Birds in flight (smaller birds)

I have been shooting BIF for a few months now and the addiction is getting bigger. Thought id'e push the e-m1 and 40-150 pro + TC to its limits with a variety of mostly smaller birds and some very tiny birds locally
I have managed to get a lot more swallow, water bird flight photo's than anything but i'll save those for a another thread. 
I found the fairy-wrens very challenging as they fly low and are so tiny and the white-plumed honeyeaters very difficult too, so quick and seem to come from no where at times. The fairy martins are pretty much like a swallow and do not like getting close at all in my area.

Anyway enough from me and enjoy the photo's

regards,

Vas

Willie Wagtail 1

Willie Wagtail 2

Willie Wagtail 3

Superb Fairy-wren (female)

Superb fairy-wren (male)

White-plumed Honeyeater

White-plumed Honeyeater

White-plumed Honeyeater

Fairy Martin

Crested Pigeon

Crested Pigeon

Gorgeous, beautiful shots.  Well done. 😃

Bravo. A bunch of extremely difficult shots. You should post these to the nature and wildlife forum too.

Thanks Martin

A good idea, you convinced me iv'e been hanging in the m43 cave for too long and forgotten other ones existed

Martin.au wrote:

Bravo. A bunch of extremely difficult shots. You should post these to the nature and wildlife forum too.

…those speedy tiny birds, let long getting them in focus and finally having the presence of mind to press the shutter button in time!

Lovely pix. The only let down is the background in the male fairy wren pic -- a lovely shot of the bird but in your place, I would pick the bird out, blur the background, then paste the bird back in. Or something.

Thanks for showing.

Hi Vass, I'm impressed, particularly the honeyeater in aerial torpedo formation.  I have the same kit as you, live near Fremantle WA and have the same affliction which saw me leaving the house at 5am today heading to the nearby lake.  Anyway, I can see your standard camera settings for each image but I have the following questions.

Do you use Auto ISO?

What focus mechanism?  C-AF or C-AF with Tracking?

Kind regards,

Mark

Browsing magpie getting his/her ear chewed by territorial willie wagtail.

A bit close for comfort.

On your bike sunshine!

very impressed

vass wrote:

I have been shooting BIF for a few months now and the addiction is getting bigger. Thought id'e push the e-m1 and 40-150 pro + TC to its limits with a variety of mostly smaller birds and some very tiny birds locally
I have managed to get a lot more swallow, water bird flight photo's than anything but i'll save those for a another thread.
I found the fairy-wrens very challenging as they fly low and are so tiny and the white-plumed honeyeaters very difficult too, so quick and seem to come from no where at times. The fairy martins are pretty much like a swallow and do not like getting close at all in my area.

Anyway enough from me and enjoy the photo's

regards,

Vas

Willie Wagtail 1

Willie Wagtail 2

Willie Wagtail 3

Superb Fairy-wren (female)

Superb fairy-wren (male)

White-plumed Honeyeater

White-plumed Honeyeater

White-plumed Honeyeater

Fairy Martin

Crested Pigeon

Crested Pigeon

A wonderful set of photos of what is without doubt one of the most challenging areas in photography. You my friend have some serious skills

Thanks Geoffrey

I can easily blur the background in the male SFW photo but I kind of like the half blurred reads and the fact that focus held with it there

i'll just shoot him again next time further away from the reeds

Hen3ry wrote:

…those speedy tiny birds, let long getting them in focus and finally having the presence of mind to press the shutter button in time!

Lovely pix. The only let down is the background in the male fairy wren pic -- a lovely shot of the bird but in your place, I would pick the bird out, blur the background, then paste the bird back in. Or something.

Thanks for showing.

Thanks Mark

CAF (without tracking)
Can't remember if I used manual or auto ISO. If the light is stable I normally use manual ISO but if there is constant changing light I use auto.

To be honest i actually don't have a favourite setting as iv'e only been doing this limited hours in arvo's for last few months and havn't settled on any settings rock solid so far, still experimenting with BIF. Playing with your settings is the best way to learn I guess eg. sometimes I use centre weighted metering but other times I use ESP. I rarely use spot for BIF

MarkDavo wrote:

Hi Vass, I'm impressed, particularly the honeyeater in aerial torpedo formation. I have the same kit as you, live near Fremantle WA and have the same affliction which saw me leaving the house at 5am today heading to the nearby lake. Anyway, I can see your standard camera settings for each image but I have the following questions.

Do you use Auto ISO?

What focus mechanism? C-AF or C-AF with Tracking?

Kind regards,

Mark

I have shot rifles since a boy at targets, moving targets and feral pests so the following abilty and stalking comes from there I guess. But it takes time to get use to the feel of the camera, especially that the difference in trigger feel. I also never used a hide or tripod to photograph birds yet either, all hand held.

jim stirling wrote:

A wonderful set of photos of what is without doubt one of the most challenging areas in photography. You my friend have some serious skills

doccy wrote:

Great work - I like the challenge of getting little birds as well - but haven't got as close as you are managing here. You must have good field craft skills as well as photography ability

Those are amazing, as well as great! You have introduced a new category of photography, in which you obviously excel: SBIF!

I particularly like the shot of the bird with closed wings, looks like impossible - and even more impossible to catch it!

Fantastic!

Thanks

I have got those honeyeaters before while just taking off or just before landing but getting them mid flight I was very happy to do so.

Pedagydusz wrote:

Those are amazing, as well as great! You have introduced a new category of photography, in which you obviously excel: SBIF!

I particularly like the shot of the bird with closed wings, looks like impossible - and even more impossible to catch it!

Fantastic!

Just stunning work and shots Vas !! Excellent use of gear and settings. Phew, darn nice to see and they look great at the larger views as well.

Addictive, naaa, never mate Ha, it sure is, its a challenge like no other and that helps drive it. Amazing how it makes you feel just being out there and the bonus to get a decent sharp BIF makes it all worth while. Nature is wonderful as you know, it feels right.

All the best Vas and top shots IMO !! ...... all of them.

Danny.

vass wrote:

Thanks

I have got those honeyeaters before while just taking off or just before landing but getting them mid flight I was very happy to do so.

Pedagydusz wrote:

Those are amazing, as well as great! You have introduced a new category of photography, in which you obviously excel: SBIF!

I particularly like the shot of the bird with closed wings, looks like impossible - and even more impossible to catch it!

Fantastic!

They are fantastic shots even more so when you consider how small they are. Shooting BIF is not something I have tried much and I found it damn hard

Thanks Danny for the comments 

All the best to you too and looking forward to seeing more of your work too.

nzmacro wrote:

Just stunning work and shots Vas !! Excellent use of gear and settings. Phew, darn nice to see and they look great at the larger views as well.

Addictive, naaa, never mate Ha, it sure is, its a challenge like no other and that helps drive it. Amazing how it makes you feel just being out there and the bonus to get a decent sharp BIF makes it all worth while. Nature is wonderful as you know, it feels right.

All the best Vas and top shots IMO !! ...... all of them.

Danny.

Here is a sequence of 6 shots of the same Crested pigeon at a later time.
CAF held well here without clear background and some changes in the background.

Hi Vass, great photos.  What focus targets did you use?  Small, Single, Group or All?

vass wrote:

Here is a sequence of 6 shots of the same Crested pigeon at a later time.
CAF held well here without clear background and some changes in the background.

AF, awww that just scares me mate Once again, excellent results and going great guns on BIF"s !! Impressive shots, but equally impressive work.

All the best Vas, keep them coming. I'm loving it

Danny.