This article discusses a recent bird-in-flight, intensive practise session I did along the shoreline of Forty Mile Creek Park… and some of the planning that went into it.
In my mind, casually grabbing a camera and going out to create a few impromptu photographs does not constitute a practise session. There is no clear objective. There is no forethought or preparation. Nor is there any discipline involved with the activity.
NOTE: Click on images to enlarge.

Like many other photographers I do regularly go out with a camera on an impromptu basis to create some images as my spirit moves me. I refer to those as inspirational creative sessions. They are not practise sessions.

Identifying gaps.
The first step in creating a practise session is identifying gaps. These gaps could be any one of a number of issues with my own skill set.

They could be a lack of knowledge or experience with a particular feature on my camera. A lack of in-field experience with a specific lens, or working in a particular type of light, or with specific subject matter.

Gaps could be trying to learn how to capture specific types of images that I’ve not tried before… or have been unsuccessful with in the past.

The key for me is that a practise session is always directly related to an identified gap in my skill set, knowledge or experience. Whether I get any ‘keepers’ from a practise session or not… is irrelevant to me. The overall goal of any practise session is self-improvement.

Setting practise session goals.
Every practise session I do has specific goals attached to it. The goals for the practise session that resulted in the images featured in this article were threefold.

- Build better eye/hand coordination when using my M.Zuiko 150-600 zoom.
- Improve my shutter release timing when using the M.Zuiko 150-600 zoom when photographing birds-in-flight.
- Enhance my in-field response time when reacting to late breaking image opportunities when using the M.Zuiko 150-600 zoom.

Determine appropriate timing, subjects and location.
Once the objectives for a practise session have been clarified, one still needs to determine when to do the practise session. What subjects are best suited to the exercise. And, what physical location and weather conditions are most appropriate.

I did this intensive practise session on January 12th as the temperature was comparatively warm that day at 2 Celsius. The skies were clear and the wind was calm.

I chose the lakefront at Forty Mile Creek Park as I knew from previous visits that the entire harbour area was frozen over. There was also some high, ice build-up adjacent to the open water on Lake Ontario.

From previous experience I knew that these physical conditions would attract a high number of ducks to the ice along the shoreline. As the ducks were constantly moving from the open water on the lake to their resting area on the shoreline ice, a plentiful number of opportunities to photograph ducks in flight would be created.

I sat on a short stool adjacent to large rocks along the shoreline. This helped to partially disguise my position from incoming ducks. As the ducks flew in they would get fairly close before they would recognize me sitting in front of the rocks.

After seeing me, they would often make an abrupt in-flight course correction which gave me good opportunities to photograph some feather detail on the underside of their wings.

Setting parameters for a practise session.
Typically my parameters for a practice session include what camera gear and settings that I intend to use. Subject matter. The types of images to be captured. The duration of my practise session in terms of time… or another specified limiting parameter.

If my schedule allows, I often choose a parameter like draining both batteries in my E-M1X. Or filling one or two memory cards, as the limit of my practise session.

To meet my three objectives I knew this would need to be an intensive practise session, i.e. capturing as many images as possible in the shortest amount of time. No time would be allowed to take a break, or to do any chimping to check on image quality.

I decided to use my standard bird-in-flight settings (i.e. Pro Capture L at 18 fps, Pre-Shutter Frames set to 10, Bird Detection AI Subject Tracking, single small AF point), and try to photograph any duck that was airborne… until I filled two memory cards.

It took less than 2.5 hours to fill the two memory cards in my E-M1X. I captured over 4,500 photographs during that time frame, or about 30 bird-in-flight images per minute. Keep in mind that my Pro Capture L runs were set to 10 Pre-Shutter Frames.

On average I was photographing roughly 3 different ducks in-flight every minute for 2.5 hours straight. So, this was a pretty intensive practise session. 🙂

I should mention that in the time it took me to fill two memory cards, I used one complete battery in my E-M1X. The second battery still had 83% power left at the end of my intensive practise session.

