Taken the same day as the dancing crane shot, but earlier and at the Bitzke Waterfowl Refuge in eastern Marathon county. It’s a great place to both watch and photograph birds because it has several ponds controlled by pumps and dikes, and paths thread through all of them. I plan to return since it isn’t far from my house and is really easy to get into once you arrive. It even has real bathrooms and a viewing platform!
Anyway, this was the reason for my monopod epiphany. This pair, along with a few others, were about 300 feet away and I really could have used a support on the camera, but I didn’t want to spook them further by getting out my tripod. They knew I was there, but luckily kept on doing their thing. Definitely a learning experience.
I like this shot because it really shows the sexual dimorphism in this species and because they’re both relatively sharp and singing to each other. I also like the marshy environment that hasn’t yet been kissed by spring (snowing today…again!!!).
Specific Feedback Requested
I’m open to all advice for better bird photography. I think I may change my ‘base’ wildlife custom mode to a higher shutter speed. These guys weren’t moving much, but I think I had the leeway ISO wise.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Handheld
Lr for some white balance adjustment and a crop to eliminate a bird on the right. The usual tonal adjustments to improve contrast and color. A bit of a brush to highlight those faces. Some sharpening and nr in Lr, but not much, then Topaz Sharpen to up the details - used the masking feature because it was doing weird things to the background.
The environment works very well here – very interesting and perfect colors for the Cranes. The bit of water adds nice interest and a sense of the place.
This is very nicely sharp, but shooting something at the focal lengths needed for a subject that far away, I’d want all the stability of a tripod that I could get, and would hang a weight on it if possible. (One of the advantages of a 25 lb camera bag…)
If 'm hiking, I’d have my small RRS tripod (the same one you have) and I try to carry a medium-sized ditty bag and hope to find a suitable rock, but the two times I can never find one are situations like this and when we land at a really small airport and the parking area is on a slope and I’m tasked with finding rocks to chock the wheels.
This is a very nice frame of the Sandhills. I like the environment and the composition works very nicely to compliment the environment.
Monopod / Tripod. I too shoot with the 4/3rds system. I know you have fantastic IBIS. I don’t know if the lens you use also has stabilization for sync IS. My wildlife lens does have lens stabilization and IBIS in any of the cameras I use for sync IS. At 1/1000 a tripod / monopod is only going to buy you a little stability for composition. It won’t buy you anything for sharpness at that shutter speed. I can regularly hand hold my setup at 1/100 or even 1/60 at the full frame equivalent of 840mm and get dead sharp images if the subject is still. Of course for moving subjects that’s a different game altogether. The flexibility of handheld for me more than makes up for most needs for a tripod/monopod for wildlife shooting. The only time I bring my monopod is when I know I’m going to set up in a location for a couple of hours and wait for action to take place.
Each person, and system, has to evaluate that need for themselves. When I shot Canon with my 500mm f/4 and a 1.4x TC, I would only hand hold if I had to jump out of the car, grab a shot and move on . Now my tripod is set up with a nice fluid head for video and oh, by the way, works extremely well as a gimbal like head if I really want it to. I used it like that in Yellowstone over the winter while shooting Golden Eagles and coyotes on a Big Horn sheep carcass for several hours.
Really interesting to read various takes and techniques. It’s all so individual. Lucky for me a Secret Santa here on NPN is gifting me a monopod to try out so we’ll see if it does suit. For sitting and waiting I can definitely see a tripod set up or even the monopod. Experimentation for sure.
Yes, I have Dual IS with the set up I use and I have the latest firmware which includes a couple of improvements to it. The camera has received updates, too, and some have improved focus performance. It works together pretty well as I can attest from shooting from a boat or kayak. In the kayak I usually get the boat as still as possible by beaching it, wedging it on a rock or log or if there’s nothing else, parking in a mass of plants. On land I brace my arms against my torso and try to keep my breathing under control.
