Eiders in Flight

[William Dickson]

Canon 1DX
f/4 500mm with 1.4
f/6.3
f/3200
ISO 640

Another from my hometown, whilst I was perched on the rocks at low tide with the sun behind me. The single focus point is on the upper wing, just in front of the tail of the bird in front.

Will

[Ian McLachlan]

Really good stuff. Two eye lights and to me both birds are sharp.

[David Policansky]

I love this shot, William. Let me ask you, though, about the eyes, which for me are just missing being sharp. I have some images of birds in flight like that. If the focus had nailed the eyes, than I think there might have been less detail in the wings. What do you think?

[Paul Burdett]

Hi William. Really like this one. Great that both are sharp at f6.3...another plus for the 1DX?...I keep reading about its "killer AF". I'm also interested in your focus point decision...do you consider the wing detail to be more important in this case?

[Debapratim Saha]

Well posed birds in a same focal plane, excellent shot William.

[John Mack]

Nicely timed here. Like the dark blue water background. Both birds look to be in good focus.

[annmpacheco]

Ohhhh I like this Will, wonderful to see the boys together like this. nicely positioned, and details!

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Will, always great to capture two subjects together in the frame, and both in good DOF. I feel you have nailed the overall exposure on these guys, and both pop from the darker BG. Well captured mate.

[William Dickson]

Thanks for the comments, much appreciated. With regards to the focus point. If it was a single bird in flight, I would definitely aim for the eye (I use single point, handheld). On this occasion, I saw the birds arriving from a distance, and got a few shots at them as they flew past me. I aimed for the eye of the bird in front, then changed it as the bird behind came closer. When it came to processing, I noticed that the rear bird was slightly less sharp than the one in front. And this image with the focus point where it was, looked best. Looking at the image now, I should have added slightly more sharpening to the front bird's head. David and Paul hope this answers your questions.

Thanks for looking.

Will

[David Policansky]

Thanks, Will. Yes, indeed you did answer my question(s). For what it's worth, I also use the single center point AF for birds in flight with my Canon 7DII, even the spot AF sometimes, unless the birds are against a very clean BG, such as the sky. I find that my camera's AF is too eager to grab onto the BG otherwise.