omwmqqcaHey Jane, First time I've come across your blog - you've got some very nice images. You are obviously a patient person who is willing to put in the time and effort to get good wildlife pictures - so many images are blurry, out of focus pix that one would be hard pressed to identify, much less enjoy. A couple of suggestions - feel free to completely ignore them. If you are not ALWAYS using a tripod, you should. Sure it's a pain to carry, takes time to set up, but it can make a huge difference. Not only because it steadies the camera, especially when using a telephoto, but because in a way it's like a light source. If the bird is still, you can slow way down to 1/30 of a second which is allowing in EIGHT times more light than 1/250 of a second. That means you can get shots that were just too dark, before. As you no doubt know, without a tripod, a good rule of thumb is to use the focal length of the lens as your shutter speed. That means, 1/60 with a normal lens (52mm) and a minimum of 1/250 w/300mm. Another suggestion, go early in the morning during first hour of sunlight. Usually no wind, so bushes, branches etc aren't moving, and also you can then place yourself to use back-light, which can really make striking pictures. Good luck and thanks for posting! Bob
Thanks for your comment. I realize I need a tripod, but they are so awkward when tracking birds through the forest. The birds move quickly. I try to compensate by using a very high shutter speed, but it doesn't always work successfully. I've been using a monopod lately with more success. Again, thanks for the comment! Jane
2 comments:
omwmqqcaHey Jane,
First time I've come across your blog - you've got some very nice images. You are obviously a patient person who is willing to put in the time and effort to get good wildlife pictures - so many images are blurry, out of focus pix that one would be hard pressed to identify, much less enjoy.
A couple of suggestions - feel free to completely ignore them.
If you are not ALWAYS using a tripod, you should. Sure it's a pain to carry, takes time to set up, but it can make a huge difference. Not only because it steadies the camera, especially when using a telephoto, but because in a way it's like a light source. If the bird is still, you can slow way down to 1/30 of a second which is allowing in EIGHT times more light than 1/250 of a second. That means you can get shots that were just too dark, before. As you no doubt know, without a tripod, a good rule of thumb is to use the focal length of the lens as your shutter speed. That means, 1/60 with a normal lens (52mm) and a minimum of 1/250 w/300mm.
Another suggestion, go early in the morning during first hour of sunlight. Usually no wind, so bushes, branches etc aren't moving, and also you can then place yourself to use back-light, which can really make striking pictures.
Good luck and thanks for posting! Bob
Thanks for your comment. I realize I need a tripod, but they are so awkward when tracking birds through the forest. The birds move quickly. I try to compensate by using a very high shutter speed, but it doesn't always work successfully. I've been using a monopod lately with more success.
Again, thanks for the comment!
Jane
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