Flying Through The Storm
Jan, 2018Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in my front yard. I love capturing birds in flight. Small birds are particularly difficult since their movements are so quick. I live in an ideal environment which attracts birds (including lots of trees, bushes, and a pond) and have several feeders which bring them in close.Time
It was mid afternoon and cloud cover dimmed down the light considerably in spite of the brightness of the snow itself. The heavy snowfall on the evergreens in the background created an interesting mottled pattern behind the large flakes that continued to fall.Lighting
I shot this with an ISO of 800, f/10, at 1/1250 of a second. I wanted the depth of field to be shallow enough to blur the background but deep enough to give the birds enough leeway to stay sharp. I also didn’t want to push the ISO so high that it would blow out the highlights of the beautiful large snowflakes that were floating down.Equipment
I used a Nikon D7000 with a Sigma 150-600 mm f 5.0-6.3 Lens. The shot was taken hand held.Inspiration
The rosy finches were coming in from everywhere to get food in the midst of the storm. I loved the contrast of the quick aerobics of the birds in the midst of the soft floating flakes of snow.Editing
I cropped for composition. I had to decrease the highlights while lightening the shadows to bring out the details of both the bird and a few individual snowflakes. I also pushed up the contrast a bit.In my camera bag
I use a Nikon D7000 camera body with my 150-600 mm lens (which I call “Big Bertha” both because of its reach and the muscle it takes for hand held shots) the most. I also use a 70-300 mm or a 18-55mm Nikon lens and a tripod.Feedback
Being able to anticipate the movements of the birds is most important. Learn their behavior. Learn as much as you can about your subject’s behavior. Know where the birds will come from and where they will land. Make note of a favorite perch that they will fly from and return to. Make note of the wind. (For example, flying into the wind can help brake for a landing). Then position yourself and adjust for depth of field for your background. Shoot at a fast enough speed to stop the motion. Be very patient. Take lots and lots of photos.
