Northern Flicker II.

[Karl Egressy]

I went back to the nest hole this morning.
I was there a bit earlier and could have an other spot with the sun right behind me.
This time the flying angle was better and the background was a little worse.
I hope that by next time the chciks will stick out their head.
It would be fun.
Thanks for coming.


Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
Mode Manual Exposure
Tv 1/1600
Av 5.6
ISO 1600
EF500mm f/4L IS USM
(I used fill flash but it did not fire for this shot)

[stefano sitzia]

the moment catched is very well.
for me the photos was low in details, the head of flyng bird is 'micromoved' or not perfect focused. I don't know...
the colors are great and the compo too.

[arash_hazeghi]

nice pose and wing position, I agree the head appears OOF and the bird in the BG is a bit distracting here. TFS

[Doug Brown]

Nice action! You need more SS to pull this off. Shoot wide open and boost your SS by a stop.

[Randy Stout]

Karl:

The pose on the flying bird is really great, well exposed, softness already noted.

This means that your third trip will yield that special photo!

Cheers

Randy

[Bill Dix]

Technical issues noted, but this is still a great moment captured. I like it. This is really tough to pull off. Third one will be the charm.

[Karl Egressy]

Thank you all. I don't know if you have ever tried this kind of shooting.
It is about 75 percent luck, I would guess. We were the four of us and only I got ONE shot that I just posted.
I noticed that the other two photographers used remote cable release and wached the birds and pressed the release.
I watched them trought the camera, stopped the focusing and held my finger on the shutter release.
I realized that it happens so fast and unexpectedly that you keep the focus on the bird (hole) and hope for the best.
The camera won't have time to lock on the very fast moving bird from a fairly short distance.
Any better way to do this?

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Karl, well timed to capture the take off, and I do like the wing position that you captured. Great to see you experimenting, and you will nail the shot you are after.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I photogrpahed a Great-crested Flycatcher's nest last year and got some similar opportunities as the parents left the nest hole. I got some succes by pre-focussing on the hole and then recomposing towards where they'd fly off towards most often (sometimes you can tell before they jump out by the direction they glancing at), and then when the parent jumped out I'd quickly fire and pan at the same time. Here is one example I got:

http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...ted+flycatcher

You have a terrific opportunity here, hope you get some killer stuf...and I can't wait to see the chicks!!

[rajojomanik]

Great action shot Karl. I too noticed the head is a tad OOF. I know you'll get it next time.

[Karl Egressy]

I photogrpahed a Great-crested Flycatcher's nest last year and got some similar opportunities as the parents left the nest hole. I got some succes by pre-focussing on the hole and then recomposing towards where they'd fly off towards most often (sometimes you can tell before they jump out by the direction they glancing at), and then when the parent jumped out I'd quickly fire and pan at the same time. Here is one example I got:

http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...ted+flycatcher

You have a terrific opportunity here, hope you get some killer stuf...and I can't wait to see the chicks!!

Thanks Daniel. your Great-creasted Flycatcher shot is fantastic. Thanks for sharing your technics.