Here is a good way to photograph purple martins in flight.
Need a PM house you can get close to. Ideal focal length will be 300 or 400 with a crop factor camera. Longer lenses tend to be heavier and you will be hand holding. Watch the birds come into the house and find a pattern. Pre-focus just before you will be photographing them. Do not press the shutter when they are far away, let them come in and only start the AF when the center point is square on the bird. Doing so before will get the system to start hunting and you will never acquire focus.
Conditions are important. Need to have wind (strong) at your back with a good sun angle. Days with little wind will allow the birds to approach form any direction and make this difficult. Light wise you do need a good light since the males are dark. Females will need less light and tend to over expose quickly. Best to set exposure manually.
Lots of PM houses around, should not have a problem going after them !!! Good luck !!
This bird was photographed with a Mk2n and the 400 5.6 f 9.0 1/1250 sec ISO 500
OK that should help a bit :D I've been trying to get these guys in flight with a Mark III and EF 500 IS hand held. I have a 400 f/5.6 but have never used it (Dust collector) Never felt I could fill the frame enough to really capture anything with great detail.
Just goes to show how WRONG a newbie can be :)
Thanks for the great info !!! I will try to put it to good use soon.
Anthony Your best bet is the 400 Have tried hand holding the 500 and did not work. Even when you are not tired the time it takes to move the lens is way much. For filling the frame get close to the house. btw that 400 is the best flight lens I've ever used. The only thing I'm missing since switching over to Nikon !!!
I have been thinking on a ladder for my next try. Can sit on top and will put me closer to their level. If you sit quiet they will get used to you and go about their business !!!
Thanks a lot for the tips Alfred! I always wandered how I could get a nice flight shot of these fast and erratic flying birds. Now that I have directions I must give it a good try!
Thanks Alfred for the great advice. It's always great to receive words of wisdom from those with experience. I guess I'll have to give the ole 400 a try. I always felt it was to short > But again, that just shows my inexperience. Funny I bought the thing 6 months ago but never used it. I just love the 500 and it's rare that it's not on the Mark III :D
Beautiful shot Al! But getting that shot is easier said than done. Spent a bit of time this morning at our Purple martin houses (4) and got lots of shots of blurry birds as the lens went to the background. I'll keep trying though and when they have chicks starting to fledge, I'll have to try extra hard. At that time the males will attack. My vegetable garden is in the center of the 4 houses and at times I get dive-bombed and have had a bird or two hit the top of my head. Should get some nice close ups then!
Hi Linda One thing you can do with the set up is controlling the bg !!! Need to set up with a clear bg If you have lots of trees it can be done but will be frustrating.
If there is one clear area to photograph concentrate on that area and leave the other alone. Your keeper rate will increase big time !!!!
Purple Martin 101
