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I can't really do swallows in flight...

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superlevure

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... but I found some perched and tried to get a few shots.

This was after a whole morning spent in a nature reserve in Norfolk, where I saw nothing at all. I saw the swallows when I came back from my lunch, on a village car park, near a field where the adult birds were catching insects.

I tried to catch a few shots of the adults flying past and feeding the young ones, but no good picture sadly. I left as I didn't want to disturb them more.

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I really like the first picture. You have the swallow really nice, eyes etc. I like the wings blurred showing motion. Same principle as a prop on a airplane.
 
It is difficult indeed.

There are some options. Shoot at 300 mm, the AF is usually better at shorter focal lengths and it is easier to follow the birds. Disadvantage: no frame filling birds

Or keep some distance with 400 mm, same disadvantage.

Waiting for them gives the highest chance on succes.

Try shooting them when they feed the young on the nest. For instance, you can wait at the barn door where they fly through. This way you don't disturb the birds while shooting. However, breeding season is over.

Another example, when rain is coming they are flying low above the water. With smaller streams they have less room and fly more or less in a straight line.

In spring they collect mud for their nests and often return to the same pool. They come straight from the nest so you know how they are flying.

They will be gone soon, possibly you have to wait for the next year :-)
 
TheBlackGrouse said:
Shoot at 300 mm, the AF is usually better at shorter focal lengths and it is easier to follow the birds. Disadvantage: no frame filling birds
Click to expand...
You give lots of good advice. Zooming out is something I find hard, as I like my birds as large as possible. My favorite blogger Thomas Stirr is excellent in selecting a frame for expected bird in flight action.

It is also worth noting that this is not necessarily an AF-C situation. Most people routinely use AF-C for BIF and forget the alternatives. But this kind of action is more of the type "prefocus on the chick, lock focus, readjust the frame for the incoming parent". This is what almost every camera can do, including older models. 30fps doesn't hurt either...
 
NancyP said:
MOST people can't do swallows in flight. Peregrines maneuvering quickly during a hunt are challenging too. I consider myself to be part of the "most people".
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Ron Parry said:
I really like the first picture. You have the swallow really nice, eyes etc. I like the wings blurred showing motion. Same principle as a prop on a airplane.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your comment.

They kept flailing their wings as soon as an adult was coming back with food. I was hoping an adult would be feeding the one I was aiming at, but no luck this time.
 
TheBlackGrouse said:
It is difficult indeed.

There are some options. Shoot at 300 mm, the AF is usually better at shorter focal lengths and it is easier to follow the birds. Disadvantage: no frame filling birds

Or keep some distance with 400 mm, same disadvantage.

Waiting for them gives the highest chance on succes.

Try shooting them when they feed the young on the nest. For instance, you can wait at the barn door where they fly through. This way you don't disturb the birds while shooting. However, breeding season is over.

Another example, when rain is coming they are flying low above the water. With smaller streams they have less room and fly more or less in a straight line.

In spring they collect mud for their nests and often return to the same pool. They come straight from the nest so you know how they are flying.

They will be gone soon, possibly you have to wait for the next year :-)
Click to expand...
 
These look great. Getting them in flight takes lots and lots of practice and even then, not many people are capable of it.

Morris
 
Shooting good BIF's will always include a very large luck factor. Shooting swallow BIF's remains at the top of the list! For seven years I tried with only occasional luck until I found myself at a local park in Central-Eastern Oregon in early summer that provided the rare conditions that allowed almost overwhelming success. Light overcast skies, no wind, a short canal around 50 feet wide and 200 feet long, lots of flying insects above the water with high reeds along the banks, and five swallow species all feeding at mid morning. A clear space in the reeds about midway with plenty of dry space for my tripod was helpful. Oh, and of course the most important, all of the swallows were flying in the same direction feeding and circling back over and over. The attached is one of a few hundred reasonable BIF's that morning.





Violet-Green Swallow
Violet-Green Swallow



--
dgluckman
 
superlevure said:
TheBlackGrouse said:
It is difficult indeed.

There are some options. Shoot at 300 mm, the AF is usually better at shorter focal lengths and it is easier to follow the birds. Disadvantage: no frame filling birds

Or keep some distance with 400 mm, same disadvantage.

Waiting for them gives the highest chance on succes.

Try shooting them when they feed the young on the nest. For instance, you can wait at the barn door where they fly through. This way you don't disturb the birds while shooting. However, breeding season is over.

Another example, when rain is coming they are flying low above the water. With smaller streams they have less room and fly more or less in a straight line.

In spring they collect mud for their nests and often return to the same pool. They come straight from the nest so you know how they are flying.

They will be gone soon, possibly you have to wait for the next year :-)
Click to expand...
The adult were passing by to feed the young ones but it was very, very challenging. If I need to wait and look for a particular spot with pre AF, I really need to get myself a tripod. I tried handheld yesterday and it was a bit of a waste battery!
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A fixed pre AF is not necessary as long as the AF is close. Simply pan for a two meter or so, just enough to get the bird in focus. Since the AF is already close, it snaps right into place and doesn't start hunting. When you are in a good position you get several chances per hour and eventually you'll have succes.

I had succes shooting them when flying directly to the camera. But this only works if something slows them down a bit. For instance a very narrow gap where they have to fly through. Or in a large barn, sitting inside (far enough from the nest) where they have to make a turn to reach the nest.

As soon as birds fly around or sit elsewhere with insects, waiting, you are too close to the nest. Always keep a safe distance.
 
If you have a camera that can do a high frame rate it might be worth looking at MF and "spray & pray". Just find a spot they keep flying though, dial in that focus distance on the lens and then fire short burst as they fly through.

I've used it in the past to capture Welcome Swallows in flight with a reasonable outcome, lots of outtakes but also some decent keepers. Usually dial in around 300mm on my lens and just aim by feel.

[ATTACH alt=" One example of "spray & pray" shooting."]2013889[/ATTACH]
One example of "spray & pray" shooting.



--
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Johan Olsson

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