Pacific Swallows - In Flight

[Harlequin]

Shot these little fellows at a secret pond today....

They don't stay still long enough to pose.

Enjoy...

[Wryer]

hi man,

great effort to shoot these! panning them must be real hard. I can see that the shots are pretty noisy, are they heavily cropped? or shot at high ISOs? Perhaps a fill flash using an extender would help to add some catchlights into their eyes.

Do you have an uncropped version to share with us?

Hope you are not offended by my amatuerish POV.

[Harlequin]

Originally Posted by Wryer hi man, great effort to shoot these! panning them must be real hard. I can see that the shots are pretty noisy, are they heavily cropped? or shot at high ISOs? Perhaps a fill flash using an extender would help to add some catchlights into their eyes. Do you have an uncropped version to share with us? Hope you are not offended by my amatuerish POV.

Fingers still numb from pressing the shutter and panning.

Shot at ISO 400 with flash extender. There are some catch lights there. They are about 70% full frame.

The green bubbles you see are not noise but algae...

[Vinnievinyl]

Hi Harlequin,

Good try on the swallow in flight. Looking at the pose of Swallow, you must have taken it before perching.

No offend but I think the picture can be improved by using the correct technics. One is to use ambien lighting with a speed of 1/2000 or above. The other is to under expose the ambien and use the flash as main light which will give you a speed of of at least 1/1,000.

I can see you have found the place, shooting opportunity and time where not many people can have so keep on trying.

Here are some links for your referece on what can be acheived and how it can be acheived. Hope to see someone from our side of the world to acheive it.

Picture of a Swallow inflight by Scott Leslie

http://www.naturephotographers.net/a.../jm0603-1.html

Some info on high speed flash by Joe and Mary Ann McDonald

http://www.naturephotographers.net/a.../jm0603-1.html

(please note that you may have to registered to sign in)

There will be a workshop conducting by Joe and Mary Ann on April 04 in Singapore. If you are interestedm info to sign up is here

http://www.naturephotosociety.org.sg/ASP/Main.asp


Cheers

Vincent

[Harlequin]

Hi Vinnieviny,

Thanks for the tips. No worries on the comments. In fact, just so happen i found the place and have never shot this kind of small birds in flight.

I was shooting them from the top of a pond, at a low angle, where they were trying to feed on small insects thriving above the pond algae level.

Was shooting at wide aperture of F5.6, getting around 1/1000 to 1/2000.

Have some shots where i did under expose the ambient, but they turn out very dark.

Have referenced back some original shots yesterday with those processed, found that i still need to learn PS in-depth.

I'm still learning and its good to get feedback and learning tips from fellow folks here.

Cheers mate....

[Garion]

Good attempts Harlequin, the first pic is my fav of the lot. Not easy to capture these fliers, they're very quick and agile in the air. Nice work.

[Harlequin]

Originally Posted by Garion Good attempts Harlequin, the first pic is my fav of the lot. Not easy to capture these fliers, they're very quick and agile in the air. Nice work.

Thanks Garion. First attempts but failed miserably lah...They don't stay long enough , shooting from uncomfortable kneeling position, under hot sun, with loads of mosies around.

Anyway, you can join me the next time round to practice. On ?

[Garion]

Originally Posted by Harlequin Thanks Garion. First attempts but failed miserably lah...They don't stay long enough , shooting from uncomfortable kneeling position, under hot sun, with loads of mosies around. Anyway, you can join me the next time round to practice. On ?

Sure man. This weekend maybe? Think need to buy my own pair of PCK boots liao. Hehehhe...

[Harlequin]

Originally Posted by Garion Sure man. This weekend maybe? Think need to buy my own pair of PCK boots liao. Hehehhe...

Lets starting shooting from last day of 2003 to the 1st day of 2004. On ?

[chngpe01]

Originally Posted by Harlequin Lets starting shooting from last day of 2003 to the 1st day of 2004. On ?

Wah, this is more serious than SARS, this is certainly the SAAS virus. Severe Acute Avian Syndrome. Not careful can kenna home quarantine orders from your Ministeress of Home Affairs!!

[Harlequin]

Originally Posted by chngpe01 Wah, this is more serious than SARS, this is certainly the SAAS virus. Severe Acute Avian Syndrome. Not careful can kenna home quarantine orders from your Ministeress of Home Affairs!!

For me its quite easy. Just pack her up for some serious mahjong sessions that last from the eve to the new year. then i can shoot in peace...

[Madcat II]

are you sure MHA doesn't have access to your PC or clubsnap?? The fever getting to your head??

Originally Posted by Harlequin For me its quite easy. Just pack her up for some serious mahjong sessions that last from the eve to the new year. then i can shoot in peace...

[Harlequin]

Originally Posted by Madcat II are you sure MHA doesn't have access to your PC or clubsnap?? The fever getting to your head??

The PC is secured with C3 and comes with biometric login and encryption to pictures folders.

Any previous URLs accessed while in session will be wiped off a clean sweeper product and no trace left. Very secure.

Must be careful not to let MHA knows what you are actually doing....