simus Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 Hi, Next week I am going to go to a raptor show, I do not know if my equipment suit the need i will be involved in. I have a nikon d1X with the following lens, nikon 50 /1,8, Tamron 90 Sp macro, nikon 180/2,8 and nikon 300 / 4,5 Ais, and I hope to minimize the weight I will havo to carry on,as i also will bring with me a Leica m6 with 15mm, 50, 90 and 135 lens. I wish to take some portrait of the birds, and some in flight scene, any suggestion? thanks for looking / helping, Antonio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug herr Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 For the portraits the lens choice depends a lot on the working distance and whether you want a tight portrait or one that includes the show environment. My preference in this situation has been tight portraits: <P> <CENTER> <IMG SRC="http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/falconidae/amke01.jpg"><BR> <B>American Kestrel</B> 280mm lens with 1.4x extender, 1.37x crop factor <P> <IMG SRC="http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/accipitridae/coha03.jpg"><BR> immature <B>Cooper's Hawk</B> 80-200mm zoom @ 200mm, film <P> <IMG SRC="http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/strigidae/eeow02.jpg"><BR> <B>Eurasian Eagle Owl</B> 80-200mm zoom @ 180mm, film <P> <IMG SRC="http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/accipitridae/nogo03.jpg"><BR> immature <B>Northern Goshawk</B> 560mm lens, 1.37x crop factor <P> <IMG SRC="http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/accipitridae/haha00.jpg"><BR> <B>Harris' Hawk</B> 280mm lens, film <P> <IMG SRC="http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/falconidae/pefa02.jpg"><BR> <B>Peregrine Falcon</B> 280mm lens, film </CENTER> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simus Posted April 12, 2008 Author Share Posted April 12, 2008 Wow, thanks you Doug, nice image. So the right choise should be the tamron 90. isn't it? Do you also think I'd need a flash? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug herr Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 I'd be sure to have the 180mm and 300mm lenses handy, along with extension tubes. I used no flash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stemked Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 I've done these shows as well. I too like the tight crop; be very mindful of your backgrounds. Try and get an angle on the bird that doesn't have any obvious 'human' elements. Soft greens and browns are usually the best way to go if you can position yourself in this way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseph_smith3 Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 For flight shots, ask where the birds are going to land and position yourself near the landing spot for the flight shot you want. Most of the shooters will be where the bird takes off--I try and avoid these locations. Too many people,no way to control backgrounds, etc. Joe Smith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simus Posted April 14, 2008 Author Share Posted April 14, 2008 Thank you very much for being so kind to me. You helpd me a lot, because I would't have even imaged how to move around. Antonio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisalmerini Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 As you can see great images can be made at these events. On my D300 I had 70-200 VR and the 300 f/4 with 1.4 extender. Really worked well, I even shot off a tripod at times. One key tip- get on the raptors level. So many folks were shooting down on the raptor rather than eye to eye. Douglas's photos are great examples of being on the eye level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisalmerini Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 American Kestrel- forgot to upload image. Enjoy!<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug herr Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 "<I>One key tip- get on the raptors level</I>" <P> I'm glad you mentioned this, I also consider this very important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stacy_egan Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 There's a raptor show at the Desert Museum here in Tucson that I enjoy photographing on occasion. I agree totally with the advice above. I use my Canon 20D with 300mm f/4 lens exclusively and that has worked out well for me. I tried using a tripod, but I prefer handheld when I'm trying to capture a bird in flight. For flying birds, I get a better result when I have the camera set to "AI Servo" autofocus, and keep the focus point on the bird as I decide when to press the shutter. As far as flash goes, I prefer to not use it (because I lack the proper skill), but in the case of the Desert Museum I can see where fill flash would be nice, as the light is typically harsh and in the mornings the birds are backlit relative to the spectators. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simus Posted April 16, 2008 Author Share Posted April 16, 2008 Thank you all for helping, Your suggstion will be very useful. I didn't know where I had to start, before. I look forward to be face to face with those raptors :-))) Ciao, Antonio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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