Birds Birds in Flight Thread - Post Your Shots Here

Puffins at Flamborough Head. These are taken at huge distance, in crop mode on the RIV with the 200 600 and then cropped down, the biggest file size here, before conversion to jpeg, is 2.2mb. That's an insane amount of cropping, and I am astounded that they are sharp (which they are!) given so many people moan about this combo. Even the shots with the bird heading toward me. They were all shot in Zone Focus. Having put them here I can see some pin cushioning on a couple, which is probably down to Topaz.
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  • ILCE-7RM4
  • FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS
  • 600.0 mm
  • ƒ/6.3
  • 1/3200 sec
  • ISO 1600
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  • ILCE-7RM4
  • FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS
  • 600.0 mm
  • ƒ/6.3
  • 1/3200 sec
  • ISO 1600
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  • ILCE-7RM4
  • FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS
  • 600.0 mm
  • ƒ/6.3
  • 1/3200 sec
  • ISO 1600
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  • ILCE-7RM4
  • FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS
  • 600.0 mm
  • ƒ/6.3
  • 1/3200 sec
  • ISO 1250
 
Puffins at Flamborough Head. These are taken at huge distance, in crop mode on the RIV with the 200 600 and then cropped down, the biggest file size here, before conversion to jpeg, is 2.2mb. That's an insane amount of cropping, and I am astounded that they are sharp
holy cow!
 
Great Egret taken with Sony 6500, 100-400mm@400, f5.6, ISO 800, 1⁄2500 sec
heron32.jpg
  • ILCE-6500
  • FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS
  • 400.0 mm
  • ƒ/5.6
  • 1/2500 sec
  • ISO 800
 
Nice action shot.
The plumage looks grey on my screen.
 
Osprey taken with Sony 6500, 100-400mm@400, f5.6, ISO 640, 1⁄4000 sec
bird48.jpg
  • ILCE-6500
  • FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS
  • 400.0 mm
  • ƒ/5.6
  • 1/4000 sec
  • ISO 640
 
Mallard Ducks taken with Sony 6500, 100-400mm@400, f5.6, ISO 400, 1⁄4000 sec
duck35.jpg
  • ILCE-6500
  • FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS
  • 400.0 mm
  • ƒ/5.6
  • 1/4000 sec
  • ISO 400
 
Puffins at Flamborough Head. These are taken at huge distance, in crop mode on the RIV with the 200 600 and then cropped down, the biggest file size here, before conversion to jpeg, is 2.2mb. That's an insane amount of cropping, and I am astounded that they are sharp (which they are!) given so many people moan about this combo. Even the shots with the bird heading toward me. They were all shot in Zone Focus. Having put them here I can see some pin cushioning on a couple, which is probably down to Topaz.View attachment 2577View attachment 2578View attachment 2579View attachment 2580
That's an amazing crop!
 
First up is a Grey Teal, one of our most common water birds. Then an immature Pacific Gull.

Grey Teal IF.jpg
  • ILCE-9
  • FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS + 2X Teleconverter
  • 800.0 mm
  • ƒ/7.1
  • 1/3200 sec
  • ISO 1250
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Pacific Gull imm Year 2 (78).jpg
 
This was taken with a (shh!) Nikon but I am also an Alphashooter ;)

It's a Shy Albatross in the Southern Ocean south of Australia.

Minor gloat: it won the birds in flight prize in the 2020 Birdlife Australia Photography Awards.

Shy Albatross water slicing Pt Fairy.jpg
  • NIKON D500
  • 500.0 mm
  • ƒ/9.5
  • 10/30000 sec
  • ISO 800
 
May I suggest 1/3000s or shorter? You'll get a sharper shot.
Hey Ziggy thanks, I think that would've helped, the owl was very "close" to me, so I had a lot of camera movement, it was getting dark and I didn't want to push the ISO. I think it was this combination that made it not 100% sharp. My other flight shots were critically sharp. Also I had dropped to 1/1000 because it was perched and I didn't need the speed, so I wasn't expecting it to jump!
 
Also I had dropped to 1/1000 because it was perched and I didn't need the speed, so I wasn't expecting it to jump!
Yeah, I get the same often. Now my default perched speed is 1600 but that easily pushes the ISO above 6400 where noise on the A9 becomes hard to deal with in post.
 
Northern Harrier at Fernald Preserve Ross, Ohio. The area where this bird is hanging out was once part of the US Department of Energy. The property was used for uranium enrichment during the cold war. It is now a very popular wildlife area having been reclaimed.
 

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Fulmars at Seaford Head. These birds only fly when conditions are perfect for them. Great to see.
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The so-called "voice of Africa" (Haliaeetus Vocifer), under controlled conditions, at the Bioparc Zoo in Valencia
 

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... I didn't want to push the ISO. I think it was this combination that made it not 100% sharp. ...

Thats the rising issue of people being afraid of high ISO and then missing the (excellent) shot...
I do not understand this anxiousness about high ISO (anymore). We are on an ISO level which is outstanding and tools like Topaz Denoise AI are doing magic with reducing noise.

Don't get me wrong, your shot was good, but as @Ziggy wrote, it could have been excellent.

So my advise: Don't care about high ISO, but try to get the best shot.
 
... I do not understand this anxiousness about high ISO (anymore). We are on an ISO level which is outstanding and tools like Topaz Denoise AI are doing magic with reducing noise...

For myself it's a personal preference thing. I don't like the way high ISO photos look and I am not fond of the Topaz Denoise AI "look". It's a YMMV thing.
 

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