This article shares a selection of photographs of long-tailed duck water landings captured handheld at the Burlington lift bridge. This species of duck visits our area for a short time in the early winter months. When possible, I try to photograph them a number of times during this time frame.
Category Archives: Birds in Flight
Box of Chocolates Moment
Many of us can remember the famous scene in the movie Forrest Gump where life is compared to a box of chocolates. The phrase was used to describe the unpredictability of life… you never know what you’re going to get. Those of us who enjoy bird and nature photography have a box of chocolates moment every time we go out with our camera gear.
I was out at LaSalle Park in Burlington Ontario yesterday and was treated to a couple of wonderful box of chocolates moments. This posting provides some background on those moments and shares a selection of new photographs.
Using 60 FPS for BIF
This article discusses using 60 FPS (frames per second) to photograph BIF (birds-in-flight) and shares an extensive collection of handheld images captured a few days ago.
I should apologize in advance for the overall quality of the images in this article. These photographs were captured under very dull, overcast and windy conditions. Not the best for image quality… but very good test conditions if one is inclined to push their camera gear hard as I’m apt to do. 🙂
Using Teleconverters for BIF
This article discusses using teleconverters for BIF and some of the practical considerations that come into play with this type of photography. Many people love to photograph birds and really enjoy capturing images of birds-in-flight (BIF). Using long telephoto lenses can be a challenge. This is compounded when teleconverters are added to the mix.
All of the photographs featured in this article were captured handheld in about 2 hours and 15 minutes during a visit to the lift bridge in Burlington Ontario on Tuesday of this week.
Bonanza of Merganser
On Sunday I went to the lift bridge in Burlington Ontario to photograph longtail ducks and was treated to a bonanza of merganser ducks. Mergansers usually visit this location in mid to late November and stay for 6 to 8 weeks… and sometimes longer.
The longtails usually outnumber the mergansers by a ratio of about 20 to 1, making it difficult to spot the mergansers. Typically there are only a handful mixed in with the longtails. I was pleasantly surprised that there were several dozen mergansers in the area.
BIF Practice at 1600 mm
This article discusses an approach I use for BIF (birds-in-flight) practice at 1600 mm equivalent field-of-view. While I don’t usually photograph birds-in-flight using this long focal length, I do find it beneficial to periodically practice my handheld technique and eye/hand coordination at this very long focal length.
Tongue Out Aggression
This short article features a series of seven consecutive images illustrating tongue out aggression by a Canada goose. These photographs were captured handheld at Hendrie Valley.
Photographing Approaching Birds
When photographing approaching birds a variety of methods can be used depending on the objectives of the photographer. Some species may be uncommon and sometimes getting any kind of image is a thrill. I always enjoy photographing approaching birds when they are coming in to land as these represent great opportunities to create bird photographs that feature interesting wing and body positions.
Watch The Second Bird
This article discusses the potential importance of watching the second bird in a pair, after the first bird has taken flight. More often than not, the second bird will also take flight and follow the flight path of the first bird. This gives photographers a great opportunity to catch the other bird taking flight… especially if they missed the action with first bird.
Reflections of a Swan Charge
This short article shares a selection of 10 consecutive images that feature water reflections of a swan charge as the bird raced in my direction. All of the photographs were captured handheld using a combination of the E-M1X’s Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking and Pro Capture L technologies.