 Fondly Remembered
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Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Perthshire Scotland
Posts: 8,168
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House Martins - air display team
I wasn't planning on photographing the House Martins at the time but I managed a lucky shot with my 40D which isn't always the best AF wise for swallows, house martins etc.
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Kit 1 Canon 1D Mark 3 Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II |
Kit 2 1D2 & 40D |
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Join Date: May 2011
Location: UK
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Hemel Hempstead, Herts
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Talk about being in the right place at the right time Phil, great capture 
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Kit 1 Canon 5D MkIII Canon 100mm-400mm USM IS L Lens Canon EF 75mm-300mm Lens Sigma 70mm 300mm APO DG Macro Lens Canon F1.8 50mm Prime lens |
Kit 2 Modified Canon 500D Canon EFS 18mm 55mm 1:3.5 - 5.6 |
Other Kit View my profile to see my other kit! |
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My Compact/P&S: Panasonic Lumix DSC LZ7 |
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Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: West Cork, Ireland
Posts: 7,578
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That's fantastic! I'm just too slow- try as I might my reactions aren't quick enough and I can never get fast moving hirundines in focus 
Any tips or was this a pure fluke?
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Any tips or was this a pure fluke? xx
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Kit 1 Nikon D800 Nikkor 50mm f1.4 Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8 Nikkor 105 mm f2.8 macro Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 Sigma 50-500mm F4-6.3 EX DG HSM Sigma 150-500mm F5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM Nikon 70-300mm AF f/4-5.6G Nikon 50mm f1.8 |
Kit 2 Nikon D700 |
Other Kit View my profile to see my other kit! |
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My Compact/P&S: Fuji finepix bridge |
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Fondly Remembered
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Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Perthshire Scotland
Posts: 8,168
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Thanks folks
Zoundz - I'd been sat having a brew (photographing Siskins) and noticed the Swallows and House Martins doing a loop around the woods at the end of the garden. 90% of the time (being in a wooded glen) they were in the shade but but it took about half an hour to figure out that there was one spot that they were flying through that still had some sun.
There was no way the AF system on a 40D and an f5.6 lens can track these guys in poor light so it was a case of moving to where I knew I could get them in bright sun with their fronts showing with a clear sky behind to help the AF 'hit' them. Once I'd got that sussed it was just a case of waiting. It's a heavy crop too with the ISO cranked up for a fast speed. A 7D would focus more like my 1D mark2, retain the reach of the 40D, enable more of a crop and allow higher ISO but it's a case of working with what you have.
I probably misseed a dozen before getting this shot. Sometimes I've spent 3 or 4 hours and hit nothing in 100 shots but this took 20 mins or so.
Hope that explains that it's not pure fluke but certainly lucky that they stuck to the same flight path and were playing chase together at the right time.
Familair ground and increasing your law of averages I guess.
Zoundz - I'd been sat having a brew (photographing Siskins) and noticed the Swallows and House Martins doing a loop around the woods at the end of the garden. 90% of the time (being in a wooded glen) they were in the shade but but it took about half an hour to figure out that there was one spot that they were flying through that still had some sun.
There was no way the AF system on a 40D and an f5.6 lens can track these guys in poor light so it was a case of moving to where I knew I could get them in bright sun with their fronts showing with a clear sky behind to help the AF 'hit' them. Once I'd got that sussed it was just a case of waiting. It's a heavy crop too with the ISO cranked up for a fast speed. A 7D would focus more like my 1D mark2, retain the reach of the 40D, enable more of a crop and allow higher ISO but it's a case of working with what you have.
I probably misseed a dozen before getting this shot. Sometimes I've spent 3 or 4 hours and hit nothing in 100 shots but this took 20 mins or so.
Hope that explains that it's not pure fluke but certainly lucky that they stuck to the same flight path and were playing chase together at the right time.
Familair ground and increasing your law of averages I guess.
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Kit 1 Canon 1D Mark 3 Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II |
Kit 2 1D2 & 40D |
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Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: West Cork, Ireland
Posts: 7,578
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Thanks Phil! I sort of do the same thing with them already, but have never gotten lucky (or close enough - even with a heavy crop in most cases). Guess I have to stick it out a bit longer, I'm a devil for gettnig into a paddy and giving up early 
xx
xx
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Kit 1 Nikon D800 Nikkor 50mm f1.4 Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8 Nikkor 105 mm f2.8 macro Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 Sigma 50-500mm F4-6.3 EX DG HSM Sigma 150-500mm F5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM Nikon 70-300mm AF f/4-5.6G Nikon 50mm f1.8 |
Kit 2 Nikon D700 |
Other Kit View my profile to see my other kit! |
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My Compact/P&S: Fuji finepix bridge |
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Senior Member
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Join Date: May 2011
Location: UK
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil
Thanks folks
Zoundz - I'd been sat having a brew (photographing Siskins) and noticed the Swallows and House Martins doing a loop around the woods at the end of the garden. 90% of the time (being in a wooded glen) they were in the shade but but it took about half an hour to figure out that there was one spot that they were flying through that still had some sun.
There was no way the AF system on a 40D and an f5.6 lens can track these guys in poor light so it was a case of moving to where I knew I could get them in bright sun with their fronts showing with a clear sky behind to help the AF 'hit' them. Once I'd got that sussed it was just a case of waiting. It's a heavy crop too with the ISO cranked up for a fast speed. A 7D would focus more like my 1D mark2, retain the reach of the 40D, enable more of a crop and allow higher ISO but it's a case of working with what you have.
I probably misseed a dozen before getting this shot. Sometimes I've spent 3 or 4 hours and hit nothing in 100 shots but this took 20 mins or so.
Hope that explains that it's not pure fluke but certainly lucky that they stuck to the same flight path and were playing chase together at the right time.
Familair ground and increasing your law of averages I guess.
Zoundz - I'd been sat having a brew (photographing Siskins) and noticed the Swallows and House Martins doing a loop around the woods at the end of the garden. 90% of the time (being in a wooded glen) they were in the shade but but it took about half an hour to figure out that there was one spot that they were flying through that still had some sun.
There was no way the AF system on a 40D and an f5.6 lens can track these guys in poor light so it was a case of moving to where I knew I could get them in bright sun with their fronts showing with a clear sky behind to help the AF 'hit' them. Once I'd got that sussed it was just a case of waiting. It's a heavy crop too with the ISO cranked up for a fast speed. A 7D would focus more like my 1D mark2, retain the reach of the 40D, enable more of a crop and allow higher ISO but it's a case of working with what you have.
I probably misseed a dozen before getting this shot. Sometimes I've spent 3 or 4 hours and hit nothing in 100 shots but this took 20 mins or so.
Hope that explains that it's not pure fluke but certainly lucky that they stuck to the same flight path and were playing chase together at the right time.
Familair ground and increasing your law of averages I guess.
 Senior Member
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Dundee, Scotland
Posts: 3,552
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That's excellent! I cant seem to be able to catch them in flight either!
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Kit 1 Nikon D40x Nikon 18-55mm Nikon 55-200mm |
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My Compact/P&S: Sony DSC-W70 |
