Pigmy Falcon

[Roger Clark]

Pigmy falcon photographed in the central Serengeti. Canon 1D Mark IV, 300 f/2.8 IS +2x TC at f/5.6 1/4000 sec at ISO 400 hand held. This is about 75% of the original image.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Roger, good flight angle, wingspread, and I like the placement in the frame. Im not sure if the sun was blinding him, as the nictitating membrane seems closed. Since this was in the middle of Africa, Im fine with the bright blue sky BG.

[Roger Clark]

Hi Roger, good flight angle, wingspread, and I like the placement in the frame. Im not sure if the sun was blinding him, as the nictitating membrane seems closed. Since this was in the middle of Africa, Im fine with the bright blue sky BG.


Thanks Stewart. No, the nictitating membrane is not seen. That is the iris in the eye that is showing.

Roger

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Roger, it shows how bad my laptop screen is, :e3 as Im now viewing on my Dell monitor at home and can clearly see the eye is fine as is. Apologies.

[Bill Dix]

Amazing to catch this small speedster at 75% of FF. Great head angle. Wingspread composes nicely in the frame.

[gail bisson]

well done to catch this guy in flight! I would like to see another round of sharpening on the head,
Gail

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Roger, head looks a bit soft...the bird probably flew by too fast for the camera to track perfectly. other than that, an awesome capture. what a bird...and to get it like this so close must have been a thrill.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Lovely shot Roger as expected pin sharp and all the techs are spot on. I like the composition but wonder if the crop was really required, for me the bird is perhaps just a tad large in the frame - perhaps you cropped to improve placement in the frame.

[Roger Clark]

All, thanks for the comments.

Gail, Kaustubh, I have not done any sharpening on this image (yet) except a USM on the BPN size image at radius=0.5, amount =80%. Perhaps tonight I'll do some Richardson-Lucy sharpening and repost.

Jonathan, lower in the frame are some acacia branches so I cropped them out, which left the bird larger in the frame. I dislike the branches (I find them distracting).

By the way, this was very high sun for what I normally work in, and we had quit photography for the morning. Were heading south out of the park. We stopped briefly for the falcon on a bush. After some portraits it took off, and boy was it fast. This was the only frame I got in flight--the next frame is only the feet (so even though I was panning, in 1/10 second he went from almost centered in the frame to almost completely out of the frame). Amazing too was the fact that the 300 with 2x TC nailed the focus. The under-wing in shade only worked because it was well lit by the reflection from the dry grass.

Roger

[Roger Clark]

Here is a sharpened version. Richardson-lucy deconvolution 5x5 10 iterations. Downsized and a USM applied to the downsized image to bring back the lost apparent sharpness.

Roger

[Ofer Levy]

Sharpness looks ok in the repost and exposure looks spot on. I am sure you know you could have easily reduced the shutter speed in order to be able to go smaller aperture which could have given you a sharper image. Shooting wide open with the x2 converter is usually something to avoid.
Since I often read your comments regarding 'phase angle' I assume the 'phase angle' in this image is very good. (I can't tell as I don't fully understand this term.) Please would you be able to explain how you've managed to get the desired 'phase angle' considering this is a fast flying bird. (I remember that you have explained in a comment on another bird in flight shot how the photographer has to position himself in order to get the right 'phase angle'.)
I have to admit I am not crazy about the light in here and the fact that there is so much shadow on the bird. I also find the blue in the sky a bit too intense and would consider de-saturating it. From my experience such rich dark blue is a result of getting the bird in the wrong angle with the sun.
Here is a repost which allows the bird to fly...:w3
Cheers,
Ofer

[Roger Clark]

Sharpness looks ok in the repost and exposure looks spot on. I am sure you know you could have easily reduced the shutter speed in order to be able to go smaller aperture which could have given you a sharper image. Shooting wide open with the x2 converter is usually something to avoid.

Hi Ofer,
Closing down would have reduced shutter speed, which would have increased motion blur for this very fast flyer. My 300 +2x does quite well. Closing down increases diffraction. Increasing ISO to keep shutter speed up would have increased noise under the wings.




Since I often read your comments regarding 'phase angle' I assume the 'phase angle' in this image is very good. (I can't tell as I don't fully understand this term.) Please would you be able to explain how you've managed to get the desired 'phase angle' considering this is a fast flying bird. (I remember that you have explained in a comment on another bird in flight shot how the photographer has to position himself in order to get the right 'phase angle'.)
I have to admit I am not crazy about the light in here and the fact that there is so much shadow on the bird. I also find the blue in the sky a bit too intense and would consider de-saturating it. From my experience such rich dark blue is a result of getting the bird in the wrong angle with the sun.
Here is a repost which allows the bird to fly...:w3
Cheers,
Ofer

Phase angle is simple. Next time you are out with your camera, put it on a tripod and point at your subject. Stand in front of the camera and stretch one arm straight parallel to the lens axis. Now point your second arm straight at the sun. The angle between your two arms is the phase angle. I'm putting together more articles on this concept and should have them done in a month or so.

