Evening Catch

[Carolyn Arnesen]

I debated whether or not to post this image. I have a series of shots of this Eagle fishing over the local lake as the sun was going down. Some are better than others, and many, including this one, are not sharp. I should've increased the ISO to get a higher SS. The image is slightly cropped and leveled, exposure increased slightly, levels, sharpening, noise reduction on background.

All C&C welcome. Advice on how to keep things sharp in camera for HH BIF would be appreciated.

EOS 7D 300mm + 1.4x 1/1000 F/5.6 ISO 500

[Diane Miller]

You caught a very dramatic moment -- well worth sharing! The water droplets trailing are a great touch. I wouldn't say it isn't sharp.

Is that the 300mm f/2.8? If it's the 300 f/4 then it's wide open with the TC, and maybe stopping down a little would help a little. The wingtip is out of the plane of focus and you would have to stop down too much to get it sharp, and would have to up the shutter speed a lot to freeze it, so it's not unexpected that it is soft. The head and body look like they're in focus.

The best advice is practice! And you'll find helpful information in many threads in the different forums here. As you said, you might have profited from a little more depth of field and a little more shutter speed (1/2000 or more), but that means higher ISO, which doesn't help image quality. Good light is a big help. And steady hand holding technique is very important.

Keep practicing and posting!

[Tobie Schalkwyk]

As you've said, the sharpness is not 100% Carolyn. It's a great moment caught on camera however (wouldn't mind getting a scene like that to snap, myself!), so thanks for sharing! Diane covered the rest.

[Carolyn Arnesen]

Thank you, Diane. I will definitely keep practicing and experimenting with stopping down when the light is right. The lens is EF300mm f/4L IS USM.

[Doug West]

Another thing or two...

1. Since you're using the 300 F4...make sure you're using IS Mode 2 and not 1. Mode 2 is for horizontal or vertical panning,
while 1 is more for static.

2. Can't remember if it has a Limit Range Switch, but if it does, set it to the Far Setting, which I think is 3m to infinity. This
will reduce initial focus acquisition.

3. Learn your wind direction. Birds generally land and fly into the wind. So if the sun is at your back (like it should) and the
wind is in your face, the birds will probably be flying away from you, not making for an idea situation.

Doug

[WillieHall]

This is a very exciting image you captured. We all know how difficult to get perfect focus on flight shots, but I think it looks good. I do like the water droplets, but I wonder if the crop could stand removing some from the right, giving the bird somewhere to fly? Thanks, Doug for your comment about adjustments on the lens, I need to do this on my 100-400L lens.

[Sandy Witvoet]

Terrific action shot! Great catch by you and the Eagle! Colors and focus seem quite good, but, I am seeing a fair amount of artifacts around the bird which seem to detract from the "outline" ... possibly due to the resizing process? (Does anyone else see these?)

[Carolyn Arnesen]

Thanks, Doug. These are good reminders. My lens was set at IS mode 2 (but wasn't turned on-lol), and the lens was on the far setting (which definitely makes a difference in acquisition). Good point about wind direction - I had been considering it for take-off but not general flight and landing.

[Carolyn Arnesen]

This is a very exciting image you captured. We all know how difficult to get perfect focus on flight shots, but I think it looks good. I do like the water droplets, but I wonder if the crop could stand removing some from the right, giving the bird somewhere to fly? Thanks, Doug for your comment about adjustments on the lens, I need to do this on my 100-400L lens.

Thanks, Willie, for your comments and crop suggestion. I did consider the heading in comp. but in this case prefer the 'mission accomplished' feel to the leaving the frame comp.

[Carolyn Arnesen]

Terrific action shot! Great catch by you and the Eagle! Colors and focus seem quite good, but, I am seeing a fair amount of artifacts around the bird which seem to detract from the "outline" ... possibly due to the resizing process? (Does anyone else see these?)

Thanks, Sandy. I wonder if the artifacts could be due to selecting and sharpening the bird only? (My PP skills so far are very basic.)

[Randall Farhy]

This is a solid action shot, timing is spot on. Williehall's RP is more pleasing but that's likely a large crop if you want to do anything other than digital display.

Agree with Doug re: the 300F4- Also, keep in mind that this lens tends to aquire and track slowly compared to other lenses-even more so with the TC attached. My experience is that it is a low percentage set-up for BIF (or fast action) when used on the 7D even without the TC. That said, this image appears to be sharp, just not where you wanted it to be. Check the rear wing. Have you calibrated it to the body? Doing so eliminates one factor of many. As Diane notes, keep shooting, the shots will come.

[Iain Barker]

I really like this image. I like the birds position in Willie's repost. It would be better if the bird wasn't heading away but at least the head is still visible. I think your sharpening has introduced a halo which might be what Sandy mentions. Overall I don't think this is too far off. Keep them coming.