Red Winged Blackbird on the Wing!

Really nice capture!

Len I have try many time to get the wing spread like this with no luck, Congratulations! Warm regards.

Pretty rare to see a bird in flight from above. You must have been flapping pretty hard with one arm while taking a picture with the other. Good effort, good result.

Thanks for the validation.  I thought it was worth posting.  Best, en.

Keep at it.  Practice makes perfect. ('continuous' shooting mode and ton of luck both help especially when combined)  :-)  Best, Len.

Yah, my left arm is about worn out.  :-)  In truth, I was shooting from a slightly (about 2 ft above the water) elevated platform, a floating boardwalk.  The bird was originally at water level getting a piece of bread that someone had thrown in for him.  ( I know enough not to feed birds bread but wasn't going to waste the opportunity presented to me)  The right side of this shot was the actual position in the original frame so my luck almost ran out. Had to crop out most of the LHS to maintain some balance.   Boy, they're fast when they're that close!  Thanks for your most welcome visit.  Best, Len.

Hi Len,

  Beautiful capture with wonderful colors & details.  Take care, Patsy

Thanks for your positive feedback.  Best, Len.

This is a bird I occasionally see here but never get a good shot at. You've caught him beautifully Len. Good detail and sharp. Congratulations.

BR, Holger

See my answer to Jorge, above.  I spent about 4 hrs over two days to finally get one that was both in the air and in focus.  Persistence and a lot of luck is the key.  Thanks for your interest.  Best, Len.

Great flight position, exposure, color and detail Len! Love the eye and that little morsel of food adds a very nice visual interest. Best regards, Rob

Huge element of luck with this one.  Best of about 200 frames taken that evening.   Almost just got his tail feathers.  Gotta learn to pan faster.  Thanks for your interest & visit.  Best, Len.

Len, sorry, I didn't respond to your critique, I was out of reach for a while. Great catch of this beauty flying. Precisely frozen moment. Would help if you would have a bit more space in front of the bird, but I guess that's all you could get. Very appealing image.

As I said to Robert above, I was lucky not to end up with only tail feathers. :-)  Thanks for your visit and comment.  Best, Len.

The crop explains the grains, but even then  i find this nice, the orange portion  pulls the eyes to it first,  then the eye wanders along the wings. the sprouting buds come next. then its eye. the tight crop on the right incites curiosity. compliments -koushik

Good to hear from you again.  By 'grains' I suspect you are referring to 'noise' which was likely caused by the high ISO (1600).  This is shown with about the left half of the frame removed.  The other elements you mention provide some context, some sense of location if you will.  The position of the wing, of course, was pure luck.  I'll accept luck.  :-)  Best, Len.

Your constructive comment\critique will be gratefully received. LM.

Great angle and sharpness. I have tried this type of shot only to find I have a succession of blurs along with different parts of the birds anatomy, so I can fully appreciate just how persistent you were to get this one. Very well done Len!  I am curious, those spiky bits poking out at the back of the wing, are they his claws?

Best Regards

 

 

Alf 

 

Different parts of the bird are often moving in opposite directions to each other when it's flying, thus the blurry parts)  If you've been following the above dialogue on this one you'll see that the sharpness is the result of a high shutter speed & a lucky bit of panning. Almost missed him as he is up against the right border in the original frame.   I've learned that my old conception of a freezing shutter speed (my old Rolleiflex T had a top speed of 1\500) doesn't hold when shooting birds, especially birds in motion. (includes sitting birds where the head is twitching around)  This one was 1\2500 and, if light permits, I now start at 1\4000 and toggle down as the light fades. I do believe those spiky things are his claws.  With all modesty I think this one is a poster child for the capabilities of the humble 55-200mm kit lens, though I'd certainly leap to a longer lens were my pockets deeper.  It could happen. :-)  Thanks for your interest.  Hope the mysteries of BIF are a little clearer now that I've had a chance to detail my personal experiences.  Best, Len.

It's not the lens!!  This is a superb capture by a talented photographer.  Goes to show that equipment is not the defining need for a superior shot.  This is superb (I know because I tried all week to get a flying Red-Wing and had to settle for a still shot.)  ...Mike

:-)  Thanks for the validation.  Decent, and I count my D5100 & 55-200 kit lens as such, equipment, perseverance, and a tad of luck are all key ingredients to get a decent shot.  A telemarketer once told me that if he gets a positive response or two for every 100 calls he makes then he is having a good day.  So too with BIF shots.  If I come home at the end of the day with one or two shots worth printing then I feel satisfied. (you can tell I don't do this professionally)  Some birds are skittish, some you practically have to knock them off their perch. Such was the case the other day in Toronto with this guy. (see attach) I'm sure the distance was down to about 5 ft.  Keep at it & good luck.  Best, Len.

The attachment is excellent as well.  Such was the case with the RWB's I saw last week.  They were guarding their territory (nest?) and on several occasions were too close to focus since my 80-400mm will only focus to about 6'... Mike

Too close!  How often have I wished for that problem!  Many years ago when I only had a TLR & close-up lens I used to pre-focus on a bit of bait and used a 30' pneumatic release when the critter approached.  One shot!  Then, walk up, advance the film, & go back to my hide out for the next opportunity.  I like the tele lens better. :-)  Best, Len.

Great capture, bravo !

Thanks for the enthusiastic response. It's much appreciated.  Best, Len