Sometimes I get lucky

[Kent Wilson]

I was practicing photographing flying barn swallows yesterday morning. Conditions were less than ideal, namely, no wind, but the birds were very active, flying out over a lagoon and back to nests under the deck of the Visitors entrance to the Chicago Botanic Garden. I got about 1 out of 10-20 keepers.

Canon 50D, canon 400 f/5.6.

ISO 800, 1/1600, f/8. The area of the image is about 20% of that of the RAW image.

I think I got lucky on this one, and welcome criticisms and suggestions.

Sorry, Desmond, I don't know if I can do any better. You're still The Man!:)

[Desmond Chan]

Sorry, Desmond, I don't know if I can do any better. You're still The Man!:)

C'mon Kent, you're too kind. I am not The Man here. :o I perhaps practise photographing swallows more than many do and that's all. You should have seen those by Al, Fabs, and some folks on the Avian board. Most of mine are garbage actually. I think you're on the right track, Kent. So keep practising !

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Kent You did come up with a good wing position and well framed I also like you cranked up the ISO and worried about the noise later ... sharp beats noise every time !!!

Just wondering how much of a crop it is? Does look to be substantial The trick with these birds is to get them around 80% in frame or just under !!! To give you an idea on my 400 5.6 I usually have to set it up in close focus !!!

... you would do well looking at Desmonds images He has come up with some beauties and works hard at it !!! :)

[Kent Wilson]

C'mon Kent, you're too kind. I am not The Man here. :o I perhaps practise photographing swallows more than many do and that's all. You should have seen those by Al, Fabs, and some folks on the Avian board. Most of mine are garbage actually. I think you're on the right track, Kent. So keep practising !

Hey Desmond! Those are The Titans, the gods of BIF photography. You're The Man. Me? The Grasshopper.:)

[David Thomasson]

Not bad at all considering how much you had to crop. This is a tad underexposed, so there's room to pull more color and detail out of it. Nice shooting.

[Kent Wilson]

Hi Kent You did come up with a good wing position and well framed I also like you cranked up the ISO and worried about the noise later ... sharp beats noise every time !!!

Just wondering how much of a crop it is? Does look to be substantial The trick with these birds is to get them around 80% in frame or just under !!! To give you an idea on my 400 5.6 I usually have to set it up in close focus !!!

... you would do well looking at Desmonds images He has come up with some beauties and works hard at it !!! :)

I don't know how to determine the amount of a crop in percentage terms. Can someone please explain how it's calculated (not necessarily the math but even how to estimate it).

I've been trying to get these guys larger in the frame. And I have set my 400 5.6 to close focus some of the time. But when these little guys go blasting past, up close and personal seems way beyond my skill level (or should I say my pay grade:)?).

I do try for sun and wind at my back, and of course it's a lot easier if there is a nest box the birds are coming to so pre-focusing is possible and I can anticipate the flight patterns by just watching them for a while. (One payoff is while I'd like to improve my results, I still have the pleasure of watching these beautiful birds.)

I titled this thread "Sometimes I get lucky". The luckiest I've been was finding this resource and the people involved in it.

[Nonda Surratt]

Good going Kent, keep it up!

[Kent Wilson]

Thanks, David. I appreciate your help. I guess I should have seen that myself.