February Practice Session - Small Sensor Photography by Thomas Stirr

On Sunday this past weekend I had the chance for a February practice session, photographing birds-in-flight at a local frozen-over harbour. Most of the birds were ducks and geese, along with a few gulls.

NOTE: Click on images to enlarge. To view this article in a range of other languages click on the Canadian flag in the upper right corner.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 328 mm, efov 656 mm, f/7.1, 1/3200, ISO-400, Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking, Pro Capture L, cropped to 4019 pixels on the width, subject distance 23.1 metres

Finding birds in a sufficient number to do a practice session has been a challenge due to the cold weather. And, making the time to go out in the field and get some practice has also been difficult.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 251 mm, efov 502 mm, f/6.3, 1/2000, ISO-250, Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking, Pro Capture L, cropped to 3754 pixels on the width, subject distance 16.6 metres

I haven’t been out very much the past few months as I dedicated most of my available time to finishing my eBook Handheld Bird Photography and getting it published on this website.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 358 mm, efov 716 mm, f/6.3, 1/2500, ISO-400, Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking, Pro Capture L, cropped to 4499 pixels on the width, subject distance 25.1 metres

Immediately after getting that done, I focused my efforts on my upcoming handheld macro/close-up photography eBook.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 150 mm, efov 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/2000, ISO-200, Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking, Pro Capture L, cropped to 3982 pixels on the width, subject distance 7.8 metres

The initial image selection has now been completed for that new eBook, and written content has been progressing reasonably well.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 328 mm, efov 656 mm, f/7.1, 1/3200, ISO-400, Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking, Pro Capture L, cropped to 3869 pixels on the width, subject distance 24.9 metres

It is premature to anticipate an exact completion date for my handheld macro/close-up photography eBook, but it should be fairly early in the spring.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 185 mm, efov 370 mm, f/7.1, 1/3200, ISO-500, Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking, Pro Capture L, cropped to 4095 pixels on the width, subject distance 7.9 metres

My apologies to regular readers for not publishing a lot of newly captured images for the past little while.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 185 mm, efov 370 mm, f/7.1, 1/2500, ISO-640, Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking, Pro Capture L, cropped to 3919 pixels on the width, subject distance 20.1 metres

It felt great to be out with my camera again, and getting back into the swing of things with this February practice session.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 150 mm, efov 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/2000, ISO-200, Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking, Pro Capture L, cropped to 4245 pixels on the width, subject distance 8.4 metres

For the local harbour to freeze over it needs to be cold for an extended period of time. For the past 16 days our daytime highs have rarely gotten above -5 Celsius, with the highs on some days being in minus double digits.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 150 mm, efov 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/2000, ISO-200, Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking, Pro Capture L, cropped to 4740 pixels on the width, subject distance 9.4 metres

Night time low temperatures have been well into negative double digits with some getting in the -20 Celsius range. This is not ‘brutally cold’ when compared to other parts of Canada… but it is unusual for the Niagara Peninsula.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 150 mm, efov 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/2000, ISO-250, Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking, Pro Capture L, full frame capture, subject distance 7.1 metres

The good thing that comes out of a stretch of cold weather like this is that our local harbour freezes over. This brings a concentration of ducks and geese into a small area.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 262 mm, efov 524 mm, f/7.1, 1/3200, ISO-400, Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking, Pro Capture L, full frame capture, subject distance 12.8 metres

On Sunday I estimated that there were about 700-800 birds on the ice, all packed into a reasonably small area. This meant that there were a good number of birds taking flight, or coming in to land, on a regular basis.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 262 mm, efov 524 mm, f/7.1, 1/3200, ISO-640, Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking, Pro Capture L, cropped to 3980 pixels on the width, subject distance 14.3 metres

A few area residents periodically arrived and fed the birds. As expected this resulted in absolute bedlam as dozens of birds where in flight simultaneously flying towards the food source.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 178 mm, efov 356 mm, f/7.1, 1/2500, ISO-800, Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking, Pro Capture L, cropped to 4349 pixels on the width, subject distance 10.2 metres

I had to change my shooting position frequently to put myself in the right spots to get decent angles on the incoming birds, as the feeding locations varied along the shoreline.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 328 mm, efov 656 mm, f/7.1, 1/3200, ISO-400, Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking, Pro Capture L, cropped to 4099 pixels on the width, subject distance 21.7 metres

It was pretty cold during my February practice session with the temperature at -8 Celsius and a modest breeze blowing. I doubled up with the gloves on my left hand in an attempt to stay warm enough to keep shooting. In order to maintain proper control of my shutter release I had a single glove on my right hand.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 167 mm, efov 334 mm, f/5.6, 1/2000, ISO-320, Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking, Pro Capture L, cropped to 2493 pixels on the width, subject distance 13.8 metres

Doubling up with gloves on my left hand made it very clumsy trying to change my focus limiter switch. I ended up anticipating how close the birds would be, and did my best. Then paused to change the focus limiter as needed. I wasn’t as spontaneous as I prefer to be.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 314 mm, efov 628 mm, f/6.3, 1/2500, ISO-250, Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking, Pro Capture L, cropped to 3635 pixels on the width, subject distance 26 metres

My February practice session was fairly brief and lasted about an hour and twenty minutes. This included a couple of brief trips back to my car to warm up.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 358 mm, efov 716 mm, f/6.3, 1/2500, ISO-400, Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking, Pro Capture L, cropped to 3677 pixels on the width, subject distance 25.4 metres

