Flying Secretary

Gallery: AvianPosted April 8, 2012203 views17 comments

I have had a bit of luck in my life with capturing these in flight, which is a hard thing at the best of times.

This one was photographed in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park recently...I had stopped to photograph it walking among the long grass. I opened up my aperture to max to get a smooth background, and then it started running - only a few steps - and took off!

My D3s performed very well and all of the shots with the bird coming right at me are sharp as nails...except that the DOF isn't quite enough for the size of the bird. Still, if the head is sharp it's okay in my books. It became tricky to fit him in the frame as he came closer!

Techs:
Nikon D3s with Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II + 1.4xTC @ 700mm
f5.6 @ 1/1600 SS @ ISO-640
slight crop all around

Comments

17 comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on April 8, 2012 at 9:06 AM

Very nice flight shot. I like the bird coming at us in the frame. Nice and sharp. I don't mind the DOF at all.

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Turner on April 8, 2012 at 9:55 AM

Everything works well for me in this capture. Great work...

Registered on February 18, 2012, 534 Posts, 2755 Comments

Comment posted by Johan Geyser on April 8, 2012 at 10:41 AM

Great photo!
I have never seen one in flight; I think this is very special.

Registered on February 8, 2008, 30 Posts, 71 Comments

Comment posted by Tonia Graves on April 8, 2012 at 12:25 PM

Great lighting & details! Nice work!

Registered on October 29, 2011, 92 Posts, 1035 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on April 8, 2012 at 12:56 PM

Very nice as posted, with enough DOF for my tastes.

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

Comment posted by Guy Runco on April 8, 2012 at 1:45 PM

Nice flight shot Morkel - the dof is fine, in my opinion.

Registered on September 9, 2008, 77 Posts, 705 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Cordes on April 8, 2012 at 2:15 PM

The tack sharp eye and wonderful colors strike me the most. DOF is fine by me.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 451 Posts, 3366 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on April 8, 2012 at 6:57 PM

Really a great shot Morkel. Love the angle of flight and the nice light.

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

Comment posted by Alan Murphy on April 8, 2012 at 9:44 PM

A wonderful flight shot. Very sharp. I like the green BG too.

Registered on December 3, 2003, 192 Posts, 739 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on April 8, 2012 at 10:30 PM

Excellent, Morkel. Great flight pose and beautiful eye contact.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on April 9, 2012 at 8:32 AM

Thanks for taking the time to view and comment, folks...

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Geoff Powell on April 9, 2012 at 12:13 PM

Nice light, BG, and wing position. Well done.

Registered on March 20, 2012, 21 Posts, 170 Comments

Comment posted by William Bickle on April 9, 2012 at 1:32 PM

Hello Morkel

My Secretary never looked this good inflight, too nervous in planes.!

Great capture , Never seen in flight before!
Sharp , Where it matters, and pleasing bg.
This bird is native to Your Africa?

TFS

Bill

Registered on June 13, 2011, 183 Posts, 1702 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on April 9, 2012 at 4:46 PM

Good reaction and timing to get this shot, wonderful pose with detail and eye contact plus a pleasing background to really showcase the bird, excellent shot, well done.

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

Comment posted by KC Choo on April 9, 2012 at 11:31 PM

Excellent job!

Registered on November 15, 2004, 519 Posts, 8278 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on April 10, 2012 at 2:42 AM

Stunning Morkel - can't remember a better flight shot of these

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on April 11, 2012 at 8:49 PM

Morkel this is so cool. The wing pose ,cool stare, amazing light and detail... all very nice

Registered on June 30, 2009, 300 Posts, 5051 Comments