Back in May of this year I captured a special moment at ISO-10000 when doing a high ISO test at Biggar Lagoon Wetlands in Grimsby.  Earlier in the day I had been successful photographing swallows in flight. It was getting later in the afternoon so I decided to change my approach and try some test images of swallows at ISO-10000 before I headed for home.

As is sometimes the case, an unplanned special moment can suddenly appear… then disappear in the blink of an eye. Fortunately my reflexes were sharp enough to capture this short run of Pro Capture H photographs.

I was actually focusing on the perched swallow in the composition when a second bird unexpectedly burst in and out of the scene. The 10 consecutive images below were captured in a total of 1/6th of a second.

NOTE: Click on images to enlarge.

In the first four frames of this Pro Capture H run you’ll see a swallow suddenly entering the scene from the right hand side. It enters the scene too far away to be in focus. Pro Capture H locks focus and exposure based on the first frame of the run. In this case my single auto-focus point was locked on the perched swallow… as I waited for it to change its position and create a better shooting angle.

Obviously none of these first four images are useable, other than to illustrate how the second bird entered my composition. In the fifth consecutive frame (illustrated below) we can see the second bird almost flying into focus.

I love frames 6 through 9 of this Pro Capture H image run as they really capture the magic of this special moment. Over the past few years I’ve had a number of readers ask me why I use Pro Capture H at 60 frames-per-second on such a regular basis. Especially since there is a risk that a subject bird may not be in focus for the entire image run. The next four consecutive photographs demonstrate the value of shooting at 60 frames-per-second.

When I was capturing these images all I could see was a flurry of motion burst into my viewfinder. I had no idea of what… if anything… would end up being useable. All I did was instinctively fully depress my shutter release.

I captured this ISO-10000 image run using a fast shutter speed of 1/8000. It was one of those special moment gifts from Mother Nature that simply could not be predicted. These photographs also reinforce the notion that it is important for us to be out with our cameras on a regular basis. Special moments occur on their own timetable.

The final frame in this 10 image run wouldn’t typically qualify as a useable image. I added it to this article so readers could view the entry and exit angles of the second bird.

The four key special moment frames in this image run were captured in a total of 1/15th of a second. If I had been using a more typical frame rate of 6 to 10 frames per second provided in many cameras, I very likely would have missed this action… or if luck prevailed… perhaps captured one potentially useable frame.

Most importantly, if I hadn’t been using Pro Capture H and was already spooling images into temporary memory before the second bird arrived, I would have missed this special moment completely.

If you own an Olympus/OM System camera with Pro Capture H I’d recommend spending some time with this amazing technology. There could be a special moment waiting for you the next time you are out with your camera!

Technical Note:

Photographs were captured handheld using camera gear as noted in the EXIF data. Images were produced from RAW files using my standard approach in post. I used my standard Pro Capture H camera settings for the photographs featured in this article: Pre Shutter Frames and Frame Limiter were both set to 15. I used a single, small auto focus point and shot at 60 frames-per-second. Images were resized for web use. This is the 1,214 article published on this website since its original inception in 2015.

How you can help keep this site 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. Both are most appreciated.

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 2022 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!