Kingfisher in flight

TimHughes

TimHughes

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Tim
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Quite new to this still - only 3 sightings so far. While making progress on portraits really struggling with capturing anything decent in flight:

1. Portrait in the rain
Kingfisher_IF-4 by Good Lux Photos, on Flickr

In flight attempts

2. Kingfisher_IF-3 by Good Lux Photos, on Flickr

3. Kingfisher_IF-2 by Good Lux Photos, on Flickr

4. Kingfisher_IF by Good Lux Photos, on Flickr

The perches are a long way from the hide and there's no way to move closer so I'm at maximum length 600mm + 2x extender. I'm finding it very difficult to track as at the distance the kingfisher is not even filling an AF point so it's quite hit and miss obtaining focus. I went for 1/2000th and f8 which keeps ISO reasonable and using back button focus, single AF point and case 2 tracking. Any suggestions for how to improve?

Tim
 
Good shots in the circumstances.
I have limited experience but suggest that getting decent BIF shots with single point focus will be very difficult.
Not sure what kit you are using but 9 point or 25'point Af might work better. (Nikon settings).
 
Peter123 said:
Good shots in the circumstances.
I have limited experience but suggest that getting decent BIF shots with single point focus will be very difficult.
Not sure what kit you are using but 9 point or 25'point Af might work better. (Nikon settings).
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Thanks Peter, I'm using a 5dm4 with 600mm f4 plus 2x extender meaning max f8. This limits the available af cross type points to the central region but 9 is possible. I'll give it a try. Was worried it might pick up closer reeds or twigs and the depth of field is only a few cms at that focal length.
 
Dave70D said:
I think you did a good job, as you might know BIF shots are the hardest to do in the bird world. For me if the bird is on a perch then I have it on Spot metering, but now for BIF I switch it to Center Weighted on my 70D.
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Thanks Dave I'll experiment with this too
 
wezza13 said:
You did well considering how far away you were.

The best advice I can give is to possibly find a different location so that you can get a lot closer! :)
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I do think this is the best solution. I'd never seen one until a couple of weeks ago and I'm loath to spend precious time searching for another spot...but it's probably a good investment of time. Near here they mostly died out in the winter as the small lakes froze over so they are not many.

I may also play with live view focusing and see if that helps.
 
newbie1 said:
Near here they mostly died out in the winter as the small lakes froze over so they are not many.
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You would be surprised how hardy these little birds are and how far they will venture for food in winter ,its not frozen lakes (food source) that kills them ,its rival birds whos territory they encroach in search of food...precious time spent will give you precious moments capturing a subject you say you have never seen until a couple of weeks ago...all depends if you just want record shots
 
den said:
You would be surprised how hardy these little birds are and how far they will venture for food in winter ,its not frozen lakes (food source) that kills them ,its rival birds whos territory they encroach in search of food...precious time spent will give you precious moments capturing a subject you say you have never seen until a couple of weeks ago...all depends if you just want record shots
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Thanks Den! I think you're right it needs more time, and well worth it for this amazing bird! I'm keen to capture them in action :) As far as I know I've never seen them before a couple of weeks ago, although my sister thinks we saw one fleetingly in the Dartmouth area around 1990 but I've completely forgotten about that, must be getting old!
 
I really like the first, the loose framing and attractive perch has worked well in your favour. If you're not bothered about a little selective 'cheating' :cool: you could possibly make it a little stronger by removing the branch through the beak, something like this

34528291261_74f5581563_zRP.jpg

Regarding the flight shots, this is a very difficult shot to get, but no harm in trying. If you're shooting from a fixed hide, with no way of moving perches around then I'd say your chances of the shot are quite low. If, on the other hand you could introduce perches close to the hide, you might be in with a shot of getting them closer, depending upon the location and regular flight paths. Not easy to say without knowing the location.

Best option is the most difficult but most rewarding - find your own birds and set up accordingly. There are people on here with better knowledge than me, but even I've managed to get my regular birds to come in close to my portable hide in recent years.

Mike
 
pooley said:
I really like the first, the loose framing and attractive perch has worked well in your favour. If you're not bothered about a little selective 'cheating' :cool: you could possibly make it a little stronger by removing the branch through the beak, something like this

View attachment 102107

Regarding the flight shots, this is a very difficult shot to get, but no harm in trying. If you're shooting from a fixed hide, with no way of moving perches around then I'd say your chances of the shot are quite low. If, on the other hand you could introduce perches close to the hide, you might be in with a shot of getting them closer, depending upon the location and regular flight paths. Not easy to say without knowing the location.

Best option is the most difficult but most rewarding - find your own birds and set up accordingly. There are people on here with better knowledge than me, but even I've managed to get my regular birds to come in close to my portable hide in recent years.

Mike
Click to expand...
Thanks Mike. It is a fixed hide and no possibility to move perches so looks like I'll be looking for some other spots to get closer. I just took a look at your website too and see some stunning pictures there!
 
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