I captured as many images as I could… and pushed myself to shoot at any bird that was in-flight… even if the chances of success were low. This resulted in me capturing several thousand images during this time-condensed practice session.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 185 mm, efov 370 mm, f/6.3, 1/2000, ISO-250, Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking, Pro Capture L, cropped to 4500 pixels on the width, subject distance 11.9 metres

As is my standard practice, I kept shooting until I had drained both batteries in my E-M1X. The cold weather impacted battery life.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 200 mm, efov 400 mm, f/6.3, 1/2000, ISO-250, Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking, Pro Capture L, cropped to 4293 pixels on the width, subject distance 8.4 metres

To me, a practice session is very different than going out with my camera and specifically attempting to capture good, usable images. A practice session is all about building and reinforcing eye/hand coordination… as well as improving my speed of capture.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 287 mm, efov 574 mm, f/6.3, 1/2500, ISO-200, Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking, Pro Capture L, cropped to 4104 pixels on the width, subject distance 10.4 metres

It really doesn’t matter to me in the slightest if I get any ‘keeper’ images during a practice session. As it turned out I processed about 60 images from my February practice session.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 358 mm, efov 716 mm, f/6.3, 1/2500, ISO-500, Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking, Pro Capture L, cropped to 3878 pixels on the width, subject distance 24.5 metres

I could have spent the time to do a lot more… but I didn’t need any more images for this article so I just deleted everything else that I had captured.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 274 mm, efov 548 mm, f/6.3, 1/2500, ISO-250, Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking, Pro Capture L, cropped to 3727 pixels on the width, subject distance 14.7 metres

Did I miss very many captures? Yup. I’m pleased to report that I missed a pretty sizeable number of attempted captures. I always view this as an indication of a very productive practice session.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 185 mm, efov 370 mm, f/7.1, 1/2500, ISO-320, Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking, Pro Capture L, cropped to 3746 pixels on the width, subject distance 7.4 metres

If I haven’t missed a lot of attempted image captures, then I know that I haven’t pushed myself and my camera gear hard enough during a practice session.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 287 mm, efov 574 mm, f/7.1, 1/3200, ISO-640, Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking, Pro Capture L, cropped to 4031 pixels on the width, subject distance 16.8 metres

Hopefully as my handheld macro/close-up photography continues to progress, I’ll be able to make more time to get into the field to get my skills up to snuff in preparation for the spring birding season.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 251 mm, efov 502 mm, f/6.3, 1/2000, ISO-250, Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking, Pro Capture L, cropped to 4673 pixels on the width, subject distance 12.8 metres

This February practice session reinforced the importance of getting out in the field, even when it can be pretty cold outside. Capturing the beauty of birds-in-flight warms one’s heart.

Technical Note

Photographs were captured handheld using camera gear as noted in the EXIF data. All images were created from RAW files using my standard process in post. Pro Capture L at 18 frames-per-second was used for all of the images in this article. Pre-Shutter frames were set to 15. Frame Limiter was turned off. This is the 1,507 article published on this website since its original inception in 2015.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS @ 328 mm, efov 656 mm, f/6.3, 1/2500, ISO-500, Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking, Pro Capture L, cropped to 3352 pixels on the width, subject distance 29.2 metres

How you can keep this website advertising free

My intent is to keep this photography blog advertising free. If you enjoyed this article and/or my website and would like to support my work, you can purchase an eBook, or make a donation through PayPal (see Donate box below). Both are most appreciated.

You may enjoy bird photography, and if so our 188 page eBook Handheld Bird Photography may be of interest. It is available for download for an investment of $14.99 CDN. The best viewing experience of this eBook will be at 100% using Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Sometimes all we need as photographers is a bit of inspiration. We hope you can find some of that inside Finding Visual Expression II.

Finding Visual Expression II is available for download for an investment of $11.99 CDN. The best viewing experience of this eBook will be at 100% using Adobe Acrobat Reader.

You may be interested in all of the 30 concepts covered in both of these related eBooks. If so, you may want to also consider Finding Visual Expression.

Finding Visual Expression is available for download for an investment of $11.99 Cdn. The best viewing experience of this eBook will be at 100% using Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Our other eBooks include Images of Ireland, New Zealand Tip-to-Tip, Nikon 1: The Little Camera That Could, Desert & Mountain Memories, Images of Greece, Nova Scotia Photography Tour, and a business leadership parable… Balancing Eggs.

If you click on the Donate button below you will find that there are three donation options: $7.50, $10.00 and $20.00. All are in Canadian funds. Plus, you can choose a different amount if you want. You can also increase your donation amount to help offset our costs associated with accepting your donation through PayPal. An ongoing, monthly contribution to support our work can also be done through the PayPal Donate button below.

You can make your donation through your PayPal account, or by using a number of credit card options.

Word of mouth is the best form of endorsement. If you like our website please let your friends and associates know about our work. Linking to this site or to specific articles is allowed with proper acknowledgement. Reproducing articles, or any of the images contained in them, on another website or in any social media posting is a Copyright infringement.

Article and images are Copyright 2026 Thomas Stirr. All rights reserved. No use, duplication or adaptation of any kind is allowed without written consent. If you see this article reproduced anywhere else it is an unauthorized and illegal use. Posting comments on offending websites and calling out individuals who steal intellectual property is always appreciated!

Technical Note

How you can keep this website advertising free

Leave a Reply Cancel reply