Equipment Notes:
Since I shoot with Nikon gear, the following will pertain to
Nikon cameras, lenses, and jargon.
acronyms: AF = auto focus, AF-C = continuous auto
focus, AP =aperture priority auto exposure
Lens selection: I shoot about 90% of
my birds in flight using a 300mm f/4 EDIF AF-S lens; often times adding a
1.4x converter. With Nikon the "S" in AF-S is the key to having a good flight
shot lens. While Nikon says the S stands for Silent Wave (and it is quieter).
In my eyes the biggest advantage of the AF-"S" is that they focus much faster
than the AF Nikkors.
Why do I prefer use the 300mm AF-S when I also own a 500mm
AF-S ? And why the 300 f/4 vs. a 300 f/2.8 ? The answer is simple. The
300mm f/4 is far lighter than either the 500mm f/4 or a 300mm f/2.8. This
smaller and lighter package allows me to hand hold and get tack sharp images
without being tied to a tripod. Shooting without a tripod gives me far more
flexibility for certain situations. A tripod can be very awkward in a canoe or
kayak. Also, unless you know exactly where your subject is going to be, it is
easier to swing around and shoot when hand holding your camera.
Camera Settings:
Metering : I prefer either Center Weighted or
Matrix metering. We know that we are going to want a fast shutter speed,
so choose Aperture Priority and open up to the largest aperture,
(remember the smaller the number the larger the opening in your lens), so that
would be f/4 with my favorite flight shooting lens. This way I know that I am
going to get the fastest shutter speed available at any chosen ISO. I then use
exposure compensation as needed. With the sun at my back and a dark deep sky,
my exposure should be close (depending on the color of the bird). If the
background is white clouds, I know that I will have to over-expose to get good
exposure on the bird. The camera will try to make those white clouds 18% gray.
Remember that the camera wants to make the scene as close to middle tone as
possible.
Auto Focus settings: The first is obvious. We want to
use AF-C. This is continuous servo AF, which allows the camera to
continuously focus. Then I have found that Dynamic
Area AF works the best for me. Choose the center as your area of
focus. The camera will then use information from other focus areas if the
subject leaves the original area that you chose. Try to keep you subject as
close to the chosen area of focus as you can. You may need to feather the
shutter button to achieve initial focus.
AF Hints:
When possible, pre-focus at a distance you expect your subject
to be. This way your camera will have a tendency to find and lock onto your
subject easier.
Keep the bird in the chosen area of focus as much as possible.
Try to pick and set up in a spot that will keep the distance
between the subject and the background as far as possible. Sky is always the
best option here since that is infinity. However, this isn't always possible
and doesn't always result in the best photo.
Try to keep your shutter speed up around 1/1000th of a second
or faster if possible.
If there is a stiff breeze birds will often take off into the
wind.
Practice ! Gulls are great practice. If you know of a
location where people feed gulls you can get all the practice you need for
the price of a loaf of bread.
