Pelican in Flight Sequence

I hope this thread doesn't break the rules too much. (well apparently is does, I was asked to remove 8 of these so I've done so by removing the second set of images) One of the reasons I invested in the 1D mark III was it's 10 FPS frame rate. I shot various birds in flight today to give it a test (Hawks, GBH, and Pelicans). I thought the pelican shots came out best and I still need lots of practice on this. There were actually three pelicans swirling around in the currents something like hawks, it was kind of weird, but I was glad to capture some of it.
These were shot at 10 fps with the 100-400 at 400 with the 1.4 ex. I think they came out reasonably well and I'm pleased. I've tried to process these identically and crop them approximately the same, still I'm sure there are some anomalies. and sorry about the "rear-end-view" Hope you like the show.

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Quite a sequence. almost looks like a movie if you scroll it fast enough.

Wouldn't mind having one of those Mk3's.

I usually like to see bird shots from the "other end" but something about these make them very appealing.

They look good to me.

How was the AF with the 100-400 with TC?

Works for me Kenny, Got to have one!!

Cooper911 wrote in post #3393888
I usually like to see bird shots from the "other end" but something about these make them very appealing.

Unfortunately the pelican didn't listen to reason when I asked him to show me his best side.

Thanks Cooper!
KAC

Thanks Stefeb, this was in AI-servo with center point focus it work well for this one. When I was shooting the Redtailed hawk it did lock on to some power lines for a couple of shots when the hawk went past them.

Thanks Gary, I'm sure you would do even more incredible things with a mark III, you should go for it!

KAC

You have a very steady hand there Kenny. Im lucky if I get one in a row lol

Thats a great series, an unusual view point but very nice shots.

Mark

Thanks for that, it has cleared up a lot of concerns I had while waiting for the delivery of mine.

Edit, any chance of seeing a couple of the hawk (being a lot smaller than the pelican) ?

MDoc wrote in post #3395530
You have a very steady hand there Kenny. Im lucky if I get one in a row lol

Not really, that is the main thing I have to work on (steady/no camera shake) since it's kinda difficult to use a tripod for these sorts of shots.

KAC

Richard Sneath wrote in post #3396150
Thanks for that, it has cleared up a lot of concerns I had while waiting for the delivery of mine.

Edit, any chance of seeing a couple of the hawk (being a lot smaller than the pelican) ?

I did shoot a hawk sequence, but the pics came out pretty bad. Some are at:

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=335967

Better shots by JC4 here:
https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=335135

KAC

Very nice sequence Kenny, I find this very interesting as I have a MIII on order. Are these shots 100% crops? Did you have to adjust the light/exposure in pp? Did you find the MIII significantly easier to lock on the moving target then say your 20D?
Thanks for posting.
Joe

Canonada wrote in post #3396343
Very nice sequence Kenny, I find this very interesting as I have a MIII on order. Are these shots 100% crops? Did you have to adjust the light/exposure in pp? Did you find the MIII significantly easier to lock on the moving target then say your 20D?
Thanks for posting.
Joe

Hi Joe, thanks for taking a look. First, there may be some breaks in the sequence as I shot bursts and put this together. As far as processing these are definitely crops, but were slightly resized, so I can't say they are 100% crops. I processed each one alike but they are very close to the original jpg, I simply did auto levels, auto contrast, and auto color and then smart sharpen at about 45%. I cropped them all to be 8 x 10 and then adjusted each one to be 11" at 72dpi.

Also this was center point focus with AI-Servo and yes it definitely tracks better (and faster) than the 20D where I never had much luck using AI-Servo. My biggest challenge is keeping the center point on the bird. These pelicans are pretty easy compared to other birds (like swallows ).

I'm definitely pleased with the camera's performance, now I just need lots of practice using it.

KAC

Wow what fantastic shots! I'd kill to have that camera but will have to keep struggling along with my used 20D. SOMEDAY!!
Karen