Grey Wagtail scored 10 for the balance.
River Gymnastics
Category: actionphotography
Birds in flight 2020
Looking through my library from 2020 and can’t remember doing a blog on the different species I captured with restricted movement but still managed to get out and about with the Sony. The weather was really good in spring and with the small lake close by I ventured out a few times and found the Heron and Geese flying most days over the lake.
The Geese are great to photograph with lovely soft colours and very easy to read whet they will do next, giving me a great opportunity to capture some great images.
The flight is beautiful to watch and with the wind direction always blowing across the lake they take off head on over my head.
Then when the Geese calm down the mallard will start chasing each other across the lake with the right sunlight the colours on the Male are amazing.
I started to get up early as the Grey Heron starts some strange routines ones I have never witnessed before. One would sit at the top of the tree then dive head first into the lake. Then it would beat its wings and start elevating its huge body out of the water
Small but Elegant
The little Turnstone is such a joy to photograph wit its friendly nature you can get close to see its lovely plumage and with the right technique get some lovely images of it in flight. I don’t really need the 1.4 extender on the A7r4 200-600 but weather permitting I will see if I can get some sharper images.
They come in so fast turning in all directions so your reactions have to be lighting quick to follow them and as they fly together a lot of the time they make a wonderful art form of image sometimes 30 to 50+ in the frame. Not all are in focus but that sometimes makes it look better as a picture.
The Perfect Day
arriving at my peacful location at 10.30 this morning i was greeted by Bella hunting in the field where i was going to set up. Knowing she needs to make a kill i left her to hunt and went back to my car. I spotted the Kestrel flying above my makeshift hide on the banking and it made me very excited that it still hunts over the Hide i built.
The hours past buy and i messed around with my settings as you do and took some Snaps of the post i wanted Bella to sit on. It didnt happen today, and that’s what i love about wildlife photography you never can be certain when and if yo will get that Snap.
So i had lunch and it approached 1400hrs when i looked up and the Kestrel was hunting just off to my left but to far to capture it in flight. I have only a few snaps of the Kestrel as its pot luck where you are when the decide to hover above you. 1500HRS came and thats when a couple turned up on th road ooposite me.
I had seen them before and it just reminded me of when i was starting out looking for the Barn Owl and how excited it is when one appears. They moved up the road and it was then Bella came out to Hunt. The light was fantastic and she came close on a few occasions but i didnt want to frighten her with the sound of my shutter noise on the camera so i let her hunt back and forth.
It is very hard to keep calm when a bird as beautiful as the Barn Owl comes into range of your camera but like i stress to anyone i meet, this is her Patch and you are the visitor and should respect the fact that you go home to your lovely warm house while Bella and Bertie hunt all through the night to survive.
I decided today to try f9 on my camera as this is the lowest aperture you can get when you attach a 1.4 Extender giving you more reach. When Bella approched this time she made a sudden decent to her right opening her wings wide and moving through a sequence of flight movements. I was locked on to her but i never know if as they say i have Nailed it.
Edited in Lightroom Mobile i was pleased to say that even when she was far away i got some decent snaps of her.
After I had nailed a few snaps I felt it time to go and stopped to talk to the couple who stopped to watch the Barn Owl. The smile the lady had on her face when i parked up was pricless. This is what i mean when i say the sheer beauty the sight of a Barn Owl fling brings is one that cant be matched. They were a lovely couple and i apologised for shouting at them on one occasion.
Ther names were Sarah and Tom and they were so nice to talk to and just love wildlife. I hope they read this and i really hope they get some great snaps of Bella or Bertie but keep it secret for thier enjoyment and mine. I let them know that i am writing a blog on the Barn Owls and will continue to protect them from people that put getting a image rather than the Barn Owl interest firt.
How my day turned out
Arriving with a plan to set up a hide using natural material from the land. The field i am using is about the size of 3 football fields with dead braken a weed that groes high and takes over. Its easy to break of at the base and this is my chosen foliage to cam up my make shift hide. Its knowing how to build one and sighting it in the correct location is key
So i used the banking that runs paralel with the field and set my first braken half way up t give me some elevation. As i built it i decided to use my spade and dig out a seating area. So i set to it and after 4 minutes i had built it and surounded my set with brown braken.
Sitting back i set my camera and made holes in the cam to see the posts i had placed for the Owl to sit on. Ruth had made me sandwitches for lunch and as i opened them i heard a Tractor like noise getting closer. The owner was driving it and he just kept coming across the field. He stopped opposite me and informed me he needed to get past where i was sat and collect a metal tank and drag it out to take back to his house.
I stood up and moved from my cosy little hide and watched as he Started work, he is a lovely man like his wife Christine who let me use thier land.
Phase 2 i moved quickly up the banking and started setting up another hide and within 20 mins i had myself another hide.
The plan was to film the female Barn Owl coming into land on the post. Sometimes we over compliate what we are trying to achieve and i placed 2 posts up and sat back, but soon as i got comfy i realised i had created a problem for my self. Having one post means you focus on one position and your ready, but putting up a second means she will have a choice and you dont know which one she will go for.
