Live and learn is what they say but on this occasion a brain fart led to my downfall. I should have known better.
- Typically on my blog I feature my photographic successes but occasionally I like to use my mistakes and resulting failures as an example of what not to do – sort of a learning device for myself and others. Writing about it helps me to better remember my screwups and avoid them in the future. It’s a leftover from rewriting my notes in college while I was studying as a similar learning device. We use what works best for us as individual learners (if we ever figure out what it is).
In a previous post I said that one of my goals was to get a terrific shot of a Cedar Waxwing in flight. To qualify as being “in flight” the bird must have completely left the perch after takeoff (no toes still touching the perch allowed) which makes it much more difficult to get it sharp because they rarely take off in the same plane they were perched and keeping active focus points locked onto a speedy and erratic songbird in flight is almost a superhuman task.
Several days ago I almost succeeded in getting that terrific shot, two of them in fact. But “almost” doesn’t cut the mustard.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
I caught “him” at the end of the first down flap after leaving the perch. Even though he was partially side lit I got a catch light, I captured an interesting flight posture and I like the way the waxwing is partially and artistically framed by the leaves at right and at bottom.
But the bird just isn’t sharp enough, even with a little extra sharpening added selectively to the bird during processing.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
I was lucky enough to keep him in frame for two photos but neither one was quite sharp enough (they look better at this relatively low resolution than they really are). I had enough depth of field and shutter speed to get him sharp but I think I know why he ended up soft.
When birds take off from elevated perches more often than not they take off horizontally or slightly downward to use gravity as an aid to gain speed and save energy. After photographing birds for over a decade I’ve internalized that tendency so I don’t even think about it anymore. So when this bird took off I instinctively started to aim my lens slightly downward to give myself the best chance of keeping him in frame and in focus as he accelerated. When I did that my active focus point locked onto the leaves below him instead of the bird which caused the waxwing to be somewhat soft in both shots.
So why was this a mistake instead of just another completely understandable failure of a very difficult and high risk shot? Notice the head angle of the bird in both shots – he was looking (and flying) up instead of horizontally or down because he had his eye on a bug up there. There was an entire flock of waxwings hawking insects from the tree they were perched on and when they took off they almost invariably took off in an upward direction to get at the insects flying above them.
I should have known that this bird would take off at an upward angle! Actually I did know it on one level but I’m the poster child for “creature of habit” so when my instincts kicked in I automatically moved my lens at a slightly downward angle, my active focus point locked on to the leaves and the bird was soft.
Being a creature of habit generally serves me well in both bird photography and life but occasionally it bites me in the butt. This was one of those times.
Ron
PS – Just a couple of days ago a local friend and bird photographer who also shoots from his vehicle mentioned that he often screws up his first shots of the morning when he unexpectedly encounters a bird but he’s forgotten to set his camera to the most appropriate settings and didn’t have the opportunity to do it at the last second. I rarely if ever make that mistake anymore because I’m in the habit of setting my camera and lens on the kitchen counter in the morning before I leave home and then formatting my memory card and adjusting my camera settings to the lighting conditions I’m most likely to find when I arrive on site.
Just one of the many examples of how being a creature of habit has served me well. But it can definitely go both ways…
Love those waxwings. They are so sharply feathered, it’s hard to catch that real-life definition in a photo.😻 Thanks for the tips
So, you were taking pictures of the leaves and that pesky Waxwing got in the way, right? See? It’s all in how you frame it (no pun intended). 😉
The Waxwing is gorgeous! I know you’re calling this a brain fart and I get it, as the results aren’t what you were aiming for (woo hoo — more puns). However, I think I actually like the first shot more with the sharp head/face and the edges of the bird a little soft because I get the sense of him really focusing on his prey while he’s scrambling to get close to it. Plus, you caught a great “landing lights” shot of those red wingtips and yellow tailtips. Same goes for #2 and the little pop of blue sky in the opposite corner from the greenery in #1 makes me feel like he’s really bookin’ it!
I’m glad you like them both, Marty. But actually even his head isn’t sharp in that first shot. It’s just less soft than the rest of him. It’s sometimes hard to tell at these relatively low resolutions.
I must have either a really awesome or a really crappy laptop — his head looks mighty sharp in both. 😉
You’re at a disadvantage, Marty. I can see the high res version and you can’t. Photos often look better than they really are at low resolutions. It’s a little like trying to judge sharpness from a thumbnail sized image – it can’t really be done.
And keep in mind, I added extra sharpening to the bird during processing.
