Thursday, January 21, 2010

Capturing Birds in Flight

Our gardens would not be complete without visits from our ‘feathered friends’.  The sounds of birds singing and twittering is the music of the garden.  Many of us look forward to the seasonal visits of certain bird species – among them, the arrivals of the redpolls in February, and the pine siskins in August.
Both the redpolls and the pine siskins are small birds that are really fast in their flights between trees and bird feeder.  So, it’s tricky to photograph them in flight.  Always up for a challenge, however, I’ve been known to spend a few hours getting the shots I want.  Here’s what I find works:
40d
I use a Canon 40D single lens reflex digital camera.  One of its features is that it can shoot an amazing 6.5 images per second – just the thing you need to capture these fast birds in flight.
Fitting the camera up with a telephoto zoom lens helps to isolate the birds and bring them in closer, but it makes it even more difficult to follow them in the view finder.  The key is to find a mid-range in the zoom so you can follow the flight as you hold the shutter down and let the camera do its thing. You can always crop the photo later to frame them a bit better.
The shutter speed, of course, needs to be fast enough to ‘freeze’ the action – over 1/500th of a second.
Focusing is the next challenge.  Fortunately the 40D has a nine point focusing feature which pretty much means that if the bird is anywhere in the view finder, it’s going to be in focus.  That usually works unless there are tree branches or other things that get in the way.
Just the same, with patience and perseverance, you can get some good shots.  Here are a few examples:
redpoll “Flaps Down”
pinesiskins2”The battle over the feeder” 
 redpollinflight“Coming in for a landing”

So get the camera out and give it a try.  It’s great fun!

25 comments:

  1. Still trying to figure out how to use my Canon Rebel. Thanks for the tips about shooting birds. We have pine siskins and redpolls here, too. They are both "feeder hogs" in my yard and chase the other birds, like chickadees, away from the feeders. I haven't seen them yet this winter even though they are usually seen in large groups in my yard in the winter. Maybe they migrated?

    Christine in Alaska

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  2. Fabulous shots Hank! I especially love the second shot of the interaction with the ... are those Pine Siskins? Beautiful Photography. Great advice too.

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  3. Just beautiful shots Hank! I love the battle over the feeder. Your Canon does a wonderful job. Wonderful tips and action shots Hank.

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  4. Great shots. You had captured beautiful moments as they maneuver their way.... ~bangchik

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  5. The 'battle' picture is really stunning!

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  6. Wow, Hank, these are just fabulous! Now I've learned something new today, and the next sunny day, I shall give this the ol' college try. Thanks for sharing...

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  7. Wow, those are some terrific shots you have. I'v been looking for a new camera. Perhaps I will check it out. Thanks

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  8. Hi Hank,

    Thank you for visiting the Cottage on the Corner and becoming a follower. One good turn always deserves another and I'm so glad I came for a visit. The birds battling over the feeder is an awesome photo!

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  9. I love the battle photo, well worth the patience needed to get it!

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  10. Those are some incredible photos! I'm envious of your skills, and I love that shot of the battle. It could go in a magazine. :)

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  11. Dear Hank, I do not possess a camera and have not the faintest clue about how to take a picture. However, I am filled with admiration for your work and have learned a great deal from reading your posting.

    Thank you for reading my blog and becoming a 'Follower'. I have returned the compliment.

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  12. great post hank, love your tips, they add to the visuals of your subject matter.

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  13. Nice shots Hank, and good tips too! Photographing birds is a challenge, and generally I avoided it back in the days of film photography, as I'd eat through too much film, and was too impatient to wait to see the results! Thank goodness for digital photography though, I love photographing birds now! For the faster moving birds though, I'm finding that auto-focus is a liability, and prone to 'seeking' while tracking fast birds (like hummingbirds). It takes some getting used to, but I find I 'miss' less shots now that I exclusively use manual focus when shooting birds.

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  14. Thanks so much for all your generous comments.

    @Christine - Don't worry the redpolls will show up soon enough clean out the feeder. Ours usually arrive in mid February.

    @Carol - Yes, the middle photo of the 'battle over the feeder' are pine siskins. This little aerial dance is very much part of their behavior when they seem to get annoyed with one another.

    @Cheryl - I'm really happy with the Canon 40D, which has now been discontinued in favor of the 50D. Now's the time to try and get a deal on those 40Ds that may have been traded in at photo shops by people upgrading to the 50D.

    @Edith - It's never too late to start. And with the small digital cameras on the market today, it's a 'snap' (if you'll pardon the pun).

    @curbstone - I agree, the autofocus isn't reliable in all these situations. Most often I shoot with the camera in hand. But if there's lots of activity around the feeder, I'll set the camera up on a tripod and use manual focus within the range of the feeder - then crop the images later. Thanks for your comment.

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  15. I enjoyed your post. Great photos!

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  16. Wow, what great shots! I love birds but have a hard time getting good pictures unless I sneak up on them.

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  17. I am a great fan of those who have the incredible patience and eyesight to get good photos of birds.

    Yesterday as I came from making pics of still things, I saw a woodpecker on the ground in the field road. By the time I stopped, picked up the camera, and got off the RTV he had flown. I bow to those of you with bird photo skills and will stick to still life and posing butterflies.

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  18. Wonderful shots that really capture the sense of motion -- frozen moments in time. A great intro to your blog.

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  19. I would love to take better photos. I appreciate your advice here, and I appreciate those pictures of the birds!

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  20. capturing birds in flight is something is a skill I would love to master. Thanks for the great advice here. Rosie

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  21. Linked back to this post today - sunbird bathing.

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