The dunlin were feeding and resting in this field during the high tide. They were anxious to get back out to the mudflats and would occasionally do a big flyby. I think after this one they kept going.
Specific Feedback Requested
I find it tricky to get what i think are good photos of relatively close shots of large groups of birds. I think the fg birds need to be in focus and of course you are not really picking a fg bird to focus on. So it is all up to the camera and what settings you are using. I am finding that a large area focus zone might be the best. I am curious about how this worked.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
R5, 500mm + 2.0 Ext., 1/1600, ISO 1600
I have the same question! I usually use “group” focus mode for a wider area, and focus on the mass of birds. But I’m not all that happy with this method.
It is still a beautiful image. It always amazes me how birds can fly in such dense formations. What a sight that you captured!
Thanks Mark. I am trying the same thing. As large a group mode as I can. Snow geese are starting to build up numbers on their way north so I will be getting some practice. AS well as Dunlin and Western Sandpipers.
The density of the birds in this image makes the shot for me, David. In the past, I’ve tended just to zoom out fr this kind of shot, so I’d be using a small AF area most of the time. With the new camera, I’ve programed the AE Lock button which I never use for birds in flight with the widest AF window the camera supports and I think I’d use that for this kind of shot now. Ideally it would probably make sense to go with a wider lens to start with and stop it down a bit to get more depth of field.
In this image the background trees king of bother me. They don’t seem to fit with the shorebirds and their vertical structure doesn’t seem to work well with the horizontal flow of the birds (picture horizontal stripes on a shirt with vertical stripes on the pants), so I think I’d try a pano with the trees removed.
What a sight to have seen. Would make a killer puzzle! Might make an interesting abstract with just the birds and I wonder how it might look using the filter>stylize>find lines filter in PS. Kind of agree with Dennis about the background trees, they seem to take away from the dramatic aspect of the photo. It appears what you did worked well as all the foreground birds appear to be in focus.
The version with just the birds is very cool, David. It gets them just enough larger in the frame to deal with them as individuals within the flock and completely filling the frame with them does something, I’m not sure what, but I like it.
From a behavioral standpoint, this is really an amazing photograph. I see Dunlin’s all the time but never in this level of density. The image with just the birds, the third posted image, would make a great wallpaper.
I also struggle with flock shots. I really like the depth of focus on these. I also like the 3rd post with the birds filling the frame best. I think an alternate would be to have a sliver of grass and a few spots of sky with some of the top birds out of the frame to give a bit of context. Thanks for posting. I don’t think I’ve seen birds this thick before. Snow Geese are as close as I’ve come.
