Gigrin Farm Red Kites - Tips?

[Mr.Orb]

Hey all,
Thinking about going down to Gigrin Farm tomorrow to photograph the Red Kites. Has anyone got any tips? Eg. best settings to use?
I was thinking AV mode with exposure comp +1/3? AF set to AI Servo?
Any tips would be great!

Cheers,
Dave

 

[cosmix3]

One thing I have tryed in the past at a Kite feeding station (in scotland) is that if the light conditions are stable then meter on some grass ect. then use the settings in manual, this helped get an even exposure against the sky,

When there has not been as much opertunitys, I.E. away from feeding stations then use AV, and tend to set it at around F9.

Hope that is of use, but must stress I am no expert.

 

[erding]

Last time I was there it was a reasonably bright day with blue sky and I was using ISO 400, 1/1000, f/10 A1 Servo & Manual on a Canon 20D with a 300 f/2.8 lens. In hindsight I should have tried going for a faster shutter speed.

Hope that helps - have a good day and post some images.

 

[Mr.Orb]

One thing I have tryed in the past at a Kite feeding station (in scotland) is that if the light conditions are stable then meter on some grass ect. then use the settings in manual, this helped get an even exposure against the sky,

When there has not been as much opertunitys, I.E. away from feeding stations then use AV, and tend to set it at around F9.

Hope that is of use, but must stress I am no expert.

Ok thanks, I'll give it a try

Thanks Tom, did you find the 300mm had enough reach?

 

[Rozzy]

been to gigrin, was before i was into photography though, excellent place, the fella who owns the place is a sound guy. there is a top pub down the road with some excellent bar maids

 

[erding]

Ok thanks, I'll give it a try

Thanks Tom, did you find the 300mm had enough reach?

When they where swooping down to ground level for food it was a good length, for higher flight shots I was using that lens with a 2x TC and I wished I had a bit more.

 

[grumpybadger]

A bit higher than 1/1000 is helpful to freeze motion if they are in a dive. I try more like 1/1250 or even a bit faster.

Last trip was with 700mm on full frame. You'll get some good chances with 300 on a crop.

Main thing to watch is exposure between sky and land backgrounds - this is where Stuart's technique of metering off the grass and shooting in manual can be helpful.

The other main tip is don't leave too early. The kites keep coming back for quite a long time after feeding. We were there until 18:30 last time...

 

[Mr.Orb]

Thanks for the tips , hopefully I'll be ok with the 100-400.
Cheers!