A few from Flight School day 2 afternoon.

Second afternoon at the Fly South with the Birds workshop. I feel like my skills are improving. Can't argue with this weather - in the mid 70's and sunny (while the temp back home was about 5 degrees.) Today we saw some more snail kites, and worked on getting some barred owl BIF shots.

Female snail kite pulling this stick out for her nest. This is still early in the afternoon so the light is harsh:

Great captures. Sounds like a great workshop.
Chris

Liz:
I'm enjoying your images alot.

Are you finding the school helpful for BIF images with a 500 lens? (I have to admit, I only use the monopod w/ my 500, and therefore limit my BIF attempts to my handheld 300 now.)

oooh... looks like you guys are having fun liz!
i love the owl shots!

Thanks all. The workshop is a lot of fun and I'm getting some great practice.

avwh wrote in post #7187966
Liz:
I'm enjoying your images alot.

Are you finding the school helpful for BIF images with a 500 lens? (I have to admit, I only use the monopod w/ my 500, and therefore limit my BIF attempts to my handheld 300 now.)

Yes, I am finding it very helpful. The technique is very simple and though I wouldn't say I've mastered it, I'm definitely getting more used to it. I've never tried BIF with a monopod before, but I've done lots of eagles and other large BIF with a Wimberley head on a tripod. Doing BIF handheld works especially well in the workshop because we are on a boat. There's just no way to manage using a tripod or even monopod on the boat. It would be too clumsy and take up too much space, and way too immobile. So in this situation, handheld is perfect. Jim does a lot of hands-on field instruction and gets us to the right locations to find various birds, so that helps a lot.

On the other hand, when I went to Alaska for a different workshop I think the tripod would be better in most cases, because we were standing on shore, not moving around much, pointing one direction most of the time, and it was so dark it that the high shutter speeds needed for handheld were usually not possible. So handheld is just another technique that can be used and in certain situations can work quite well.

gymell wrote in post #7188948
Thanks all. The workshop is a lot of fun and I'm getting some great practice.


Yes, I am finding it very helpful. The technique is very simple and though I wouldn't say I've mastered it, I'm definitely getting more used to it. I've never tried BIF with a monopod before, but I've done lots of eagles and other large BIF with a Wimberley head on a tripod. Doing BIF handheld works especially well in the workshop because we are on a boat. There's just no way to manage using a tripod or even monopod on the boat. It would be too clumsy and take up too much space, and way too immobile. So in this situation, handheld is perfect. Jim does a lot of hands-on field instruction and gets us to the right locations to find various birds, so that helps a lot.

On the other hand, when I went to Alaska for a different workshop I think the tripod would be better in most cases, because we were standing on shore, not moving around much, pointing one direction most of the time, and it was so dark it that the high shutter speeds needed for handheld were usually not possible. So handheld is just another technique that can be used and in certain situations can work quite well.

Liz,

The shutter speeds needed for bif from a tripod and bif handheld are the same. It is the motion of the subject that is the limiting factor. Handheld is much better for bif primarily for two reasons. One is that the initial subject aquisition is much, much easier handheld. Two is that the freedom and range of motion is much better handheld. Keep in mind that you are only on day 2 handheld, but have been using a tripod for quite some time. When you have developed the skills you learned in class, I'm confident you will see the handheld technique in a different light.

Wonderful series Liz, great job.

Very nice shots Liz. I'll tell Red your having fun in the sun.

Jim Neiger wrote in post #7189011
Liz,

The shutter speeds needed for bif from a tripod and bif handheld are the same. It is the motion of the subject that is the limiting factor. Handheld is much better for bif primarily for two reasons. One is that the initial subject aquisition is much, much easier handheld. Two is that the freedom and range of motion is much better handheld. Keep in mind that you are only on day 2 handheld, but have been using a tripod for quite some time. When you have developed the skills you learned in class, I'm confident you will see the handheld technique in a different light.

Actually for BIF I guess that's true, but there was also a lot of eagle action on shore and many still shots so it was more of a combination. My shutter speeds were usually between 500 and 1000 for the flight shots. I am definitely planning to continue doing the handheld!