As I explained above, the sun was high for the day and I had stopped photography for the morning. We were in a safari vehicle (wife, guide and I), so I had the vehicle positioned for best phase angle for the situation on the perched bird. I have many images of these guys over the years sitting on a bush. but not in a good flight angle. I positioned the vehicle so the sun was coming over my left shoulder and the phase angle was about 30 degrees with the sun almost directly behind me, higher phase angle than I would have liked (I like about 20 and usually not above about 30). The bird fortunately took off in a direction towards me enabling this image. This is a situation for a flight photo where one has little control of the situation, except the initial position which I chose well. The phase angle in the image is about 45 degrees, which normally would cause too high of contrast. The contrast was mitigated by reflection from the extremely dry grass on the Serengeti.

In your repost, I feel the bird is too centered. I prefer the original composition. Also, I resist adding canvas.

Roger

[Manjeet & Yograj Jadeja]

beautiful capture of a beautiful bird, love the wingspread.

[Ofer Levy]

Hi Ofer,
Closing down would have reduced shutter speed, which would have increased motion blur for this very fast flyer. My 300 +2x does quite well. Closing down increases diffraction. Increasing ISO to keep shutter speed up would have increased noise under the wings.




Phase angle is simple. Next time you are out with your camera, put it on a tripod and point at your subject. Stand in front of the camera and stretch one arm straight parallel to the lens axis. Now point your second arm straight at the sun. The angle between your two arms is the phase angle. I'm putting together more articles on this concept and should have them done in a month or so.

As I explained above, the sun was high for the day and I had stopped photography for the morning. We were in a safari vehicle (wife, guide and I), so I had the vehicle positioned for best phase angle for the situation on the perched bird. I have many images of these guys over the years sitting on a bush. but not in a good flight angle. I positioned the vehicle so the sun was coming over my left shoulder and the phase angle was about 30 degrees with the sun almost directly behind me, higher phase angle than I would have liked (I like about 20 and usually not above about 30). The bird fortunately took off in a direction towards me enabling this image. This is a situation for a flight photo where one has little control of the situation, except the initial position which I chose well. The phase angle in the image is about 45 degrees, which normally would cause too high of contrast. The contrast was mitigated by reflection from the extremely dry grass on the Serengeti.

In your repost, I feel the bird is too centered. I prefer the original composition. Also, I resist adding canvas.

Roger
Roger, closing down to f7.1 or f8 wouldn't have caused any diffraction issue but it would have improved sharpness in here which is not 100% at all. You don't need 1/4000 to get a very sharp flight shot. 1/2000 should be plenty.
As to composition - I would love to hear what others think about the repost.
As I have said in the past 'phase angle' is totally irrelevant to bird photography IMHO and claiming you can position yourself in order to get a certain 'phase angle' when photographing bird in flight is not practical.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Roger, i like the sharpness in your repost. Ofer's repost with more room also works...but if me, I'd have moved it a little to the right in the frame....that probably comes down to personal preference.

[Roger Clark]

Roger, closing down to f7.1 or f8 wouldn't have caused any diffraction issue but it would have improved sharpness in here which is not 100% at all. You don't need 1/4000 to get a very sharp flight shot. 1/2000 should be plenty.

Hi Ofer,
The main effects of diffraction is loss of contrast. At the pixel pitch of a 1D Mark IV, the pixel to pixel contrast is reduced to about 30% at f/5.6 and at f/8 to about 10% (green light)! So yes, diffraction is affecting images in our digital cameras even at f/5.6. The blur filter scrambles that a bit, but that just makes things worse. The result is more sharpening needed to bring back contrast in the fine details, enhancing noise.

Regarding 1/2000 second, the wing tips are already showing slight motion blur at 1/4000 second, thus blur would increase by moving to 1/2000.



As to composition - I would love to hear what others think about the repost.
As I have said in the past 'phase angle' is totally irrelevant to bird photography IMHO and claiming you can position yourself in order to get a certain 'phase angle' when photographing bird in flight is not practical.

You may think that phase angle is irrelevant, but the evidence from hundreds of BIF posted on BPN is that people can often get the phase angle they want. The dominant angle (I've posted on this before) is too low of a phase angle (often less than 10 degrees), reducing shading in the fine details. Thus, if people understood the micro shading enhancing fine details, they could equally target slightly higher phase angles just like they now do for less than 10 degree phase angles.

