Asian brown flycatchers almost always eat insects, usually flying insects. It was therefore rare enough to see the birds trying to eat berries. Photographing this behavior, and doing so correctly, made the fleeting moment one to remember. The flycatchers went for the berries only for about five minutes. I quickly judged the proper distance (11.9 m)--close enough to get good details on the birds, but not so close as to scare off the flycatchers. Shooting semi-automatic, I chose my aperture and ISO and saw that the camera was setting a speed of 1/6400. I set my focusing mode to single-servo, focused on the berries, and waited for the Asian browns to fly in. I was on Lesser Yangshan Island, a migration hot spot 30 km off Shanghai in the East China Sea.
Device: Nikon D3S
Lens: VR 600mm F/4G
Focal Length: 600 mm
Aperture: F/5
Shutter Speed: 1/6400
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure Comp.: None
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 4000
Metering Mode: Center-Weight
Subject Distance: 11.9 m
Photoshoppery: Some cropping, noise-reduction on BG, light NR on bird and bush, sharpening of flycatcher.
Brilliant setting here , Craig !! The colours of the flowers balance the dull colours on the bird . The ' just to land' pose is also good. If at all , I might experiment with a closer crop ....if this is not a crop already .
Very well timed here Craig, as I know, landing shots of the smaller species is far more difficult than the take off's. Love the pose, and setting of the intended perch, and those berries look a tad big for this little guy. Well captured.
Asian Brown Flycatcher
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