Snowy Owl Flight Shots

Recently some awesome Snowy Owl flight shots have been posted on the Avian forum. Notably Whum and Scott Linstead. My question is "How do they do it?". I am a nephyte at nature photography, I have a Nikon D300 body with a Nikkor 80-400 VR lens. Firstly, is it possible to get a good flight shot with this setup. Secondly, how do you get the Owl to fly off the power pole towards you?

We have Snowies in our area so they are here.

Thanks for your thoughts on this subject.
May

Hello May,

Thanks for the compliment! How do I do it? Well, I'm not sure you are going to like the answer. Feeder mice from your local pet shop will do the trick i.e. the mice that are bred for the purpose of feeding snakes and other reptiles when kept as pets. This topic causes all manner of debate and controversy -- no rational conclusion is ever met. The very fact that I am answering this post will probably bring upon some negative response. Also, I have obtained some images in addition to those that I have already posted that make my others look quite average. But, I have decided not to post them on any public forum since I prefer not to engage in an ethical debate and have negative feelings associated with something that is so dear to me (bird photography) every time I post. However, I place all my best images in my photoportfolios.net portfolio. I urge you to research this topic and come to your own conclusion whether this technique is right for you and for what reasons. Also, be sure to verify that this is legal in your province beforehand (it probably is)

As for your set-up, I think that the D300 is a super camera for AF, but the 80-400 is a bit of a slug. That being said, I know for a fact that George Palagian has obtained incoming flight shots of snowy owls with a D70 and a 80-400 which underscores how much difference good technique makes. The settings that I use on the D300 are AF-C, 9-point dynamic, lock-on set to "off", continuous frame advance at 8fps. To get used to AFing on incoming subjects, I took the D300 and some bread out to some local semi-domestic mallards and baited them in over and over so I could practice incoming tracking. A technique known as "bumping the AF" was implemented with great success by Jim Neiger and I suspect that many flight shooters inevitably end up incorporating some variation of this principle in their action shooting -- even if subconsciously.

Scott

Scott, thanks for that reply. It's as I thought. Owls rarely come off a perch and fly directly toward a person unless there's an outside influence.

I make no judgment, either, and I really like your advice. Each should judge what is right for themselves but not extend that to condemnation of others with different views.

For what it's worth Scott, I applaud your forthrightness.

Thanks for the very useful info, Scott. I too appreciate your thoughtful and honest response.
I am not familiar with the technique of "bumping the AF." Do you mind explaining that a little more? Thanks.

I can't say how grateful i am to get up this morning and see that I have not had my head bitten off in this thread. I thank you all.

About AF bumping, from what I understand from Jim Neiger's explanation is that when shooting against a non-sky background, it is easy to lose the focus when the AF jumps to the BG. During the time that is wasted trying to re-acquire focus, the opportunity to get the shot is lost. So, the mistake that is usually made is trying to track the subject the whole time as it approaches. If the shutter is half-way depressed the whole time it is very likely that you will momentarily deviate from the subject and grab the BG. Bumping the AF solves this problem by acquiring focus intermittently throughout the flight instead of trying to hold it the whole time. i.e. letting the subject fall slightly out of focus and then re-acquiring over and over until you are ready to shoot. You can insure that focus is only acquired when you are certain that you have the center point right on the subject. When the subject is finally in position for a good shot, Jim advises that you both focus and shoot a burst all at once.

I hope this is clear!

Scott

Scott, that's as I understand it as well. Since I've been shooting mostly with mid-range Canon bodies instead of the really fast ones, I happened onto that technique a couple years ago. It works very well. Unless you like a lot of beeping, I recommend disabling the beep feature, or you sound like a piece of heavy equipment backing up.

Scott, thanks so very much for your informative reply. A few years ago, when I had outside feeders set up for the birds we had an infestation of mice which ended up in our house. At that time I trapped and killed a large number of mice. I only wish I had saved them all and provided what would have been a much appreciated meal for some Snowies. Needless to say I no longer feed the birds.
May

Scott,
The Owl wasn't hurt and photographic art was created. The photos are likely to help create interest in owls and wildlife in general and might just make people more aware of what is around them and motivate them to help preserve habitat. Frankly I don't see a problem especially considering that almost everyone with a home traps and kills rodents when ever they get in!

I have a number of shots of deer and elk that were visiting because of what grows in my meadow and because the bums were raiding the alfalfa I had stacked for my horses. The fact is that if you want to photograph wildlife you probably need to consider that all animals need food and water and are drawn to the resources that they need to survive.

Thanks for the candor of your reply and consider that wildlife photography plays an important part in educating many people about the magnificence of creation that is often overlooked.

Thank you, Scott and Steve, for clarifying the AF bumping technique. I thought it might be something like that, and now you've confirmed it. Much appreciated. Sure agree with Dave's comments.