Hobby - (Falco SubButeo)

[Phill Luckhurst]

Yes, that is where the name Subbuteo came from. The inventor of the game was told he could not call his football game "Hobby" so he used the latin name.

Here is my first successful shot of one of the wonderful birds, taken a couple of years ago. They only visit us briefly so opportunities have to be grabbed when you can. This one was catching flies on the wing, you can just see its prey where it is looking. The time of year this was taken insects are their main food, particularly dragon and damsel flies. Later in the year they take other small birds. Very acrobatic and fast they are a challenge.

Canon 7D + 100-400 @ 400mm, ISO 800, 1/1250th, F5.6. Cropped a little but I was lucky to get so close for this one.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Hi Phil, that was a nice sighting you got! Well exposed image. At this small size it is tough to judge sharpness though - you can post up to 1200 pixels horizontally. These guys are fast so it appears you did OK tracking it. Nice colours to the BG, and the head turn is kinda neat. Not my favorite wing position, and I see a colour cast on the subject (looks too purple).

[Phill Luckhurst]

I see what you mean about the slight purple cast, I might tweak that. Size wise I linked from Flickr so didn't resize (the next size up was 1600). I'll resize next time.

Since then I have manged a few more shots of Hobbies there. I've only been shooting them for 2 seasons. 2013 we were really lucky that they bred at Wilstone so hung around, this year they were less visible apart from a few days early on, probably for a good feed before moving on. Hopefully this spring I'll get more opportunities.

thanks for your critique, much appreciated.

[William Dickson]

Great capture Phil. A wee bit too small in the frame for me but still impressive. I have yet to photograph this lovely falcon. Well done and thanks for sharing

[Phill Luckhurst]

Thanks William. Since this was shot I have managed closer shots but with 400mm being my longest lens and the birds rarely coming near enough it is hard work. Worth it though as they are spectacular in action. The 7D doesn't lend itself to too much cropping as it just shows up noise, but I have added a 7DII to my collection and so far it seems to produce images that work well when cropped a bit more.

Here is another from this year, I like the composition but the image quality was lower due to being a bigger crop.

[William Dickson]

Good news Phill, I have recently purchased a 7D Mkii aswell,but, the jury is still out on this camera. I am glad I got it for the extra reach, but I find that the light conditions have to be good for to get the most from it. I still find some focus issues as discussed on other forums. I also had the 7D and the Mkii is definately better for ISO issues

[William Dickson]

You should have started a new thread for this second image Phill, which, in my opinion is better than your first post

[Phill Luckhurst]

I must admit, when I first got the 7D2 I did struggle with the focus but one I got acclimatised to it I have found it more reliable than the 7D and better in almost every way. My 7D is now mainly used for macro and the 7DII for everything else. I also have a 5DIII but it keeps playing up after a drop so I do not trust it, plus the crop of the 7Ds really helps as in reach limited situations as I am sure you know.

[Phill Luckhurst]

You should have started a new thread for this second image Phill, which, in my opinion is better than your first post

Sorry William, new here and not used to the etiquette.

[John Walker]

Agree about the 2nd picture being better - but at least with the first I learnt something new about my boyhood hobby!! I am still trying to catch one of these in flight!