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Gyps fulvus (Family: Accipitridae; subfamily: Aegypiinae; common name: Eurasian Griffon Vulture)
It was the very first time I saw a flight show with predator birds and I was really fascinated. I knew that people at the AZP take their work very seriously and they have a keen interest for birds but when they announced the flight show some months ago I thought it was a project which would never materialize. However, I was wrong. They have done an excellent job up to now and we are going to present it in a full article in the near future. Back to the photos now. I went there with two cameras and four lenses but in the end this was too optimistic. You don't have time to change cameras or lenses. Actually, you don't even have time to focus. The birds will fly a 20-30 meter distance, heading to you (and your camera) so even framing is out of the question. What looks small at the beginning is too large at the end of the flight. All you can do is to be ready and take as many shots as you can. It is really disappointing but the truth is that you rely more on the capabilities of the camera and the lens you use and far less on your abilities as a photographer. I must admit that the selection of the 80-200 mm coupled on a 1.4 X Kenko teleconverter was a far shot. Ideally, all I needed was the zoom lens alone. I was lucky to have the right camera though, the D2X which proved - beyond any doubt - that you get what you pay for. I love my D70 but the only reason you can now enjoy those photos is because of two features of this camera : the continuous focusing with target lock and the fast shooting rate. The teleconverter was removed and the quality of the photos benefited dramatically. Six out of the eight photos presented here were taken within 2 seconds. Although the situation described sounds as a "preset" one, still there are some things you can do. Use your lens wide open and take a lens which is quite sharp even in this case. Not many lenses are and not many telephotos have this 2.8 as an f/stop. The first couple of photos were taken at 1/2000 sec but then I moved into manual mode, raised the ISO to 200 and used a preset speed of 1/4000 sec at f/2.8 which was taken from the grass area where the event was taking place (substitutes a grey card very nicely). This kind of speed will allow your camera to work on the maximum frame rate. This particular bird became my favourite one from the beginning of the show. I was really impressed by its friendly attitude with humans and when it flew, its wingspan was fantastic. This species is one of the friendliest with humans and this was evident throughout the show. I must confess that I even considered getting one as a pet.. During the show, I was really taken by the "landing" procedure during which the bird used its huge wings to slow down, then turn its body almost vertical and move its feet in front to be ready for the touchdown. The first time it did that I was too impressed to take any shots but the second one I was ready for it. I set the camera to continuous / slow (3 frames per second) and gave it a try. I was amazed to see the small insect in front of the vulture frozen in mid air in the two first photos. Even if I wanted to do that, it wouldn't be possible..
Photos by George J. Reclos
Shooting Data:
1. Camera: Nikon D2X
Lens: Nikkor AF 80-200 mm f/2.8 ED D @ 200 mm
Sensitivity: ISO 200
Shutter speed - aperture: 1/2000 sec - f/2.8, Aperture priority mode
Flash: SB-800 in i-TTL/FP mode
Image: JPEG edited in Photoshop CS2, levels adjusted, smart sharpening added and resized.
2. Camera: Nikon D2X
Lens: Nikkor AF 80-200 mm f/2.8 ED D @ 200 mm
Sensitivity: ISO 200
Shutter speed - aperture: 1/2000 sec - f/2.8, Aperture priority mode
Flash: SB-800 in i-TTL/FP mode
Image: JPEG edited in Photoshop CS2, levels adjusted, smart sharpening added and resized.
3. Camera: Nikon D2X
Lens: Nikkor AF 80-200 mm f/2.8 ED D @ 200 mm .
Sensitivity: ISO 200
Shutter speed - aperture: 1/4000 sec - f/2.8, manual mode
Flash: SB-800 in i-TTL/FP mode
Image: JPEG edited in Photoshop CS2, levels adjusted, smart sharpening added and resized.
4. Camera: Nikon D2X
Lens: Nikkor AF 80-200 mm f/2.8 ED D @ 200 mm .
Sensitivity: ISO 200
Shutter speed - aperture: 1/4000 sec - f/2.8, manual mode
Flash: SB-800 in i-TTL/FP mode
Image: JPEG edited in Photoshop CS2, levels adjusted, smart sharpening added and resized.
5. Camera: Nikon D2X
Lens: Nikkor AF 80-200 mm f/2.8 ED D @ 200 mm .
Sensitivity: ISO 200
Shutter speed - aperture: 1/4000 sec - f/2.8, manual mode
Flash: SB-800 in i-TTL/FP mode
Image: JPEG edited in Photoshop CS2, levels adjusted, smart sharpening added and resized.
6. Camera: Nikon D2X
Lens: Nikkor AF 80-200 mm f/2.8 ED D @ 200 mm .
Sensitivity: ISO 200
Shutter speed - aperture: 1/4000 sec - f/2.8, manual mode
Flash: SB-800 in i-TTL/FP mode
Image: JPEG edited in Photoshop CS2, levels adjusted, smart sharpening added and resized.
7. Camera: Nikon D2X
Lens: Nikkor AF 80-200 mm f/2.8 ED D @ 200 mm .
Sensitivity: ISO 200
Shutter speed - aperture: 1/4000 sec - f/2.8, manual mode
Flash: SB-800 in i-TTL/FP mode
Image: JPEG edited in Photoshop CS2, levels adjusted, smart sharpening added and resized.
8. Camera: Nikon D2X
Lens: Nikkor AF 80-200 mm f/2.8 ED D @ 200 mm
Sensitivity: ISO 200
Shutter speed - aperture: 1/4000 sec - f/2.8, manual mode
Flash: SB-800 in i-TTL/FP mode
Image: JPEG edited in Photoshop CS2, levels adjusted, smart sharpening added and resized.
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