Carrot Top Cruiser

Gallery: AvianPosted January 7, 2012394 views23 comments

I shot this around noon yesterday. It was clear & sunny with pleasant temps in the low 70's. One of the smallest and quickest woodpeckers out there, so it gives my AF fits. You cannot track it like you would a large bird..So my method is thus:
I have a raised platform with seed so I can grab some sky. I set my camera at the highest shutter speed & F stop combination I can. I manually focus on the bird just before it takes flight, and swing out with it in burst mode. This is why I need the wiggle room of F/10 or more. I have tried all other combinations of AF settings on the small birds inflight, but this method has proven to give the best success rate using natural light. Red-bellied Woodpecker.
F/10, 1/4000th, ISO 1250, 1D M3, 300mm f/2.8 + 1.4x ext 85% of original. Have a great weekend!

Comments

23 comments

Comment posted by John Robinson on January 7, 2012 at 10:06 AM

Nice one Howard.
70 degrees !-Crikey ! still got my long johns on !
Cheers
JohnR

Registered on March 2, 2008, 535 Posts, 2453 Comments

Comment posted by Douglas Graham on January 7, 2012 at 10:38 AM

Nice and a really hard bird to get a flight shot of. Love that he has a seed in his mouth, its a shame about the eye being half closed however.

Registered on May 14, 2009, 123 Posts, 522 Comments

Comment posted by Neal Cooper on January 7, 2012 at 11:12 AM

Nice image Howard. It is my first view of this bird. Beautiful. Nice composition and angle plus a "kill". I just wish the eye was open. Well done.

Registered on June 3, 2009, 144 Posts, 306 Comments

Comment posted by Ray Whitt on January 7, 2012 at 11:17 AM

Amazed at how well you capture these small birds in flight, Nice work Howard.

Ray

Registered on May 27, 2011, 92 Posts, 2619 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on January 7, 2012 at 11:18 AM

Ya'll R missing the theme/title of this one..When U R cruisin' your eyes R always half closed

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on January 7, 2012 at 11:58 AM

Anyway, here's one from an hour ago with the eye open, and he dropped his sunflower seed as well

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Ray Whitt on January 7, 2012 at 12:05 PM

Wonderful second shot! Great Howard.

Ray

Registered on May 27, 2011, 92 Posts, 2619 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Bunch on January 7, 2012 at 12:18 PM

Nice flight shot of this guy. I like the top view of the spread wings and also the tidbit in his beak. Personally though I prefer your second post. Another nice top view pose, open beak and the eye is open.

Registered on May 18, 2004, 124 Posts, 2503 Comments

Comment posted by Suzanne Huot on January 7, 2012 at 12:26 PM

Can't believe you actually managed to capture more than one image of this bird in flight .I think I would be very happy with either image if it was mine.

Registered on December 28, 2010, 32 Posts, 240 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on January 7, 2012 at 2:24 PM

Howard, you've got these flight shots down! personally I prefer the open eye and catchlight in the second shot.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on January 7, 2012 at 3:42 PM

Hi Howard, great to capture these in flight. The second one is the better in my humble opinion, seems overall sharper to me. Cheers, Hans

Registered on August 31, 2011, 491 Posts, 3807 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on January 7, 2012 at 4:22 PM

Howard, both shots are nice, but I like the open eye in the second.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on January 7, 2012 at 5:37 PM

Not a species I recall seeing in a flight shot before - good work on that. I too wish the eye was fully open.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on January 7, 2012 at 6:50 PM

A nice pair of flight photos Howard, looks like a very challenging image to make. Very Nice Work!!!

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on January 7, 2012 at 7:24 PM

Very nice look at the top-side in flight. I also like your comp. I too would prefer the eye fully open.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on January 7, 2012 at 9:10 PM

Real nice, Howard. I really like the display of feathers. A bit sharper would be nice IMO. If this is a crop, then a blind would really come in handy so that you could get closer with that 300mm. Still, some good stuff here.

Registered on October 18, 2006, 644 Posts, 4801 Comments

Comment posted by Fabio Giarrizzo on January 8, 2012 at 3:57 AM

Great flight shot, Howard- I like the pose of the first version, and the half closed eye doesn't bother me at all- An excellent job on this very difficult shot, Fabio

Registered on December 3, 2010, 90 Posts, 1614 Comments

Comment posted by Roger Leekam on January 8, 2012 at 9:23 AM

Howard, I envy you so much to be getting shots like this in January. I don't think I've seen a flight shot of a Red-bellied before. Sharp where it needs to be & I like the slight blur in the wingtips. Happy 2012! PS. The second shot is even better.

Registered on May 28, 2009, 83 Posts, 646 Comments

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on January 8, 2012 at 11:57 AM

A woodpecker in flight -- awesome. Great colors and background. I love the wing spread and the seed.

Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Rhodus on January 8, 2012 at 12:29 PM

Seems you got at least a few really good shots of this character Howard. I like it a lot.

Registered on November 16, 2003, 157 Posts, 3326 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on January 8, 2012 at 10:13 PM

I have tired to get Gila woodpeckers in flight and never have managed one good sharp image yet, so good work in getting this, your method seems to be working just fine. I happen to like the second post better due to eye, I really like seeing the feather patterns on the wings as this is a view you do not see very often, well done Howard.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on January 8, 2012 at 10:46 PM

Wow Howard, what an exceptional capture!!! I have to say that I'm finding your (relatively) small BIF shots increasingly inspiring, many thanks for sharing and wishing you a wonderful year ahead :^)

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments

Comment posted by Charles Gangas on January 10, 2012 at 3:58 AM

I like the implied motion from the blurred wing tips, and the seed in the bill- and I get the cruisin' part!

Very cool capture Howard.

Registered on August 12, 2009, 544 Posts, 2414 Comments