My toughest BIF to date

[Loupey]

Been trying to capture any in-flights of any kinglet (preferrably the golden-crowned - but I got the ruby-crowned instead). Extremely difficult as they are 4" of pure nerves.

This is the closest I've come. Colors and contrast may seem subdued but have actually been bumped up as this was shot in the woods, with overcast morning skies, and a light dizzle.

Shot wide open at ISO 1600. Significant crop here.


Hope to get some better ones but the migration will be over soon so I'll probably have to wait until the Magee Marsh trip next April/May.

[Canon_Bob]

Another trick a lot of the warbler junkies here in Florida use is to whack them with a Better Beamer, smaller apertures, and speeds in the 1/125 range (at f/11 to f/16 - all manual, of course). The flash freezes the subject. That way, you can bring that ISO back into a manageable range. I've used that technique some, and it does work pretty well.

[AgingEyes]

The bird was in good position though.

The best way to shoot small birds in flight I guess is the use of some kind of sensor, IR, etc., let the bird trigger the shutter. Luck still plays a part though, IMHO.

Oh, by the way, the Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America has quite a few small birds in flight photos.

[paulnj]

Quite nice and Bob is right on with the BB being awesome in that situation.

BTW, kinglets very well could stick around well into the winter if food and shelter are abundant. I find them in december/ january in rare cases.

[Loupey]

Another trick a lot of the warbler junkies here in Florida use is to whack them with a Better Beamer, smaller apertures, and speeds in the 1/125 range (at f/11 to f/16 - all manual, of course). The flash freezes the subject. That way, you can bring that ISO back into a manageable range. I've used that technique some, and it does work pretty well.

True. But at those settings, the background would go dark/black which I try to avoid.

It seems that the majority of bird photogs up here use that same setup. I think the setup would work the best for static subjects as my feeling is that the flash recycle speed would become a big drawback for active subjects. Personally I like being able to shoot 2 to 3 rapid frames (if the subject allows) without being restricted by the flash. There have been a few occasions when a flittering bird stayed in roughly the same spot long enough for me to fill my entire buffer (17 shots).

I am eager to give Magee Marsh a 2nd chance to try some new techniques I've been working on


Thanks for looking and commenting!

[Canon_Bob]

True. But at those settings, the background would go dark/black which I try to avoid.

It seems that the majority of bird photogs up here use that same setup. I think the setup would work the best for static subjects as my feeling is that the flash recycle speed would become a big drawback for active subjects. Personally I like being able to shoot 2 to 3 rapid frames (if the subject allows) without being restricted by the flash. There have been a few occasions when a flittering bird stayed in roughly the same spot long enough for me to fill my entire buffer (17 shots).

I am eager to give Magee Marsh a 2nd chance to try some new techniques I've been working on


Thanks for looking and commenting!

It depends on the distance really. The beamer will light everything behind the bird for quite a distance. Another trick when using the BB is to take the flash EC down -1. It avoids that "nuclear" flash look, yet usually throws out enough light for proper exposure. I'll try and find some of the stuff I've done using this technique an post a link here.

I use a battery pack on my flash, so bursts of 5 work just fine.