Faster Than A Speeding Bullet

[Loi Nguyen]

..and I'm no Arash :(

1DX
500f4 II + 1.4X III
1/4000
F8
ISO-1250
Handheld while standing on chair

This kestrel continues to foil my attempt to capture a really good picture of him in flight.

I have tried tripod, handheld, with and without converters, small lens, big lens.

Appreciate nay tips here for my next attempt!

Thank you

Loi

[Don Lacy]

Hi Loi, My only suggestions would be to try and find a cooperative bird which is hard to do, find a nest and set up a blind, bait them into range and also shoot from a blind.

[Iain Barker]

Hi Loi

I think this is a good attempt and if it had been a few inches higher it would have been clear of the leaves.
I presume by the position of its talons it has just taken off. I would have preferred it it the tip of the extended wing had not been clipped. Is this a crop? I think it could do with more space for the bird to head into. so maybe you didn't need to be so close.
Overall I think this is an interesting image.

Iain

[Loi Nguyen]

Hi Don, good idea about a nest, I will need to do some homework here.

iain, this is almost full frame. Took only a sliver off the left for comp. yes, I should have the extender off not to clipped the wing, but the bigger issue here is the focus, which is still on the branch. This is another net miss.

loi

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Hi Loi,

Very good capture under the circumstances. After a few months of photographing American Kestrels, I finally got close to them in a local wildlife preserve. I think one of the reasons I was able to get as close as I did is they are used to people walking the trails. Approximately thirty feet from them in flight and on perches using a 500mm with 1.4x tc. , tripod. 500px.com/geoffreymontagu

[shane shacaluga]

Loi, what focus points were you using?

I have found that if a perched bird is about to fly off, the best is to activate all the points and let the cameras AF system do the work

If you have it on a small central point the bird usually moves faster than you can and 99% of the time get the perch in perfect focus!!

This is my amateur approach and am sure some of the more experienced members can give you better advice

[Marina Scarr]

You've done a good job keeping the bird's head sharp. If you are going to attempt the take off from this vantage point, I would suggest that you take a few steps back. You are better off to loose than too tight. Patience and luck are the keys!

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Loi, after capturing plenty kingfisher take offs, here is what I do. Firstly you need to have space in your frame for the subject to fly into - lens or distance from the subject will sort that out. You then need to 'guess' which way he is going to take off - they normally take off in the direction they are perched. If the subject is facing to the right, move your focus point to the left, which means you are focussing the subject in the left hand side of your viewfinder, which in turn leaves you space for the subject to fly into. Here comes the best part - you now need to keep your eye in the viewfinder for as long as it takes for the subject to take off. You then to press your shutter the moment he is thinking of taking off. Off course, it may not take off at all. I am very lucky with kingfishers, as they are not perched for long, so I do get plenty of practice at these type of shots. If they decide to take off away from you, well thats just bad luck. Hopefully you would have captured it in the frame, and you will know you are getting the hang of it.

Good luck.

[Loi Nguyen]

Hi Everyone, thank you very much for your comments. I realized I could have got this shot yesterday without the 1.4X on.

Stu, great suggestions, will try next time. Thanks for the tips.

Loi

[Morkel Erasmus]

I know how you feel. Cheetahs do the same to me...
Next time Loi! Also watch the wind direction, they'd normally take off into the wind too.

[arash_hazeghi]

Hi Loi,
with more attention this would have been a success, you were too close and used too much focal length as a result critical focus locked on the far wing and you also clipped that wing. He exited the frame before you could get him separated from the perch and with a little bit more dynamic pose.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

This was a great attempt Loi but as stated by most you would have had a better chance if you were farther away. Its a shame cause that is nice and close.