Anyway after 2 hours sitting watching cyclists go past talking about rubbish i spotted Bella coming out of her building and move away into the fields across the way. Knowing she was out and knowing she always comes into the field to hunt makes me very excited. Unless you have been close to this amzing bird you will not be in my Zone of thinking.
15 Years of day to day photography looking for certain species is a challenge to any photographer so when an opportunity comes your way to film a special bird you put th extra effort and hours in to film.
So when Bella moves into the field and Quaters looking for prey it sends me into a trance, and with age and experience i dont take images of her to far away, i even let her get used to the posts without taking a image. It puts her at ease and thats the importance of respecting her habitat at all times.
Bella came straight towards me and these are the Snaps i got. A bit of editing but the eyes are crystal clear and sharp.
Enjoy like i do.
What A Difference Getting Down To The Water Level
For years I have filmed wildlife and I always new the different way you see the bird from getting down to their world. So last summer I gave it a go and what a difference it made to the final image.
The whole image creates a better story as your in there world, taking an image and capturing the image just at that moment is hard enough. But when you are resting your big lens on the waters edge and lying on your belly its even harder. No tripod or monopod just your arms your eyes and your reactions.
Water and action tell the fight for survival as the juvenile gull fights off the main contenders. So just by joining their world opens a new one for me.
Make your own mind up if you think it adds a different dimension to your Snaps.
Grey Heron in flight
Sony Close Up image Quality
Yesterday the Barn Owl flew past me and i managed to get a flight shot, i used Jpeg Extra Fine and the in camera processing was just brilliant. I only had to crop slightly so you could say i nearly filled the frame.
Detail is so good you can see the markings on her body showing its a female in flight.
Love the Sony A7r4 and with the 200-600 there is so much pleasure when you do birds in flight because you are confident it will nail the image.
Light Fading
5 hours of waiting not much happened until late afternoon. The sun went in and I was about to pack up. Then 2 Barn Owls came out hunting together, in the same field.
This one is the female as she has brown speckles on her breast. She also has no ring.
Lovely to see male and female hunting. This could mean there mating and hopefully have young. My story will continue.
Feb Day 10 Photo Challenge
Day 10 challenge was to capture a duck species in flight so i went early to the coast as the High Tide was at 10.15. This is good time to get the ducks in flight as look for food on the banks as the sea washes all the bits in. The Widgeon are beautiful and make a lovely image in flight or on the water.
Key information
The wigeon is a medium-sized duck with a round head and small bill. The head and neck of the male are chestnut, with a yellow forehead, pink breast and grey body. In flight birds show white bellies and males have a large white wing patch.
Wigeons breed in central and northern Scotland and also in northern England. Many birds visit the UK in winter from Iceland, Scandinavia and Russia. With large numbers of wintering birds at a few UK sites, it is an Amber List species.
What they eat:
Aquatic plants, grasses, roots.
Measurements:
Length:45-51cmWingspan:75-86cmWeight:500-900g
Population:
UK breeding:400 pairsUK wintering:440,000 birds
Identifying features:
This bird species has different identifying features depending on sex/age/season.
Feb Day 1 Photo Challenge
Well it had to be my fav bird of all time, she came out early and took 3 Voles in 20 mins hunting. She is a fantastic bird to film but i have to be aware that if she sees me i will spoil the fun as i don’t want her getting bothered by my being there. Her eyes are so sharp and her hearing is the best in the world, able to hear a vole heart beat. I set my camera to silent and today i really hid well but just before i left i am sure she looked in my direction for a split second. I will leave it for a few days as i want her to have as much freedom as she deserves and is used to.
Just look at the images i took today, not my best as the background messed about with my focus area, but still the different positions she gets into is just amazing.
Sony A7r4 200-600
The amazing combination of this setup has opened a new world for me. Birds in flight is the hardest form of photography to master and I have lost many amazing images because they were just out out of focus
The smaller the bird the faster the bird means you have to have good knowledge of the bird and reactions to it appearing in your field of view.
Over time I have learned many things about cameras and settings you need, but without the skill from the user it is near impossible to get a Razor sharp image of a fast moving bird in flight
So after Canon, Nikon, and Olympus I found Sony. The area i filmed in with all 3 was the same but the difference between the 4 was my keeper rate, the number of images that I had to choose from when editing increased beyond anything I had expected when I switched over to Sony.
So after so many years and Thousands of £s I found my combinati. The feeling when you leave the house to capture a bird you may only get one chance at filming, and the peace of mind you will will return home with great in focus images is the best feeling a photographer can have.
There are days we all have as photographer’s where nothing seems to work and I have experienced that many times, and learned that its me not my expensive equipment thats at fault. Simple Answer pack up and put the gear away.
Another thing I think the person looking at the image needs to know is that to get that one image may have taken 100 or 200 shots to get it just right, it can be in focus colour just right but the background could be all wrong, colour or objects.
I love the challenges I set myself and the harder the better, but my Sont gear gives me so much confidence and we are a great team together.
People that know me will understand when I say that I am happy with my equipment and why should I look at another camera when this combination gives me amazing images. There is a simple explanation, I have to have the best I can afford to achieve my aims in life.
Rons life through the lens 