Tundra Swans in Flight

[Bob Decker]

Lake Mattamuskeet is sometimes refered to as the Bosque del Apache of North Carolina. Every winter it draws tens of thousands of Tundra Swans, ducks, geese and Bald Eagles. It is also home to a large number of wading and song birds. From yesterday's visit, two Tundra Swans in flight. 40D, Bigma @ 500, ISO 640, 1/800, f/10, EV +.33, carbon fiber tripod, imported side-mount gimbal. RAW conversion in ACR, post include sharpening birds in PS and a curves adjustment. Biggest disappoint... somehow I'd gotten my camera changed into "SmallRaw," not nearly as much image to work with as I'd liked.

Off to work.

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Bob Bummer on the settings but something to check in the future ... particularly if you camera ever goes for repair/cleaning lots of time it will return in jpeg !!!!

For these white birds need soft light, about the only way to capture, also wing up position for the trailing bird would have helped !! Try getting them closer for more detail, ideally you want to fill 70 to 80% of the frame !!

Regarding the light, look closely at the top of the wing which is a little over but the underside is under exposed ..not much more you could have done there !!!

... should be nice up there now with some snow !!!

[Bill Dix]

Nicely composed, and I like the wing position of the first bird. The second is not bad but would have been great if it had matched the first. Seems to be lacking a bit in IQ - either the 'small RAW' setting or a large crop, although you don't mention the latter.

[Lance Peters]

Hi Bob - AL has it covered - black and white birds = Soft light. Really is the key.
Looking forward to seeing more :)

[Gus Cobos]

Hi Bob,
A nice capture...I agree with Mr. Forns' sound advise...all angles covered...looking forward to your next one...:cool:

[Bob Decker]

Thanks Alfred and everyone. It was an overcast morning, I thought the light was on the soft side, but maybe not. I'd love to have gotten tighter shots but they were being really skiddish. This is a healthy crop, but not an extreme crop. I'm sure the Small RAW is playing a role, but isn't responsible for everything short coming. This is really my first attempt at watefowl in flight... lots to learn... and lots of fun. I'm sure I'll be back up in the near future.

I don't think Eastern NC got any snow... that was mostly in the Western part of the state. It was raining when I headed home.

[Jared Lloyd]

Bob, I think the issue here with these two swans is not that they were not in soft light - which they were but that your camera was trying to expose for both above and below the birds. That day turned into such a heavily overcasted day that there wasn't enough light underneath the birds. Again this is why I tried to photograph them when they were lower in the sky with a background. Here are a few from that day (http://jaredlloydphoto.wordpress.com/2009/12/21/tundra-swans-of-mattamuskeet-lake/) so you can see the comparison. Even with the lowered perspective, you can see I had a difficult time with the whites on the back.

Alfred and Lance, could you elaborate on why this was not soft light?

Jared

[Bob Decker]

Hi Jared! Didn't know you were a member here.

I agree with you that I'd consider it a soft-light day. Gray, overcast skies. I've done very limited shooting of birds in flight previously, and I suspect that played a role. The fact that I was in SRAW, the camera and lens combination I'm using, plus some inexperience with the subject matter all contributed I suspect. Also, I think this was after you'd left... that would put it around noonish... so the light probably was at the harshest point of the day.

It was an enjoyable morning and a good learning experience. A couple of return trips should help.

[Jared Lloyd]

Bob, BIF (birds in flight) are great fun, but also really challenging. Do you get Wildlife in North Carolina? I had an article in there this past June about it. Your definitely in the right place if you want to get into it - eastern NC and birdphotographers.net that is.

Jared

[Bob Decker]

I just recently became aware of Wildlife in North Carolina. Haven't subscribed yet but I do plan to. I agree that NC is a wonderful resource for photography, not just birding but nature in general, and BPN is certainly the best resource I've came across yet for learning.