Good advice.
But I find that instant gratification takes too long.
spauley wrote:
Thanks. We have much in common.
So exposure is trial and error?
Play with the ISO? Cloudy day ISO 800?
Sunny day ISO 300?
What do I set the dial at on the D7500?
Don't be afraid to take your ISO's up into the 1000+ area to get the shutter speeds you need. Personally I think a bit of noise is always preferable to a soft image. If you have the light it's great to be able to stop down for more DOF but it seems like I use my 80-400 wide open more often than not. I very seldom use aperture priority. I use full manual a great deal of the time with the exception of enabling auto ISO.
Continuous exposure mode is your friend. When it comes to BIF there's really no discussion on the issue.
Here's another suggestion: If you can find a place/club where people are flying radio controlled airplanes you can learn an awful lot in just one day by photographing the planes in flight. I've done a lot of this because I fly R/C myself and have done a lot of photography for my club.
Lastly, if you don't spend some time reading the stuff on Steve Perry's Backcountry Gallery website you're really seriously short changing yourself. His e-books are cheap to buy and really good to read. The guy's a real pro and shares his knowledge freely.
Happy to report that I got some really nice ducks in flight
after my duck shoot yesterday. I ended up going manual
at 1/1000; AF-C; 9 focus points, f 6.4; auto ISO.
On Nikon 80-40 zoom lens - Am; Full; VR on; Norm
Most flying shots were at 30-40 yds; sunny day; lens
usually at 135mm so I could pick up the birds in the
view finder. Some water shots went to full zoom at 400mm.
I wish to thank those on this forum who helped me get
going. Steep learning curve for sure. I think I'm going
to really enjoy doing this now. I'm 80 yrs old, began with
a Nikon F in 1960. Never did I dream that cameras would
ever become so perfect as to capture these kinds of pictures.
I hope this inspires others to go after nature pics without being
intimidated by "experts" who want to make it all seem so hard.
Stay with it. Ugly Hedgehog was there for me when I needed them.
Thank you,
Steve Pauley MD
Ketchum, Idaho
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