Black Skimmer Skimming.

[ngannet]

Finally I got some shots of a Skimmer skimming. I'm somewhat disappointed with how it turned out. Camera is Rebel XT, with 400mm f5.6 L lens, shot in auto mode handheld. I wish it were sharper and there was less blur. perhaps if I used creative mode and set the shutter speed higher it would have froze the action better? I have to learn how to play around with the settings. I had no time as I turned around and there it was..closer than I normally see them and I was so excited I held the camera as steady as I could and snapped.

[cfcRebel]

Nice capture nonetheless. Was it taken handheld? what's the shutter speed?

[ngannet]

Nice capture nonetheless. Was it taken handheld? what's the shutter speed?

Thanks! It doesn't look bad here, but when I try to crop it, that's when you can see the blurriness by its face. Handheld and shutter speed of 1/500.

[cfcRebel]

1/500 at 500mm is a little risky according to the handhold rule of thumb. :P
Recently i met a great wildlife photog in my area. I told him about my low keeper rate. So we went out to shoot together. He noticed alot of my picture opportunities could benefit from using a tripod/monopod but i chose handhold instead. So now i try to use tripod when shooting birds. It's harder, but practice makes perfect. ;)

[ngannet]

Thanks for your comments. I agree about the tripod. The thing I hate is when I'm out birding, I already have my binoculars, my spotting scope and now the camera with that big 'ol lens. I suppose in some situations I could just use a tripod just for fast movers like the skimmer. Sometimes I'll even prop the camera up on my scope just to give it a little extra support. Annoyingly enough, the tripod mount won't fit my camera so I guess that means I'd have to buy a whole new tripod :mad:

[cfcRebel]

You are right. It'll be great if your scope and camera can share the same tripod. :)

[henleg]

Have a look around for a quick release monopod. I'm sure they're not that hard to find, and you don't need to worry about setting it up.

[Paul A]

good pic, those guys aren't easy!!

[CyberDyneSystems]

That's great!

I'd love to get a shot of them in action :)

[weemannie]

That's a great capture. They're lovely birds to watch. I remember spending hours watching them on the Gulf Coast of Florida, many years ago, whilst on holiday. Sadly, we don't get them over here.

I agree with henleg, look for a monopod, it will help :)

[ngannet]

Thanks all for your compliments and advice! I may have to look for a monopod or a tripod now. Good to have for those special occasions!

[Scottes]

Very nice ngannet! It's great to get one skimming, that's for sure!

cfcRebel has some great points, and I'll add one of my own: Don't be afraid of ISO. Jacking that shot up an ISO stop would have given you 1/1000 - pretty much perfect - and a noisier shot. But a noisier shot is far better than no shot at all.