Water Tricks
Water Tricks
Written by Thursday, 23 October 2008 00:00
“Four ducks on a pond, a grass-bank beyond, a blue sky of spring, white clouds on the wing:
what a little thing to remember for years - to remember with tears!” William Allingham
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Duck in the Pond I'm still test-driving my AFS 600mm f/4 VR ED, and for this purpose I went to a pond in the neighbourhood. The ducks were everyhwhere, and they weren't even bothered with my presence. I was able to get this "stretching" shot which I found quite good. Photo by Frank Panis Camera: Nikon D300 |
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Cygnus attratus The two photos of the swans were taken in Attica zoological park so light was not a problem. I saw one of the swans spreading its wings and I knew others were about to do the same – him included. I set up the camera to continuous focusing (track the subject when it moves), focus priority (don't shoot if subject is not in focus) and continuous high rate (6 frames per second). Indeed several animals spread their wings during this afternoon and I managed to come up with some nice photos. The camera was carrying a fast f/2.8 lens and was set to shutter priority mode (1/2000 sec). Photos by George Reclos 1. Camera: Nikon D2x 2. Camera: Nikon D2x |
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Branta Canadensis (Canada Goose) I am always fascinated by expanded wings. To me, this adds life to any bird shot. However, birds move their wings very fast so you basically have two options. Use a low shutter speed and wait to capture the moment when the movement of the wings will be minimized (when it reaches the highest or lowest point) or else use a very high speed and hope it will be enough to freeze the movement. I personally prefer the second option so I usually set my cameras at 1/2000 sec (or more) and shutter speed priority. Normally, there is no reason to raise the ISO setting of the camera if shooting in Greece, since there is ample light, especially if you carry a fast lens (f/2.8). However, things were far from ideal when we got to Sale Park, UK. Light was not sufficient (not to mention it was raining during our first session). In addition I had a lens which only gets to f/5.6 wide open while at this aperture the quality of the image is not the best. However, I had no option but to use it wide open, raise the ISO to 640 and set the camera to a modest 1/1600 sec shutter speed. I stood near the paddock and waited for a goose to drop in the water. The first one wasn't a success but showed me where I should focus and when I should press the release button, which resulted in the photo you see which was taken exactly when the goose hit the water. Photo by George Reclos Camera: Nikon D300 |
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