Photo Workshop with Lillian

White Pelicans with Willets flying by like confetti with a Marbled Godwit in the middle.

1/2700, f/11, ISO 640, -0.67

Reddish Egret, juv. dark morph, hunting fish

1/1600, f/10, ISO 640

Osprey against white clouds

1/3200 f /6.4, ISO 640 +1.33

3 Snowy Egrets flying together

1/2500, f/13, ISO 640 -1.33

Dunlins in flight, very far away

1/3200 f/10 ISO 640

Brown Pelican diving

1/2700 f/10 ISO 640

I had great fun today leading a Stokes photo/birding workshop, along with Don, at Ding Darling NWR as part of a fundraiser for the refuge. We took 2 trams of people (I led the photographers, Don led the birders) into the refuge which is closed on fridays.

I was concentrating on teaching people about shooting birds in action. Above are some of the shots I took. We did not use tripods and most people had about 400 mm lenses. My best advice was to "move your feet" and "move the camera dial" to get to the photo op and catch a good exposure for the situation. Knowing your camera and how to fix the settings quickly is essential. There are many ways to do photography and there is more than one right way to approach a situation.

I was using my Canon 1D Mark IV camera, set at AV (Aperture-Priority, although sometimes I shoot M), AI Servo AF mode, and H (high-speed continuous shooting). I had a 300 mm IS lens with a 1.4 teleconverter. The Mark IV allows one to shoot at higher ISO setting without the grain one might have if using the less expensive Canon digital SLR cameras. Hence I could shoot at 640 ISO, even though I did not have to.

For those of you in the workshop reading this blog post, keep up all the great work, hope I shared with you some tips and incentive to take more birds in action shots!