RegisG Loc: Mid-Tennessee

Well, I'm new at any kind of serious photography but, has a chance to try catching these pelicans. I was using a tripod but nearly broke my neck trying to follow their flight and find, re-find them in eyepeice. I had about 5 minutes or so before they all moved on.
Besides help with how to track moving animals, I have composition question. Is it better to have some recognizable background like the tree tops or or no distraction on flying birds? I was fully zoomed at 300mm in early evening maybe 1 hour before dark.
Thanks for any tips,
Regis
BTW - this was on very quick trip to Pensacola and back.

Pelican at about 75+ yards


Pelican at about 50+ yards

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Welcome Regis! I don't use a tripod because I like to be more mobile. I'm interested to hear what others tell you about attempting to shoot moving objects with the camera on a tripod. Seems like would be quite the challenge :)

Re your question on composition: I love to see birds as part of a composition, showing some of the surroundings. But it depends on whether there is actually an interesting setting and/or whether you can get a sharp focus on the bird itself and if your story is about something different, such as the texture of its feathers. In other words, every situation is different :)

Your photo #1 has lovely light. In this case there isn't much else of interest in the image so cropping, or shooting closer if possible, would be my suggestion.

Singing Swan

You shot these ---birds in flight ---- with the camera on a tripod??? How ! ??

I've been working on catching a bird in flight for two years and just recently succeeded at that. This evening two very large birds were circling over my neighbor's field and I managed to get about eight, maybe ten shots but I could never have done it attached to a tripod.

I love the light you captured in the first one. I think just having the little tops of the trees in this photo detracts just a bit from the beautiful bird, but I also think what you get depends on where the bird wants to fly. Mine this evening were obliging enough to fly near a tree so I got a branch in a couple of my shots. I don't live where large birds are easy subjects so I'm usually happy to take what I can get :)

davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

Greetings Regis, I think the key issue here is the type of head are you using on your tripod. Most successful shooters use Gimble (Gimbal?) heads. They allow the user to flow with the target. They tend to be more expensive than others. There is an Englishman who sells an awesome head for a great price: go to: rob@lensmaster.co.uk. I use one shooting lots of BIF's, it is a must for high-rate-of shooting. GL. :lol: :lol: :lol:

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Regis, welcome to the Hog.
I see you're off to a flying start ! No better way to get it down than just paying your dues. If you are using a large and heavy lens, you pretty much need a tripod. I would not think it necessary for a 300 zoom.
When you loose your bird, zoom back, find your bird, then zoom back out and shoot.
I assume you are using the prerequisite AI Servo.
About the composition, birds are no different than any other genre. A picture needs to tell a story. The more story the better.
If you go to a baseball game and take a picture of the 2nd baseman, do you take it with the player just standing there with his arms at his side during a time-out? No, you want him leaping over the incoming, sliding runner, as he throws for a double play. Nature photography is no different. The more elements and story you can include, the stronger your foto is.
Lastly, you need to be close enough that you get individual feather detail with no noise and a catch-light in the eye.
Regis, again welcome to the Hog.
Good luck. SS

MIKE GALLAGHER Loc: New Zealand

My feeling is that the treetops in No1 give perspective to the whole scene whereas No2 is not a scene at all but rather an identification shot. It lets me know what a pelican looks like. So it depends on which story you'd like to tell.

You did that with a tripod hanging off your camera? There are easier ways than that!
Mike.

RegisG Loc: Mid-Tennessee

With much girations..:) lol
Thanks, I did lighten the RAW image With Canon's DPP.

And I "thought" that I was doing the "right" thing! Well, I guess that I can hope this is the last embarrassing thing I do..
Regis

RegisG Loc: Mid-Tennessee

Now that all comes through very clear to me except for the "no noise". I'm not sure what that means.
Also, no AI in my setup. Oh my.... did not know that I had this. Must read the book more.. I do have a lot to learn.
Thank you,
Regis

gemartin Loc: Statesboro, GA

Yes DavidRB is correct, a gimbal will allow you to more easily track birds in flight (BIF to many photographers). A regular tripod mount, even a ball head will make BIF shots very difficult.
You have some some fairly good, affordable choices for gimbal mounts if you go that way.

There are other UHH posts about gimbals:
An endorsement of the lensmaster gimbal head (Prices $165 to $200 USA plus shipping $25) http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-150324-1.html

Be sure to read the entire UHH thread as there is a discussion of gimbal vs. ball head.

I use the Acratech Ultimate Ball head for these types of shots because it serves three separate roles: Gimbal head, Panorama head, and ball head. It does all three very well and is very easy to clean and keep new (ball heads used in the outdoors can get clogged with dirt or sand, this one won't). Check it out at http://acratech.net/product.php?productid=7&cat=1&page=1 ($280)

The founder and CEO of Acratech, Scott Dordick has provided a series of very good video tutorials. While his style is stilted and almost robotic, the content is excellent. Here is his video about his company's ballheads http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0K_QVrV_-M

It's a little off-topic, but you may want to watch his video about panoramas, I wish I had known about this when I first started shooting panos.

Have fun!

oldtool2 Loc: South Jersey

Shooting BIF can be challenging with a tripod. Your best bet is to use a gimbal head but it still takes a lot of practice.

As for background, it all depends. Sometimes if you try to include background the bird appears to be too far off in the distance. Your first shot is good. I would crop out a little of the sky though. I hope you do not mind, I cropped it a little to show you what I mean. Using the rule of thirds it still shows the tree tops, kept it to the left to help show motion. This was a nice BIF photo, congratulations.

Often you don't have that option though. You take what you can get and work with it.

RegisG Loc: Mid-Tennessee

That looks so much better. I would have never thought that trimming the top would make the pelican look closer. Ad that is what it appears to do (to me). Now, looking at my original, the pelican is kind-of small and out in the distance more.

Thanks for the tip. I'm learning a lot about BIF from tips in this thread. Probably a lot of basics that I should have known but, didn't.

Regis

oldtool2 Loc: South Jersey

Your welcome.

The hardest thing to learn about BIF it to learn to track them. It takes a LOT of practice! Been doing it for about three years now and still lose them quite often!

Just keep shooting and enjoy yourself. If you decide this is what you really want to shoot then take a look at the gimbal heads. There are some reasonably priced head available but still not cheap.

http://www.amazon.com/CowboyStudio-Panoramic-BK-45-Specialized-Telephoto/dp/B00BMAE4X6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1380725525&sr=8-2&keywords=gimbal+head

Jim D

Singing Swan

I am SO glad to read this....I was beginning to think I was a slow learner!!

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

Practice on automobiles with a narrow field of view. This way, they will always surprise you. Don't shoot at the whole car. Zoom in on the wheels. Pan as you shoot. Use different shutter speeds, ISO's and apertures. Forget about using a tripod unless you are photographing a cow.

If you have a model airplane field nearby, this is a great place to practice. You never know what the plane is up to. This will certainly help you with panning.

Use spot focusing on birds and use the auto focus.

As for backgrounds, most times you have little choice if you are suddenly surprised. So don't worry about it but keep it in mind.

What is nice about digital photography is that you can view your practice sessions and then delete them without any cost to you. In addition, many photos will look great on the camera's LCD screen but will be total garbage when viewing on the monitor. Remember: Practice, practice, practice.

oldtool2 Loc: South Jersey

I am trying to learn to track them using a 500mm prime lens. I have found if I can keep both eyes open and site down the lens to find the bird I can then shut one eye to use the viewfinder. It is kind of like learning to shoot a shotgun, LOL! It does take a lot of practice so don't give up. It is not you being slow.

Jim D