Low Level Flypast

[ChrisH]

I have been filming birds in flight for some time - not an easy subject! I believe I am improving all though I still have a long way to go to make perfect image,

Swans are quite good to shoot (with a camera that is) because of there size and because their loud wing noise gives you plenty of warning of their arrival.

Comments and suggestions would be gratefully received.

Best viewed at largest size for full effect.



Aperture: f/5.6 Shutter Speed: 1/250 ISO: 100

Perhaps a close up with a letterbox crop is an improvement.

[Goldcoastgolfer]

Great capture. Personally I think the composition of the first shot is the better one of the two - I think the extra space in the frame helps to give the sense of speed a bit better.

[CougarFool]

Lovely images.
I started off liking the second picture the best but then, after reading Mal's comment, I changed my mind and prefer the first one! The fence is a bit of a distraction but not much you can do about it. The lighting and exposure are great.

[Geoff F]

I agree with a crop, Chris, but the question is exactly how to crop.

Your crop, I think, actually exaggerates the railings while leaving a bit of space above them reduces their impact.

So what would I do?

Probably crop the top just above the snow line, a bit from the bottom, to remove the out of focus water, then a balancing crop from the left side, probably about the same as you have lost in your crop.

I also rather like leaving the snow to show that it is a winter scene.

[Steve S]

Hi chris, next time, try iso 800 and a little noise reduction in post. You'll find you will get a much sharper image with the added shutter speed.

As far as crop, i think i would try cropping to the top of the wall with a 16/9 and see how that looks.

[Bobobird]

Birds, especially in flight, need a good balance of shutter speed, aperture and ISO with shutter speed being most important. Try base settings of 1/1250, f5.6, ISO 200 and adjust from there depending on the light but try to keep that shutter speed up.

[Steve S]

Birds, especially in flight, need a good balance of shutter speed, aperture and ISO with shutter speed being most important. Try base settings of 1/1250, f5.6, ISO 200 and adjust from there depending on the light but try to keep that shutter speed up.

This was his settings for the shot............Aperture: f/5.6 Shutter Speed: 1/250 ISO: 100

Bumping the iso to 200 is not going to give you 1/1250s Just sayin.