Autofocussing BIF with a cluttered background

[shane shacaluga]

Hi, I wanted to ask if there was any good way of getting the cameras AF to lock up on a flying bird when there are trees and bushes in the background

My main spot for shooting raptors is in a valley with a big hill on either side. The birds will fly low across the bushes and I miss a lot of shots as the camera will pick up the bushes and not the bird

Any help would be great

Current camera is a Nikon D7000 and using a 70-300 VR until today as I just received a 300f4 and 1,4x TCII

Usually shooting in continuous AF with either 9 or 19 points selected

Thanks in advance

[Doug Brown]

Hi Shane. Have a look at this thread (http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php/1949-Bumping-the-focus-for-BIF) started by Jim Neiger. Jim and I will be leading a BIF workshop in Southern California this summer, where we'll be concentrating on varied backgrounds. BIF against varied BGs takes a lot of practice, and is definitely one of the most challenging of the avian photographic disciplines.

[shane shacaluga]

Thanks a lot for this link. I will try this out and see if it improves.

[Corey Hayes]

Try Spot AF

[shane shacaluga]

Try Spot AF

I will try this too although sometimes the birds are too small in the viewfinder and one small mistake and i am pointing at the background moving the focus point

[Jim Neiger]

Shane,

Here is a link to another thread that may help you: http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php/57449-How-to-setup-your-Mark-IV-for-BIF

You just need to find the equivilant settings for your Nikon gear.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Great advice on techniques and I agree with them but no substitute for practice, practice, practice.

[James Shadle]

Shane,

Here is a link to another thread that may help you: http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php/57449-How-to-setup-your-Mark-IV-for-BIF

You just need to find the equivilant settings for your Nikon gear.


I might know a little about Nikon settings if you need them:w3.

[shane shacaluga]

I might know a little about Nikon settings if you need them:w3.

Thanks a lot guys for the tips and thanks James for offering help on the Nikon settings

So far I have set the Continous AF single point, AE/AF back button as my shutter and my tracking sensitivity as slow. I have been practicing a bit but as you all mention, its going to take a while before i get comfortable with it so I will keep you posted.

On a slightly different topic but for same situation, I have been reading up on Arthur morris's technique on taking a reading from the sky and then adding a couple of stops to expose the birds properly when the sky is the background, but how to I prepare for birds against the cluttered background. Should i do a point metering on a dark or light bush and then should I add more light?

Again thanks a million

By the way I am using a D7000, Nikkor 300f4 and 1.4x TCII

[arash_hazeghi]

Thanks a lot guys for the tips and thanks James for offering help on the Nikon settings

So far I have set the Continous AF single point, AE/AF back button as my shutter and my tracking sensitivity as slow. I have been practicing a bit but as you all mention, its going to take a while before i get comfortable with it so I will keep you posted.

On a slightly different topic but for same situation, I have been reading up on Arthur morris's technique on taking a reading from the sky and then adding a couple of stops to expose the birds properly when the sky is the background, but how to I prepare for birds against the cluttered background. Should i do a point metering on a dark or light bush and then should I add more light?

Again thanks a million

By the way I am using a D7000, Nikkor 300f4 and 1.4x TCII

the most reliable method for photographing BIF against varied BG is manual exposure. as the bird flies over dark and bright BGs meter will blow up or severely underexpose the bird. By using manual exposure you set your exposure once and don't worry about it. During flight you need to concentrate on only one thing and that is keeping the bird centered in the frame, anything that distracts you from this function will likely make you miss the frame. If your subject is static and you have time then you can experiment with other exposure methods....

[shane shacaluga]

Thanks for this Arash. Is there a way to predict what exposure to set in case something good turns up when you are setting up. How do prepare so you are more or less good to go from the first few shots? Is it past experience in those conditions that lets you select the right exposure or is there a method by using any of the cameras meters?

Again thanks for the help

[Jim Neiger]

Thanks for this Arash. Is there a way to predict what exposure to set in case something good turns up when you are setting up. How do prepare so you are more or less good to go from the first few shots? Is it past experience in those conditions that lets you select the right exposure or is there a method by using any of the cameras meters?

Again thanks for the help

Try this thread: http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php/95139-Metering-off-the-Water-Sky?highlight=constant

[shane shacaluga]

Perfect!! Thanks a million.

I have a lot to work with now. Need to get out and practice. I will be back ;)

[Sam Maggio]

If Your lens has VR try turning it off and remove the 1.4TC and see if it helps, remove any UV filters. I use the AF-ON button on the back of the camera to focus. When I have a busy background I will " bump focus " meaning press and release the AF-ON button trying to acquire focus rather than holding down the button in AI Servo mode, the camera will acquire focus quicker than it will continuously track.. But, sometimes that don't work because the subject is too close to a busy background ....... You just have to wait for the subject to get closer or a clean background ....