darker subjects are ok other than in the sky, when they are under exposed. I will certainly give your suggestions a try though.
 
Every camera even in the same brand treats it differently . There’s nothing really wrong with your posted shots , you obviously have more than a basic idea the only thin* I could suggest is vary your venue around to save becoming repetive
 
I think this gets to the point where you realize that there is no single answer that works for every situation. And that if you really want to "nail that shot" you have to envision the situation/image/scene you want, prepare for that, be in a position and at a time that allows for that, and then wait for the opportunity to present itself.
 
Every camera even in the same brand treats it differently . There’s nothing really wrong with your posted shots , you obviously have more than a basic idea the only thin* I could suggest is vary your venue around to save becoming repetive

I know what you mean ref location. I struggle because it's so close and time is so short - with young ish kids, its too easy for me to nip along for an hour or so. I'll try to move around a bit while shooting and think of other places to shoot too.
 
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