Just for Fun; Swallow BIFs

[drr1531]

I went out to a local marsh for a shoot yesterday. Weather/lighting were terrible with intermittent drizzle and 20mph winds. On my way back to the car I noticed several dozen tree swallows feeding over the water and decided to see if I could track them. They were pretty far off and even shooting the D850 in DX mode I had to crop pretty heavily in post. I'm amazed at how well the group focus mode on the 850 did with these tiny targets. I shot a couple dozen frames and none were grossly OOF.

I know the blues look weird. When I exported from Adobe RGB to sRGB the blue changed dramatically. Since I'm not printing nor trying to win any awards I'm leaving them as is.

D850/500mm PF, handheld
1/1600s f5.6 ISO1600

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[bsinc1962]

They look great. I'd be happy with them.

Our Swallows are still a couple of months off and I can't wait to try out that same combo.

 

[Louis Champan]

Some very nice shooting Dan, these little guys are awful quick.

 

[Butlerkid]

Wow! Impressive work by you and the D850! I'd be mighty proud to quick images this good of those fast little birds!

 

[kilofoxtrott]

#3 is the winner of a fantasic series.

Kind regards
Klaus

 

[Randy]

At this size they look good, nice hand to eye coordination
I’m shooting more Group than single point now, even for stationary birds, it’s surprisingly good

 

[Bohdan]

My nemesis...every year I try...every year I fail. You didn't! Even with a big crop these look good.

 

[drr1531]

They look great. I'd be happy with them.

Our Swallows are still a couple of months off and I can't wait to try out that same combo.

They work for web resolution. The 500 PF sure makes stuff like this a lot easier.

Some very nice shooting Dan, these little guys are awful quick.

Thanks, Louie. With a whole flock of them feeding I was able to figure out a pattern to their movements which made things a lot easier.

Wow! Impressive work by you and the D850! I'd be mighty proud to quick images this good of those fast little birds!

Thanks, Karen. As they say, even a blind squirrel finds and acorn now and then

#3 is the winner of a fantasic series.

Thanks, Klaus.

At this size they look good, nice hand to eye coordination
I’m shooting more Group than single point now, even for stationary birds, it’s surprisingly good

Thanks, Randy. Yes my default nowadays is group. I've got the Pv button programmed to single point + AF-On for shooting statics if I need to shoot through grass etc.

 

[drr1531]

My nemesis...every year I try...every year I fail. You didn't! Even with a big crop these look good.

Ah, but this year you have the magic PF lens. Just make sure you're either sitting down or leaning on something when you try it

 

[Randy]

They work for web resolution. The 500 PF sure makes stuff like this a lot easier.

Thanks, Louie. With a whole flock of them feeding I was able to figure out a pattern to their movements which made things a lot easier.

Thanks, Karen. As they say, even a blind squirrel finds and acorn now and then

Thanks, Klaus.

Thanks, Randy. Yes my default nowadays is group. I've got the Pv button programmed to single point + AF-On for shooting statics if I need to shoot through grass etc.

I need to set that....do you have to hold it down or does it actually change AF (I’m lazy)

 

[drr1531]

I need to set that....do you have to hold it down or does it actually change AF (I’m lazy)

You have to hold it down. Be careful to set it to "single point + AF-On". If you just set it to single point then you have to hold the AF-On button at the same time. Which is too much for my pea brain to handle all at once.

 

[gchappel]

#3 is a keeper. Really really good.
My pf is still on forever backorder. Can't wait.
Gary

 

[Randy]

You have to hold it down. Be careful to set it to "single point + AF-On". If you just set it to single point then you have to hold the AF-On button at the same time. Which is too much for my pea brain to handle all at once.

Thanks

 

[Phil K]

Excellent captures! These guys are small, quick and changing direction abruptly giving us lots of headache.

 

[Palouse]

Excellent---I work to follow these guys with binoculars, and you nailed 'em with that 500!

 

[Allan]

Impressive captures. Makes me realize how bad my BIF skills are.

 

[drr1531]

#3 is a keeper. Really really good.
My pf is still on forever backorder. Can't wait.

Thanks, Gary. The 500 PF is a game changer for BIF. Optically you still can't beat the big primes for static images.

Excellent captures! These guys are small, quick and changing direction abruptly giving us lots of headache.

Yes they are quick little guys. The key to shooting them is to look for patterns in their flight or in the dynamic of the flock.

Excellent---I work to follow these guys with binoculars, and you nailed 'em with that 500!

Thanks, Nick. Of course you guys only see the successful shots

Impressive captures. Makes me realize how bad my BIF skills are.

Thanks, Allan. Just shoot more

 

[Darrell C]

super rocket shots, my keeper rate is 1% or less..............well done they look great!

 

[CarlSpackler]

This is not easy to do but you have made it seem so. Well done!