Purple Martins in Flight

There is a huge flock of purple martins that make an annual stop over in Richmond on their way down south. They spend the night in a group of trees downtown. Before sunset they arrive in a swarm to take up their place for the night. The swarm moves rapidly and doesn't last for more than a minute. This goes on for about a month. I just wondering what is the best way to get this image. I'm thinking of manually metering off the sky +1 or +2 with F11 (to get possibly more than one bird in focus); AF set to manual at infinity; ISO 800. The gear I'm considering using is a 1DMK2N; 500ISL; 580 EXII with better beamer set at ETTL -2 on high speed sync; and possibly a 1.4tc; on a Gitzo 1325.

Am I on track? Any other suggestions?

Charlie, in my experience, a hand held lens with less focal lens, like the 400/5.6 would give you more control on the erratic fly patterns of these little bullets. Thhis is for individual birds.

Now, for the flock, it depends if you want to freeze the flock or get a more flowing blur, which could also be very attractive.
Keep in mind Martins are very dark birds and you'll need more light to render the detail and the f/ stops will be in direct relation with the distance where you take the picture from. The closer, the more DOF you'll need.

I have done flocks of RWBB in Bosque, at a 600mm distance, with 1/50 for blurs and wide open for the flock when freezing. You can go to f/8 to be safe if distant.

Hope this helps and that others will chime in with ore ideas.

Thanks Fabs! I don't have a 400 5.6 so I'm thinking of using a 300 2.8 with a 1.4TC. I'll still probably set it at 5.6 since shooting wide open with a TC attached yields iffy results.

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Originally Posted by Charlie Woodrich

Thanks Fabs! I don't have a 400 5.6 so I'm thinking of using a 300 2.8 with a 1.4TC. I'll still probably set it at 5.6 since shooting wide open with a TC attached yields iffy results.

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I probably could be wrong since I'm not a Canon shooter, but Fab's 400mm f5.6 weighs only 3 lbs while a 300 f2.8 weighs 6 plus lbs, right?

You are probably correct on the weight. The 1DMK2N is no feather either, but if this only lasts a few minutes, I'll make it.

Hi Charlie. You migth consider a shoulder stock mount also, this gives you a little bit more stabliity, help with weight and I find a shoulder stock more mobile and quicker to get on the subject. Dan Brown

Dan, thanks for the suggestion but I am up to my ears in gear. Besides I've been lifting weights for the past few months so I should be ok.

Just show us your results!