NX30 + 16-50 POWER ZOOM 1080P STILL GRABS @ ISO 100 1/2000 SEC

Woke up to the coldest day in NYC during the last 10 years.

And believe it or not, I immediately thought that this was a good day to try to get some dive bombing seagull images which I have failed to do on recent shoots.

It was cold for an extended period and I figured the seagulls would lower their self-protection thresholds and dive down to eat some crackers in front of my camera.

After several 'tests' on selecting a location for my tripod, and almost breaking my back by slipping on the ground ice, I decided to stay on the parking lot's ice free asphalt.

The wind direction, which dictates the seagull's flying position and my required camera position, led me to decide to use the front of my car as the landing position, with my tripod mounted camera secured against the car's body to reduce wind vibration, near my driver's side door.

It was 18F and quite cold in the wind, but I must report my NX30 performed flawlessly and was not affected by the cold.

It took about a half hour to attract the seagulls towar my camera. At first they were hesitant and kept their distance, even with me throwing crackers on my windshield as I sat in my car.

They did not trust the camera, nor me. These birds do not catch on the fly (as beach seagulls do).

So almost ready to give up, I decided to walk about 15' (3 meters) up wind, away from my camera and throw additional crackers toward the landing pad which I had placed on top of my car's hood.

Well, the seagulls responded immediately, and were dive bombing the crackers with great dexterity (as my clip shows).

I shot at ISO 100, f4.4, 1/2000 sec, 1080P, Preset Manual Focus at center of the landing pad.

I cut my video leaving only the action moments I wanted, created a new video and then pulled out all the still grabs. I then batch PP in Fast Stone Viewer, and the using Power Director 12, I created a new clip of all the Stiil Grabs with each still displaying for .5 seconds.

At the end I added the normal speed source clip for the still grabs.

I hope you find this interesting and that you give it a try:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/nickphoto123/sets/72157650455331579/

(P.S. - I really can't wait for my NX500 and it's 4K - I am just like a kid  )