Raptor Photography

Basically, I'd like to hear any and all information relating to the subject.

Everything from how to get close enough for the shot, finding them, the

technical side of taking the shot.... etc.

 

I have a Rebel XT, Canon 400 f/5.6 L, and a decent tripod. With that said, I'd

rather not hear about needing to get a 600 f/4 or anything of that nature... I

can't afford it and won't be able to for a very long time. I'd like to make the

best of what I believe to be a very capable setup.

 

I live in Raleigh, NC and have found a few spots with good raptor populations

but my first few attempts to capture them have been miserable at best.

 

Thanks for any help, sorry if this is fairly vague... just let me know if I need

to clarify something.

 

- Scott

Well... you don't need a 600/4, but it helps. I do a fair amount of <A HREF="http://

faculty.ucr.edu/~chappell/INW/raptors.html">raptor photography</a> and a lot of it is

done from inside a car, since they are often much more tolerant of vehicles than of people.

Try driving down back roads and see what's sitting on power poles, fences, etc. Stop very

gradually, have your window rolled down ahead of time, turn off the radio, and slowly aim

and shoot. Typically, a perched raptor will get more and more nervous and the car slows,

but it's still usually better then getting out and trying to walk to a good shooting distance.

Of course, sometimes you simply get lucky and an especially confiding bird -- usually a

YASJ (young and stupid juvenile) will permit close approach.<P>

 

You have a 400/5.6, which is a favorite lens of many for birds in flight. I'd give that a try,

as well. You don't need to be as close as with a perched bird to get a nice frame-filling

shot.

.....Basically, I'd like to hear any and all information relating to the subject. Everything from how to get close enough for the shot, finding them, the technical side of taking the shot.... etc. ....

 

Patience, patience, patience. Your results will be close related to the amount of time you will be able to invest to study your subjects (their biology and behaviors) at home and in the field. Nobody can do it for you.

 

.....I have a Rebel XT, Canon 400 f/5.6 L, and a decent tripod. With that said, I'd rather not hear about needing to get a 600 f/4 or anything of that nature... I can't afford it and won't be able to for a very long time. .....

 

No, you do not have to have anything better, you will have limitations and have to spend more time to get equal results possible with better equipment but unless you have unlimited budget you will face that problem no matter what you own.

 

....I'd like to make the best of what I believe to be a very capable setup.....

 

Again this will depend 100% on your skills as equipment (except when broken) will perform the same all the time. Again practice, practice, practice.

 

As I spend a lot of time with raptors lately I can tell you that your affords will be awarded. A few small advices: wear dark clothes, control your movement (never make fast, nervous moves) observe any discomfort in bird reactions when getting too close.

 

Even that I am mostly interested in documentary photos I try to make them as good as I can. Here are examples of how close you can get to some raptors without camouflage etc and still be able to observe them acting naturally. Those series were used with description not available at this folders but you can have a clue.

 

Wishing you best luck, Mark

 

http://www.pbase.com/mbb/utc_december_2006_wtk White-tailed Kite

 

http://www.pbase.com/mbb/utc_december_2006_osprey Osprey

 

http://www.pbase.com/mbb/lrgv_dec_26_27_2006_caracara Crested Caracara

 

http://www.pbase.com/mbb/lrgv_dec_26_27_2006_coyote_carcass WT Hawk, RT Hawk, Caracara

 

http://www.pbase.com/mbb/brazoria_nwr_nov_11_2006 WT Hawk

 

http://www.pbase.com/mbb/bnwr_oct_22_2006 Swainson's Hawk

Scott: Be aware of this also your RebelXT has a 1.6 factor which makes the 400 a 640mm and now add a 1.4 converter and you now have a 896mm lens how much more would you need: Good luck shooting birds the right way!

<I> you now have a 896mm lens how much more would you need</i><P>

 

Often, a lot more. The basic unwritten rule of bird photography is: you wish you had more

focal length a whole lot more often than you wish you had less.

Mark as usual is on the mark. I don't know what is in your area, but you may have to travel hundreds of miles to find approachable birds. Some parts of the country have pretty lean pickings. What I do is go to a National Wildlife Refuge that has an auto tour route. I have photographed many raptors perched on fence posts or snags while using my car as a blind. You need a bean bag or window mount to support the lens.

Sometimes, pure dumb luck strikes: this hawk landed near me while I had my camera and a

70-300 lens in hand!

<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://

img.photobucket.com/albums/v291/SpeedySub/DSC_0166.jpg" border="0"

alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

<I>pure dumb luck strikes: this hawk landed near me while I had my camera and a 70-300

lens in hand!</i><P>

 

This fits the YASJ model outlined in my previous post: it's a juvenile Cooper's hawk.