Thanks for the interesting “teaching” blog entry today. Love to hear anything related to the trials and tribulations of bird photography! Looking forward to semi-retirement someday so I can spend more time learning this art … so, in the meantime I like storing away any helpful tidbits.
I hope your “someday” comes soon, Joanne. Thanks.
Huge thanks to you teacher.
You teach me/us so much. While showing us what can be achieved (in my case if Lady Luck has moved in).
We all need Lady Luck, EC. Thanks.
In the early morning light changes quickly, and I’ve got to change camera settings frequently within half an hour after dawn. I wonder whether you think shooting at 1/5000, ISO 1250 might have gotten the bird sharp? I don’t know what time of day you were out, of course….
Martha, I don’t think more shutter speed would have made any significant difference. My SS in the first shot was faster and it’s the softest shot of the two photos.
You certainly get points for getting a “whole bird” take off. BTW, the leaves are tack sharp; I can even see the veins and serrations;)
Yup, they’re sharp – right where he had been perched.
Ron,
Technical question: with your camera is it possible to tell which focus point was activated when you review the photo on your camera screen and also when you put it on the computer? How many focus points do you use for birds in flight? Thanks, John
John, I can’t do it with my camera but there is software that allows me to do it on the computer.
I use either one or five focus points depending on the situation.
Great pictures, I think. For those who yesterday mentioned my squirrel, he isn’t tail less, he has a half a tail. He could have been caught in a trap or had an encounter with a fox. Anyway, he doesn’t seem to have any problems getting around and doing all things squirrel. Thanks for your interest.
Thanks, Sarah.
Those darn knob gremlins move the knobs Ron. I “usually” take a test photo or two. Once a month or so I find not just knob settings have changed, but internal settings. I get a timeout to set things back correctly. Do not forget the battery draining thieves. Sometimes my photography/birding morning turns into a birding trip. Rookie mistakes just make be shake my head and laugh at myself.
I have found over time with your blog, learning is what is why I read the blog. Either the teaching or the techie stuff. Yes I do look at the photos. jake
Jake, I usually take test photos too. But it isn’t unusual for me to pull up on a bird before I’ve had a chance to do it.
I usually take test photos too. But apparently you’re better natured than I am because I’ve yet to laugh at myself when I screw up.
I agree with Judy’s comment about how strange the Waxwing’s head looks up like that, and she’s right too that the head looks like a swallow. Good observation, not sure I would have thought of it. I always appreciate your showing your followers what you consider to be mistakes. No matter how many times when taking take off photos of the eagles have I been very confident as to how the take off would go only to be completely fooled and end up with a blown photo. Maybe our bird friends actually know what we are doing and deliberately change their method and direction just to torment us:)
Everett, I often think they do it deliberately and I don’t think it completely tongue in cheek either.
Like you, I format my card when I am adding the battery before I leave the house and dial in the expected settings. What I have missed several times is leaving the camera set at Bracketing when I have used it for something other than birds. It is shocking to fire off a burst of shots and each one gets slower and slower and suddenly you know.
I am still working on developing my muscle memory for that 90% of the time they do fly downward when leaving a perch. Problem for me is they fly downward and away most of the time!
“What I have missed several times is leaving the camera set at Bracketing”
Linda, thankfully my only serious photography is bird photography so I don’t have that additional complication.
Ahh, Thank you, Thank you Ron – I will learn from this post! I have had to throw away almost everyone of my flight shots they are so terrible. I really like it when you take the time to teach us, man do I have a ton of stuff to learn even with all the years I’ve been shooting. How long does it take to develop that fluid motion when tracking a bird? Man it is frustrating as hell!
The fact that at least someone is learning from my posts makes it all worthwhile, Dick. Thanks for saying so.
As to your question, I dunno. I’m still trying to learn that fluid motion…
Great to be able to analyze what probably happened even if the fact it did is “irritating” 😉 Still love the shots! 🙂 Their colors and the tips of some feathers “dipped” in red paint are lovely. On “expectations” I don’t expect to see the Waxwing “looking up” the way it is and it’s head looks “strange to me that way” – no crest and wider mouth make it look more like a swallow tho I certainly wouldn’t mistake it for one! “Pretty good” about getting settings back to “usual” after shooting – been caught too many times wondering “what the hell!!!???”
Judy, when I used to forget to set my camera settings in the morning before I left the house they had often changed because I had inadvertently bumped a knob or dial at some point. One should never assume the settings are still where you “thought” you had left them.
And sometimes I swear those damn things change all by themselves! And I mean that.