How to photograph flocks of snow geese?

[Jim Powell]

A few years ago I was hunting snow geese in Canada. One of my goals for the trip was to get some great photographs of the “flocks” of geese. My friend and I had point and shoot cameras. I came back very disappointed with the pictures that I got. This next year I’m planning on going back. I’m buying new equipment and learning how to use it before I go.

Some of the unique challenges of this type of photograph are that most of time the closest that one is able to get to the flocks is ½ mile and the flocks will stretch out for over a mile in length—I want a couple pictures that I can blow up big—2 foot x 4 foot (?) or bigger. With 250,000 birds in the picture I don’t expect every bird to be tack sharp. In the 10 days that I spent on the last trip, I can think of 2 times that I could have set up before taking the picture and waited them out. The light was constantly changing. I almost would have had to of created 2 custom settings before the birds got up. Thus minimizing the amount of moving around I would have been doing. Most of the time we would come up on these flocks and maybe have a few seconds to stop, jump out of the truck and take a picture. Snow geese are extremely fickle and hard to predict. Canadian geese are fairly predictable—snow geese are not.

Anyway, this is a good excuse to become more involved with this hobby. So what camera to buy? I’ve looked at the Rebel cameras for years but have had another project that has been a financial priority. The Rebels just keep getting better and better. The new D50 has more of everything and I don’t want to buy a camera just to find out that I wish I would have bought something more. I can’t see myself spending a lot of money on multiple lenses at this point and am leaning toward a Canon 70-200 F/4L. Is this the right lense for what I’m trying to do? It appears to be a good all around lense but lacks IS.

I’ve tried stitching photos in the past. Now after researching it a little I find that there are special tripod heads for doing these types of photos. Could you make this work with a moving flock of birds if you had time to setup? I know, a lot of you are rolling your eyes at this point.

So, I guess this post is as much about budget as it is about photographing large flocks of birds. This hobby appears to take as much money as you’re willing to spend.

[jsinon]

The 70-200 f4 is an awesome lens. I just got mine used in partial trade for my 24-70L. It is super sharp and even though I haven't used it too much yet, I don't think I'll miss the IS. For wildlife more is almost always better. That being said, if you are looking to get shots of large flocks of geese from far away it may be a good choice. As well as being a pretty good all around lens. You are sure to get some really good responses from more experienced wildlife/bird photographers than myself, so stay tuned:D

[Jim Powell]

Thanks for the reply jsinon. I don’t think I’ve ever read a bad thing about the 70-200 and it is pushing my budget. I’ve been looking into panorama tripod heads. One suggestion that was made for taking pictures of flocks was that I shoot in rapid fire mode. How fast would the shutter speed have to be to just swing through a flock with the shutter firing? I have a hard time imaging that that would work.

[sam walker]

i got close my first Snows in New Jersey at the Brigantine in Oct. Pretty far at about 200 yards. A blue phase went off course a few years back I was able to catch him five miles from home in April at 50 feet hanging out with a flock of Canadas. It happens.
Sam

[jgrussell]

So what camera to buy?Go to a brick and mortar store and try out both the Rebel and the xxD (40D or 50D) cameras. The Rebels are smaller and lighter; some people feel they're just too small. You need to try both types out.

I can’t see myself spending a lot of money on multiple lenses at this point and am leaning toward a Canon 70-200 F/4L.Remember that you don't HAVE to buy a lens for a one-time thing like this. There are many companies that rent lenses for reasonable fees.

[Jim Powell]

The 70-200 wasn't just for this trip. I figured it was a good all around lense. I like the size of the Xsi but worried about the limitations(?) For example if shooting the panoramas in continuous mode worked, 6.5 frames per second with the D50 would probably be better.

Here are some examples of what I'm going after.

[jgrussell]

The 70-200 is a fabulous lens, though I would sport for the extra and get IS. The extra FPS would certainly help, but if your shutter speed is high enough I doubt it would matter all that much.

[Jim Powell]

...The extra FPS would certainly help, but if your shutter speed is high enough I doubt it would matter all that much.

The weather can be lousy in the fall of the year and shutter speeds pretty slow.

[Tom Reichner]

Where in Canada? Alberta? I've seen flocks of snows like this before at the Lower Klamath & Tulelake refuges, but never been up to Canada to see them. Not yet, that is.
-Tom

[chauncey]

2' x 4' or larger is a big print and would demand a superior image to start with, not a time for a handheld shot.

From the sounds of it you're new at this photography thing and aren't familiar with printing, pixels, dpi and whatnot.
Without special Post Processing on your image, a print of that size will look terrible, regardless of the camera and lens used.

I'm not saying that the camera/lens combo won't work, it will...and it will demand a lot of practice before that next trip.

[Jim Powell]

2' x 4' or larger is a big print and would demand a superior image to start with, not a time for a handheld shot.

From the sounds of it you're new at this photography thing and aren't familiar with printing, pixels, dpi and whatnot.
Without special Post Processing on your image, a print of that size will look terrible, regardless of the camera and lens used.

I'm not saying that the camera/lens combo won't work, it will...and it will demand a lot of practice before that next trip.

I agree with everything that you have said and that is why I am starting 10 months ahead of time.

I’ve taken snapshots with a point and shoot for years. Now I want to learn how to take better photographs.

Will the stitching work? Perhaps a combination of the tripod, pano head and the use of continuous shooting mode?

Sam, maps of the major flyways are readily available as well as websites tracking the migrations. You have to go to where the birds are and be self contained—motels are rarely available. If there are motels in the major flyways, then you need to book them 1 year in advance because that is what the hunters do.

[Tom Reichner]

Jim,
What Chauncy said is true - but I don't think he realized that you planned on stitching. By stitching, you are effectively tripling your camera sensor's resolution (if you stitch three vertical images). I would, however, very strongly recommend the 5D mark 2 for this. It's 21mps in a full frame is the only way you're going to get superior quality prints at the enormous size you want, short of using a medium format camera. Actually, a medium format camera would be a very good idea for what you want to do. BTW, the visitor center at the Tulelake National Wildlife Refuge has a huge photomural of a flock of specklebellies that covers an entire wall! You could email them and ask if Dave Menke would photograph it and email you a copy. He's the superintendant and the resident photographer, as well.
-Tom

[chauncey]

My apologies, I should have posted this link http://www.damiensymonds.com.au/art_enlarge.html for printing information.

[BradM]

Shooting a large flock of moving subjects and building/stitching a panoramic image from those shots is really not going to yield great results, particularly when printed big.

The fact that the points of interest are moving will results overlaps of a large number of birds, it can be fixed "probably" in post with cloning but I certainly want to try and then print big with it. And I'm pretty confident in my post production skills.

And I would forget about using a pano head on a tripod for this. Those are designed specifically to achieve the best possible horizontal and vertical alignments and you just won't have the time to use it properly trying to shoot a moving flock of birds.

If one would try to capture the size of the flock by panning you wouldn't get the results you may want as the back/foreground would blur out and you still only would have the same birds in the center of the frame if you were to follow the same subjects not really showing the size of the flock.

The best suggestion I can come up with is shooting wide and close, a wide angle lens offers some not inconsiderable benefits, much deeper depth of field at more open apertures and a perspective that is clear to the viewer of the large area covered.

[tidal9]

I think the best shots of birds are those that contrast against their background, such as pale colored birds against the ground, so during migration, find someone with a plane, and get a stunning overhead shot, those are awesome...just don't hit any of them. ;)