Juveniles are often much more willing to let people get close that are adult hawks.

simple, as stated previously, patience is the key. i try and shoot at morning or dusk, get out 30 minutes before sunrise and drive some backroads, or go out an hour or 2 before sunset and sit in a blind, or drive some backroads. lighting is key. try and think compositionally, the thing that separates your images from john does is how you express your subject. try and capture at key moments, feeding/preening/nesting/flight shots are all interesting, a bird on a stick has been done a million times, and as beautiful as the bird might be, theres not alot special about that kind of shot. try and use the rules of thrids if you can. and yes, as stated above, focal length is never long enough, you just have to deal with it. 400mm is fine, it becomes 640 on your camera. i shoot 300mm(450 on my camera) and i find it isnt nearly enough, but i do have some occasioanl shots. use a tripod as much as you can, sharp images are everything, try and focus on the eye, that will be your center of interest, try and have the bird looking at you/to the side, never have the back of a birds head. remember if your bird is at a key point in rules of thirds dont have him looking out to the nearest edge. also try and shoot with blue skys, white skys are dreadful. so yah, long post, good luck with your shooting, hope ive been of some help

chris<div></div>

As mentioned in some of the other responses, the longer the lens, the better is a good rule. The second best approach that I have found is to use a very solid tripod or a window mount. You will find that you are going to enlarge the image to get a usable photo. Also in the previous answers, it is correct that if you get out and walk around you will spook many of the birds, but if they are used to vehicles near a road, they often won't fly. I shot this red shouldered hawk with a Nikon 80-400 super slow lens on a D70 with a window mount.<div></div>

<I> a bird on a stick has been done a million times, and as beautiful as the bird might be,

theres not alot special about that kind of shot. try and use the rules of thrids if you

can. .... sharp images are everything, try and focus on the eye, that will be your center of

interest, try and have the bird looking at you/to the side, never have the back of a birds

head. remember if your bird is at a key point in rules of thirds dont have him looking out

to the nearest edge. also try and shoot with blue skys, white skys are dreadful. </i><P>

 

All of these are rules that no one should feel bound to follow slavishly. I've seen lots of

extremely effective photos that violated one, two, or all of them.<P>

 

<P>And please.... be nice to your readers: use normal punctuation, capitalization, and

spelling ('alot' is not a word), avoid run-on sentences, and break long paragraphs into

subsections. Remember that you are trying to clearly communicate here -- just like one

is trying to communicate through a photograph.

An excellent way to find raptors is to visit one of the known migration sites, such as Cape May, Hawk Mountain etc. Depending on the site, and conditions, you may see many thousand of birds in a day. Many will be distant, but a few wonderfully close. There will probably be experts to aid with identification. Of course the times for this are spring and fall, no doubt a vast amount of information can be found on-line.

Obviously most of the birds will be flying, and that 400mm lens is a great flight lens. You've gotta be quick because these birds can fly really fast....Enjoy.

Scott,

I live down near Charlotte. The Carolinas Raptor Center is near here. They take care of injured birds and a couple of times each year they open the facilities to photographers to raise money. They set them up to look as tho in the wild. It would be good practice and give you an opportunity to see them close up.

If close up shots of raptors sitting on logs or trees are what we want, aren't things a whole lot less complicated and more successful to do in the zoo or a raptor rehab center than elsewhere?

<p><p>

If we are talking about raptors gliding in the air, hunting activities and the like, then I think we're on to something more exciting and worth the effort.

<p><p>

<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/3274599-lg.jpg">

<p><p>

<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/5160779-lg.jpg">

Did someone say dirty-lookin eagles at Homer? May be the time you were there, the eagels had had a rough day ... :)

 

Take a look at these ... I have never seen more spectacular eagles at Homer than these ...

 

http://www.pbase.com/a5m/eagles_of_alaska_2006

Those last two are amazing! The one with the hawk eating is just stunning. The hawk has this look on its face that says "Yes I eat raw meat, want to make something of it".

 

The eagle just has a lot of character, sort of like "Yes I am smiling" or maybe a passport photo. Thank you for sharing them!

 

BTW If you want an "inexpensive" long lens you might try a maksutov-cassigranin telescope like this one (http://www.telescope.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=92281&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=4&iSubCat=10&iProductID=92281)

 

with a t-adapter it can be attached to most 35mm cameras and will give you a 1800mm F12 lens for under $700. (don't have one myself).

 

Put a spotting scope or a good finder on it and you might have a great hawking setup.