Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris)

[Jonathan Ashton]

I took this image in the back garden, fat ball used as bait.
Olympus E-M1X
Focal Length : 120.0mm
Focal length in 35 mm film : 240.0mm
Exposure mode : Manual exposure (Procapture High)
ISO Sensitivity : 1250
Exposure compensation : 0.0 EV
Shutter : 1/4000 sec
Aperture : F2.8

[Colin Driscoll]

Love this one Jon, great interaction and sweet background. The young bird is just sharp enough though maybe an extra round would help, but a good result for f2.8.

[Paul Burdett]

No nits from me Jonathan. Love the action here and the eye contact between the birds. Great feather detail and both birds are sharp to me...love the BG. One of your best IMHO.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Jon ... just a wonderful action shot !!!!
If I recall correctly ( myself) , for me the best of your flight shots with this method .

Really really cool :cheers::5 .... a peach , as you like sometimes to say :w3

TFS Andreas

[dankearl]

This is really good... Sharp, good HA"s. Excellent work!!

[David Roach]

Wow... Sorry, just Wow,,, TFS

[Brian Sump]

Jon, what a beauty!

So much detail in all of the wings, both subjects nicely IF. Gorgeous background, man all the pieces are there for me.

Really enjoyed viewing this and will make one small suggestion; that being to maybe consider a touch more warmth as there seems to be some blues coming through on both beaks and the chest and neck of the subject on the right. Not sure those colors are native to the subjects as you saw them?

Well done, thank you!

[Jonathan Ashton]

Thanks very much everyone, getting shots like thus is not difficult - getting it wrong is equally easy!
The method is easy get an old ramekin attach it to a pole at convenient height ( I glued mine to a cylindical sponge used on a weigh training bench the - sponge just slips on the pole). Set camera to manual focus focus on around the centre of the ramekin. Check you background is adequate - pray for some light and Bob's your uncle. All this amounts to is a relatively small area of food source that can be pre-focused.
Having said that on this particular instance I took 1800 plus images and one yes 1 was in focus, I thought I would increase the hit rate by focusing on the rear aspect of the ramekin - no need just go for the centre. Have a go it's easy enough.

[Dorian Anderson]

****, that's really sweet action. Sharp, perfectly composed, and engaging. one of your most memorable shots, for sure. That you got an adult and a young one makes it even better. Envious of those who can shoot in their back yards like this. I've a parking lot out my apartment door!

[Krishna Prasad kotti]

Cool shot very nice wing position.

TFS

[John Mack]

Looks like an Alan murphy frame. Great interaction.

[Jay Ing]

Just love it! TFS. It's a keeper for sure!

[Wayne Niz]

Holy smoke what a great pic well done Jonathan