Tips on how to pano a bird

[Gissan]

Hello everyone!

Does any of you have any tips on things to remember when trying to make "pan" of a bird or animal?

Examples here:

http://www.foto.no/cgi-bin/bilder/vis_bilde.cgi?id=374114&imageoffset=67&offset=60&brukerid=43947

http://www.foto.no/cgi-bin/bilder/vis_bilde.cgi?id=414099&imageoffset=26&brukerid=43947

http://www.foto.no/cgi-bin/bilder/vis_bilde.cgi?id=407945&imageoffset=33&offset=30&brukerid=43947

http://www.foto.no/cgi-bin/bilder/vis_bilde.cgi?id=381338&imageoffset=60&offset=60&brukerid=43947

I'm planning on going to the same place where those photos were shot, a sea-eagle-tour-thing. I'll get the eagles at 10-15 meters (30-50 feet) and I'm shooting with 1D mk.II and 300/2.8L.

Thanks for any help, tips, tricks, examples and bestluck'es I can get :-)

[beano]

I saw a good post on this a while back.. I'll see if i can find it. It was on another forum i think!?!

*EDIT* That didn't take too long... Here ay go:

http://inspiring-photography.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2147&highlight=panning+bird

[Gissan]

Thanks, helped me a lot! :D

Some questions:

1. Is IS (image stabilizing) very important?
2. What customs settings is important? AF sensitivity high or low?
3. Tripod? (Shooting from boat)

Thanks :)

[beano]

I can only give you pretty vague answers to these, as i don't do much BIF photography. Hopefully someone with a little more experience will be along shortly...

1. I would say it would be pretty helpful in some instances, but to be honest you can manage without it. My 2 BIF's ever were non-IS and manual focus. I wasn't panning with them though.
2. I've never played with AF sensitivity, so also look forward to any info you get on that.
3. I wouldn't imagine a Tripod would be much use on a boat. Saying that, if you have a particularly heavy lens, it might help just to take some of the weight.

;)

[BradM]

If you are looking for a similar effect to what the links you shared showed then a slow shutter speed is in order. Depending on light low ISO amd lens stopped down considerablty is probably in order.

As I couldn't see any exif data I would guess some where in the range of 1/100th of a second for a quick moving bird for a similar look.

Proper panning and tracking on a boat using a tripod even with a gimbal mount may well be very difficult, I would be shooting handheld myself.

When you pan you want to rotate from the hips, starting by acquiring the subject with your upper body turned to the direction the subject is coming in from, shooting when directly ahead of you and follow through as subject moves across.

I would probably ignore using IS with such slow shutter speeds and the look that is going to be captured but I don't think it is going to make any difference.

On a moving boat, with movement in 3 axis already from the boat and you adding a couple more maybe with or more likely against the motion of the boats the IS is just going to be "confused".

You are going to need a considerable amount of room to swing this large and heavy lens around, I hope you have it available.

Good luck and looking forward to seeing some of the resultant images.

[Gissan]

Thanks for many tips and tricks and all. I will try some panning on gulls this weekend and will try to post some of the photos here.

Are there any more who would like to contribute with anything? Tips or tricks or advices or something? Very thank you for any help I can get! :)

[lord-paul]

I have taken a few pictures from my boat on the Norfolk Broads.
Mainly Kingfishers.
I use a 5D with 100 - 400 IS L lens and always hand held.
This shot was taken "from the hip" so to speak.
I do tend to leave the settings in RAW "P" and fully auto due to the speed of these birds.

This is a cropped picture.