A Red Kite -v- Crow scrap

This just came top of my list for bird shots for this year! And that's a tough accolade as I've taken some photos of Ducks... Yeah real ducks :help: :bang:


Very very well done Les (y)
 
Les, I've just looked through some of your other kite photo's on your site, and well, :shrug: don't know what to say - they are absolutely superb!!

What settings do you use? I try to capture the kites a lot using a 100-400L on a 450D and quite frankly they're nothing like your photo's! I mean sometimes I can get the sharpness, but your overall quality and size are just so much better?

What are your ideal settings? do you predominantly use the 200mm 2.8?
I note in the gallery that you have a 1DSII which I'm sure introduces extra quality into the picture, but as a complete package I'm really impressed!!
 
Nawty said:
Heavy crop and it still looks great, the benefits of good glass!

For some reason it reminds me of a patronus charm from Harry Potter :nuts:
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Agree totally, the 200MM F2.8L is one of Canon's unsung heroes, understandably, most folk go for the flexibility of a zoom, this lens was one of my better purchases, the results speak for themselves, and it's so fast at focusing.

CT said:
Les, thats a stunning image mate and some testament to the 7D AF system too! :clap:
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Yep, in reasonable light, the 7D AF speed and lock is awesome.

BIGEYE said:
Fantastic shot, obviously you were prepared for this. Anyway, my money is on the crows!
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I was kicking myself a bit on this shot, I'd changed from the 120-300 to the 200mm lens as the kites started to fly low, I had the aperture set at F4 (in case the kites went out of the direct light), when I saw the kite/crow fight I wish I'd tweaked the aperture to f5.6-f7.1, I might have dragged the crows totally into the DOF :bang: as it is they are slightly out.

Bill19 said:
Great shot! the pose is awesome! reminds me of a pheonix style pose.
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Thanks, the more I look at the kite, the more it looks like something on the back of a coin, or stuck on a pennant.


RacingSnake said:
Les, I've just looked through some of your other kite photo's on your site, and well, :shrug: don't know what to say - they are absolutely superb!!

What settings do you use? I try to capture the kites a lot using a 100-400L on a 450D and quite frankly they're nothing like your photo's! I mean sometimes I can get the sharpness, but your overall quality and size are just so much better?

What are your ideal settings? do you predominantly use the 200mm 2.8?
I note in the gallery that you have a 1DSII which I'm sure introduces extra quality into the picture, but as a complete package I'm really impressed!!
Click to expand...

For these shots I used a 7D + 120-300 F2.8 lens or 200mm F2.8 lens. On my website, the kite shots were mainly taken with a 1D MKII.

Over the last couple of years, I've gotten to know the kites around Harewood pretty well, and am beginning to understand what works when it comes to shooting them, when they generally fly low, where to go to get the best light etc. it's a hard (but immensely enjoyable) learning curve.

I would suggest shooting in sunlight, preferably late sunlight, and keep the sun on your back, kites often turn and twist, and if you are tracking them through the lens, you can often see when the side sunlight hits their golden colours, I've just about learnt to predict when this happens, and often (but not always) able to fire the shutter just at the right moment.
This means, you get the great light (late afternoon sun) lighting up the colours, but it also usually balances the sky, meaning you get sky detail instead of the washed out white sky you often get if there is insufficient light on the kite.

If you can get them in this good light, then you can shoot at fast shutter speeds and a reasonable DOF without sacrificing additional noise.

I don't think there is an ideal setting, but on all my images I post I put the lens used and the settings I took the shot at.



Thanks everyone for your comments , they are genuinely appreciated :)
 
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