Intensive practise session takeaways.
When it comes to my three stated objectives for this practise session, nothing is better to improve eye/hand coordination, shutter release timing, and photographic reaction time… than doing a very intensive session. I find it to be an all encompassing experience that focuses me like a laser on the tasks at hand.

Towards the end of this experience I was very conscious of how much more fluid my motions were in terms of eye/hand coordination. I missed far fewer images as my shutter release timing was more precise. And, my peripheral vision seemed more acute. I was picking up birds flying in from a range of angles much quicker.

This intensive practise session revealed that I have a problem with my M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS. And… it’s a good problem to have!

The increased flexibility of the focal length range, the auto-focusing speed, and wonderful handling of this lens produced far more ‘keeper’ images than I could possibly use. And… far more than I am used to creating with other lenses during this type of intensive practise session.

The result was that I spent far more time in post production than I would have liked. 🙁 I guess I’ll just need to ‘suck it up’ and get used to it! 🙂
Technical Note
Photographs were captured handheld using camera equipment noted in the EXIF data. All images were created from RAW files using my standard process in post. This is the 1,436 article published on this website since its original inception in 2015.
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Some great photos there Thomas, fantastic stuff.
May I ask, do you use Olympus batteries with your em1x and do you find them ok? Have you had any experience of 3rd party batteries?
I’ve had an extended time off as I’ve had a new knee. I now find that my batteries are discharging quickly, even just after a day without taking any pics, a battery could lose 16% which can be rather annoying. It’s probably because ogre my time away and the batteries not being used.
That 600mm lens looks superb.
Mark
Hi Mark,
I’ve always used original manufacturer batteries in any of the cameras that I’ve owned over the years. Some associates have occasionally tried third party batteries with success, while others have experienced issues with their cameras not operating properly.
Between my wife’s camera and my pair of E-M1Xs we own 10 batteries which I continually rotate through our cameras. I’ve not noticed any problems with any of them in almost 6 years of use.
The M.Zuiko 150-600 IS is a terrific lens that I really enjoy using. Some folks may find the size and weight a bit much to shoot handheld, but at this point I’ve not had any issues at all.
Tom
Thanks for taking the time to reply to me Thomas, I really appreciate it.
That lens looks amazing and you certainly know how to use it to its best. The addition of the stabilisation will be an advantage over the 100-400 I use.
Than you for the insight on the batteries, appreciated.
Regards
Mark
Hi Mark,
Always a pleasure to try to be of assistance! There are some rumours floating around that there may be an updated 100-400 with Sync-IS being launched by OMDS on Feb 6.
Tom
Interesting! Will keep an eye out
Also your pics have had me reading about (and watching YouTube) on the 150-600 lens as your pics are very impressive. I think G.A.S is taking over 🤣🤣
Do you get any issues with colour fringing? I don’t see it in your pics but I’ve seen people complaining about it.
Mark
Hi Mark,
I haven’t noticed anything… but I haven’t been specifically watching for something like that.
I wrote a pretty extensive series of articles on the M.Zuiko 150-600. This link will take you to my hands-on review: https://smallsensorphotography.com/m-zuiko-150-600-hands-on-review
At the bottom of this article there is a summary of the other posts I created on this lens.
Tom
Thank you as ever
A sort of question off to the side: Was there any other people near you when in this practice session? And yes, the photos are great. I think the 150-600 is really an advantage for you.
Hi Lewsh,
There were some folks watching the birds from their cars in the slightly elevated parking lot, but no one close to me down at ice level on the surface of the inlet. I went on a Sunday morning which tends to be fairly quiet. I am really enjoying the M.Zuiko 150-600 IS as it has expanded what is possible for me with bird photography. I’ve used full frame gear in the past so I don’t find the size and weight to be problematic.
Tom
Beautiful photos, Tom. Time well spent!
Thanks Terry… I’m glad you enjoyed the photos.
Tom