Birds in flight are a tricky subject. Most are just really, really happy to get them dang things sharp. The idea of then placing in the frame a single bird at the right spot, with the right light and the right gesture and I’ve seen it make some photographers comatose! Admittedly, that’s a lot to deal with in a viewfinder because if nothing else, it’s all moving. The key is to eliminate all the variables in the photographic process so all you are doing it concentrating on the formation.
You start with making sure your long lens and panning technique are solid, second nature. A big part of this if shooting with a big rig (these were shot D4s / 800mm) and on a head like the Wimberley giving you background control. Be sure that the controls on the head aren’t tight nor loose. The best I can describe it is you should have to push against the head and feel some resistance but not so much that the head “chatters.” You must work between your tripod legs and not with one leg between yours (which means you could be constantly moving the tripod and repositioning it). And that you look for your “kill zone” which is where you have the best light and background.
[envira-gallery id=”37397″]
For flight photography, there is a basic rule for easy flight photography which really helps in this process. You want the sun and the wind on your back and the bird flying into your face. When you have this combination you have the best lighting and the slowest flying birds. Then you want to find the best background with this scenario (this isn’t a must, it just makes the best photography possible, easier). These photos of Greater Sandhill Cranes were taken at Bosque del Apache at the Farmfield, a great place in the afternoon when you have a wind blowing to the north (so wind is out of the south). On this afternoon, we had the perfect conditions other than it was too windy. The sun and wind was at our back and we had a good background. Then you have to start watching the birds and the way in which they tackle flying into the wind.
It’s smart to start with just getting the single bird in the viewfinder to get use to their rhythm and pattern of flying. Get a feel for their path, speed and wing beat which doesn’t take to long. Personally, I’ll look at a group of birds and make the decision which individual is going to cut out and make a good single shot and committing to it. Sometimes you get the shot, some times you don’t. Once I feel more confident at that prediction, I go for the groups. The one thing you might notice is that for the groups, the lighting is sidelight and not frontlight. That’s because I want that shadow to separate the individuals as well as to trick the eye to seeing more sharpness in the photo than there really is. Inevitably someone will ask how many shots did I take to get these. My shooting percentage was 82% for this afternoon, I deleted 18% of what I shot. You can do it too, just takes putting that time in and then acting on it. The resulting images are worth all the time you put in!