I recently had some handheld macro fun photographing blossoms at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton Ontario. Being able to create handheld macro images, especially when 10 photographs are combined with in-camera focus stacking, continues to amazes me.
Make Swallows In Flight Easy
This article discusses how to make photographing swallows in flight easy through the use of technique and technology. Earlier this week I went out to the Biggar Lagoon Wetlands for about three hours with the intention to photograph swallows in flight. Suffice to say I had a very productive morning. After doing a quick cull through my resulting images I ended up with almost 900 useable images that I would realistically consider processing in post.
Avian Musical Chairs
This article, Avian Musical Chairs, shares 15 consecutive images of two swallows trading places around a nesting box. The photographs were captured handheld at Biggar Lagoon Wetlands in Grimsby Ontario using Pro Capture H with an OM-D E-M1X.
Warbler in Flight
This articles features a selection of photographs of a warbler in flight captured handheld at Hendrie Valley. The posting also discusses the technique used. All of the images have been severely cropped which is understandable given the size of the warblers and my shooting distance from them. Warblers are about 10-18 cm (~4 to 7 inches) in length. In terms of shooting distance I was about 9 to 23 metres (~30 to 75 feet) away from the birds. The severity of the crops has affected image quality.
The Right Tool
In a wide range of professions a large part of success is understanding your needs and using the right tool for the job at hand. When it comes to photography we have a wealth of choices in terms of sensor formats, cameras and lens. There is no such thing as the ‘best camera’ in terms of a ‘one format fits all’ solution.
Rambling Thoughts
A collection of rambling thoughts passed through my old, porous brain this afternoon, forming the framework for this posting.
Handheld Focus Stacked Flower
This article shares some handheld focus stacked flower images captured in my front yard yesterday morning. With COVID restrictions and safety precautions it has been difficult to get out to photograph this subject matter in public settings for a number of months. While the selection of spring flowers in our front yard is limited… it was still an enjoyable photographic experience.
Pigeons In Flight
This article shares some new images of pigeons in flight, captured handheld at the Burlington Bay lift bridge. I’ve made a few attempts to photograph pigeons in flight at this location in the past with only a modest degree of success.
Leveraging Technology
New generation cameras can broaden our photographic potential, but unless we are adept at leveraging technology our potential stagnates. This article discusses the link between technology and our need to develop both physically and mentally.
Swallow Pairs in Flight
This article shares a selection of 22 images of swallow pairs in-flight, captured handheld during a practice session at Windemere Basin Park in Hamilton Ontario. Some of these photographs appear to be of mated pairs, while other images captured some aggressive interactions between the birds.
All of these photographs were severely cropped as the birds were not as close as I would have liked. I’m still trying to hone my eye/hand coordination with these pocket rockets. More practice is required before I’ll be able to get more pixels on subject birds in free flight.