Interesting idea about using a fluid head. I hadn’t thought of that and will see what I think might suit best if I decide to use a tripod more often. I may do with my photo blind which I am determined to get some use out of this year. I have a few sit-and-wait scenarios in mind with a couple of beaver ponds. Also with waiting for mink and/or otters at some local rivers and streams.
I’ve never felt an in-between approach worked well for me. I’m better off either handholding a lighter lens like to 100-500, or standing/sitting behind a big, steady tripod/head waiting to ambush something. But certainly different techniques work for different people and their differing rigs, and the more possibilities you can cover, the better.
It’s an aside for this discussion, but I just got the Gitzo gimbal fluid head and I love it! But it wouldn’t work with a monopod – I use it with the big RRS tripod. I used a Wimberley II for years but wasn’t happy with the friction adjustment – with long focal lengths it was difficult to get it just right to aim smoothly with damping of fine jiggle. I use it with both the 600 f/4 + 2X and the 100-500 + 2X and get easier composition and sharper fine detail than before. The friction knobs are large and easy to adjust, and the tripod foot clamp tightens beautifully with enough movement that a couple of turns let the foot plate rock out instead of having to hassle with sliding in/out. And SOME day I’ll find time to shoot some video…
That sounds amazing, Diane! I have the ball head on the RRS tripod that we both have, but swap that onto the monster Manfrotto when I need a big tripod. Was putting off deciding on a 2nd head until I knew what I needed. Could be a FH gives more control with one hand than almost anything else. I’d LOVE to see video of your backyard beauties.
A wonderful shot here Kris! I enjoy seeing them on the ground since so many images are airborne, and we don’t have them on the East coast either. The open beaks add to the interest.
Hi Kristen, nice view of the cranes with the cattails adding another point of interest. The birds are well placed in the frame and make for a pleasing image. I think the image could use noise reduction on the background.
Thanks @Jim_Lockhart & @Allen_Sparks - I was very glad to have the beaks open for that amazing song. It does add just a little something. The bg noise didn’t bug me too much, but I took it down by inverting a subject mask in Lightroom and it does look smoother, so thanks for that Allen. Second shot in the OP.
Kris, I can’t say enough good things about the Gitzo. It’s perfect for a big tripod, and SO well built. And after having only a ball head, you will fall in love with the gimbal movements that prevent tilting side to side. Perfect for stitching to get more pixels on a subject.
One hand – absolutely! The only limitation is that the base plate is oriented for a lens foot, so for short lenses I attach a nodal slide, which also lets me mount the camera with the lens at the fore-aft distance that puts the entrance pupil at the rotation point, for wide-angle panos with no parallax distortion.
I almost didn’t buy it, as I saw a review that says it is designed for a wider than standard Arca-Swiss lens foot plate, but that is not true – it fits all my RRS plates perfectly. (But it does come with an adapter plate, for anyone who doesn’t have one.)
Here’ the nodal slide I have, to attach the body for short lenses. They also have a longer one.
Looks cool, Diane. Spendy, but cool. I’ll have to see what I need as I go along. If it ever stops being crappy outside I might be able to get a chance to shoot something.
Hi Kristen
Someday, I hope to photograph these wonderful birds. You did a great job with this tuff distance. The only concern I have with using a mono pole of tripod is, the camera’s in-body image stabilization, some cameras want is turned off when using a mono pole or tripod. Now you have to judge witch setup provides the cleaner shot. One this you can adjust is the shutter speed, maybe 1/2000?
Anyway thanks for the photograph.
Peter
Thanks @peter - they are pretty special birds and new to me since coming to WI. I’m going to see if the weather cooperates tomorrow and go back to the same location to see what I can find.
I’ve heard many things over the years concerning IS and tripods/monopods, but honestly couldn’t see any difference with my particular cameras. Luckily I can always adjust things if leaving it on proves a bad move.
It does kind of, doesn’t it? They were talking, but I have no idea what they were saying. Heard a whole bunch of them from the backyard yesterday, but I didn’t see one.