Roger

[Ofer Levy]

Hi Ofer,
The main effects of diffraction is loss of contrast. At the pixel pitch of a 1D Mark IV, the pixel to pixel contrast is reduced to about 30% at f/5.6 and at f/8 to about 10% (green light)! So yes, diffraction is affecting images in our digital cameras even at f/5.6. The blur filter scrambles that a bit, but that just makes things worse. The result is more sharpening needed to bring back contrast in the fine details, enhancing noise.

Regarding 1/2000 second, the wing tips are already showing slight motion blur at 1/4000 second, thus blur would increase by moving to 1/2000.



You may think that phase angle is irrelevant, but the evidence from hundreds of BIF posted on BPN is that people can often get the phase angle they want. The dominant angle (I've posted on this before) is too low of a phase angle (often less than 10 degrees), reducing shading in the fine details. Thus, if people understood the micro shading enhancing fine details, they could equally target slightly higher phase angles just like they now do for less than 10 degree phase angles.

Roger
Roger, if you look at the work of top BIF photographers on this site and elsewhere you will realise they hardly go 1/4000 (usually 1/1600-1/3200) yet they get perfectly sharp images.
If you also look at the most beautiful shots posted on this forum you will see that most of them were taken at smaller aperture than 5.6 and there is no problem of diffruction (whatever that means), contrast, etc.

For young photographers who are just starting out now and would like to get decent bird in flight shots I would advise the following:
1. Don't worry about 'phase angle' - just make sure the sun is behind you.
2. Shutter speed of 1/1600 - 1/3200 is more than enough to get perfectly sharp BIF shots.
3. If you can avoid shooting wide open - do it and don't worry about diffruction. Depth of field and lose of sharpness are bigger problems caused by shooting wide open - especially when using converters.
4. The Canon 1D Mar IV gets very clean files even at iso 800 so if you need really more shutter speed - don't go iso 400.

Have a look at my website - all my flight shots were taken at less than 1/4000 and aperture of f6.3-f8.

Just my 2 cents...:w3

[Roger Clark]

Roger, if you look at the work of top BIF photographers on this site and elsewhere you will realise they hardly go 1/4000 (usually 1/1600-1/3200) yet they get perfectly sharp images.
If you also look at the most beautiful shots posted on this forum you will see that most of them were taken at smaller aperture than 5.6 and there is no problem of diffruction (whatever that means), contrast, etc.

For young photographers who are just starting out now and would like to get decent bird in flight shots I would advise the following:
1. Don't worry about 'phase angle' - just make sure the sun is behind you.
2. Shutter speed of 1/1600 - 1/3200 is more than enough to get perfectly sharp BIF shots.
3. If you can avoid shooting wide open - do it and don't worry about diffruction. Depth of field and lose of sharpness are bigger problems caused by shooting wide open - especially when using converters.
4. The Canon 1D Mar IV gets very clean files even at iso 800 so if you need really more shutter speed - don't go iso 400.

Have a look at my website - all my flight shots were taken at less than 1/4000 and aperture of f6.3-f8.

Just my 2 cents...:w3

Ofer,

It is a simple examination of the sequence that shows the bird was moving over 1000 pixels per second through the frame. Smear should be less than 1/3 pixel to be sharp. If I photographed this bird at 1/1600 second, there would have been almost 1 pixel of smear. Shutter speed needed depends on the speed of the subject (angular velocity) and how large the subject is in the frame. For small fast birds, faster shutter speeds are necessary if the bird is large in the frame, as was the case with my falcon image.

My advice is
1) Phase angle is important. If the sun is low in the sky, have it coming over one shoulder or even further to one side and not directly behind you. That angle imparts subtle shading that gives form to the subject. As the sun rises put the sun more behind you: as Artie says, point your shadow at the subject in that case. With the sun higher, the phase angle remains significant again imparting form-making shading. There is a simple analogy: who likes on camera flash? On camera flash is very low phase angle. Getting a flash off camera improves the lighting, and that is directly due to phase angle.

2) Shutter for the subject and the available light. There is not one small range for all. Large birds fly slower. Small birds fly faster and need faster shutter speed.

3) Wide open or not depends on the quality of an individual lens. Super telephotos are very good wide open or 1/3 stop from wide open. Stop down as needed for depth of field.

4) What is clean concerning noise is relative to individuals. I personally don't like the noise on any camera at ISO 100, but that is a physics limitation we all have to live with.

Finally, Ofer, your other comments are getting off topic of the critique forum and I ask you to stop.

Roger

[Jim Neiger]

Roger,

It is possible to get sharp flight images of birds like this with less shutter speed. A great deal depends on the angle of the birds flight relative to you. If a bird is flying accross your field of view as it appears to be in this image, panning caqn negate most if not all of the speed of the bird. If the bird is flying directly at you, then panning is not possible and more SS is needed. This is one of the reasons that head on flight shots are so much more difficult.