I've been struggling to get on focus with BIFs since I got my 5D MarkIII in May, finally discovering yesterday after a careful re-reading of Art Morris's 5D M3 user's guide that I had misunderstood the AF4 setting and had it set to"Stop focus search/OFF". It's unspeakable how many great images I've screwed up because of this foolishness but after changing it to"Continue focus search/ON" I finally got some decent exposures of a flight of Canadas coming into the pea field I was set up in. This is one of the results ( my first post on this site ), with more on Flickr here https://www.flickr.com/photos/91921989@N05/page1/ . I was using the Canon 400mm IS DO that I got used through Art's used equipment service @ ISO 1250,f9.5,1/750,+1.5ev, on surround focus, cropped and sharpened in PP.
Glad you are making progress Bob and good to see some of your work here, it is a great place to learn real fast if you are prepared to consider carefully the advice that the experts will be able to offer. There are a number of easily rectified issues with this image that you will soon put behind you so don't be too discouraged by the feedback. I will just mention a couple of technical points: the shutter speed is way too slow at 1/750 sec, you should be running 1/2000 - 1/3200 sec. The image has been over-sharpened causing the white halo around the hard edges of the birds. The blacks have 'blocked up' so that any detail has been lost. There is a blue colour cast over the wing of the trailing bird - not sure what has caused this but should be easily fixed. Keep trying and can get hold of some guides to post processing and BIF technique such as those produced by Arthur Morris and Arash Hazeghi. Regards, Ian.
Thank you for the detailed reply Ian. This is jut the sort of information I was hoping to get when I joined this site.I am just starting to get a feel for the camera and have so much to learn about that, never mind the intricacies of post, that it sometimes overwhelms me a bit. Happily the photography takes me out amongst the birds ( I've just spent 5 afternoon/evenings in a row trying to get close to the geese ) but the amount of time required at the computer can be daunting. I have Hazeghi's Canon EOS AF guide and plan on getting his BIF book and those by Arthur Morris and Flight Plan by Jim Neiger too.
Welcome to BPN and to the frustrating world of BIF photography:) It takes time and practice, practice and more practice like anything new. The guides you have are some of the best you can read so keep refreshing yourself with them periodically. Building up muscle memory and good HH technique is the key. Looking at this shot there are many issues that you can learn from and Ian's suggestions are all valid and helpful. The exposure settings are off for IF shooting as Ian mentioned. Keeping ss up is important and the aperture at this range isnt nearly as important.
Not sure if you started in the ETL forum but it's a great starting spot to get yourself familiar with basic settings and learning technical tips.
Keep shooting and it will come around.:)
Come join me for a Custom Raptor Workshop starting this November 2019- January 2020.
P.M. me to inquire on dates, pricing and availabilities. Thank You. www.davidsalemphotography.com
Hi Bob, welcome to BPN's critique forums! As you can see we have some good participation here from members willing to help and offer advice. You got some good ones already here. I'll just add that in general an image has more connection to the viewer when the subject is either angling towards, or at least parallel to, the viewer. Here the geese are past you at time of capture thus angling away. This will come more easily with time as you progress with this awesome hobby of ours...so many things to think of eh!
BTw, you have great gear, and from the photo you posted I can tell you achieved proper focus...that is a good sign. Keep at it, and the progress will be rewarding...
Welcome to BPN, Bob! 5D Mark III is an awesome gear for capturing BIF shots. Though the frame rate is lower than 1DX, the AF is as good as 1DX and will help to track the birds.
Good job with the tracking. You've got some great tips from Ian, David and Daniel! The BG is a bit over-saturated IMO. Do you shoot in RAW or jpeg?
Thanks for the welcome and the advice David and Daniel. David, you're right of course about the practice. I've been a water fowler all my life and it took me years to master the skill of shotgunning birds in all their variations of speed, flaring, and distance. BIF photography has many similar elements but is much more difficult as there is so much more to think about as the shot approaches and is occurring. In addition to simply acquiring the muscle memory by repetition I'm having to learn to focus myself on the camera and what I should be doing with it (just as i had to do with the shotgun in my youth) and not on the spectacle of the passing birds. Incoming waterfowl and eagles and herons and ???? can be somewhat mesmerizing and are so spectacular that said frame of mind can sometimes be difficult to achieve. I appreciate your comments Daniel on the importance of perspective for the shot and of course this positioning is much more difficult to achieve for a good picture than it is for a good shotgun shot. My years of learning to be in the right place at the right time and adequately hidden are a great help in this but the birds will still go where they will. The last three days there has been one predominant direction of approach and they almost always turn to land into the wind but they can come from all angles and I take my shots as they present themselves and sort it out later on the screen. Binu John thank you for your observations as well--I shooting RAW but am very much a beginner at correcting things like over saturation of one particular part of an image---much to learn. Here's a shot from a more heads on approach that I got yesterday. The active focus points were on the left hand bird. I had 16 decoys set out in front of me in the direction from which these birds approached in the hopes of having birds land into the wind (coming from behind me ) but the only time they did this I was having a nap and missed it ( silly old fool ). I only cropped this a bit and added a touch of vibrancy, recovery, and bit of RAW sharpening. ISO800,f8,1/1000,+1ev,61pt. focus,5DMIII,400mm DO IS
Welcome, Bob! You got excellent advice here -- keep at it. I'm relatively new to birds, and especially in flight, and I've found that with practice and time, images seem to improve all by themselves.
If you have specific problematic images, Eager to Learn is a great place to visit, but you'll probably get more views from the experts here in Avian.
Finally got it
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