Common Grackle.

[Bynx]

I shot this grackle as it flew away from me. Id like you bird shooters' opinion on whether this is a good shot or not. I guessed on the focus spot and then guessed when the bird reached that spot. It seems with my aperture my depth of field was limited so only a part of the bird is in focus as well as having the wings moving pretty fast.

 

[Majeed Badizadegan]

EXIF?

 

[Bynx]

Yes

 

[SCraig]

When a bird is in flight, especially when they are landing, you are going to have to shoot with a very high shutter speed to avoid blurring in the wings. Personally I like it since it imparts a sense of motion to an otherwise static frame most of the time.

I think this is a good capture. It shows the tail spread for extra control at low airspeed, it shows his feet going up, and even the eye is visible among all the dark of the bird. My only two nit-picks would be: 1) In clipping the tip of the wing at the top, and 2) It looks like the true point of focus was on the tail feathers and not the head. But things like that happen. Shooting birds in flight is tough sometimes, and getting everything exactly like a staged portrait is impossible.

Good shot IMO.

 

[Bynx]

Thanks Craig. I like your evaluation on this. Im not a very good BIF shooter, but I like this shot for some strange reason.

 

[SCraig]

Thanks Craig. I like your evaluation on this. Im not a very good BIF shooter, but I like this shot for some strange reason.

Nor am I but I keep trying. I have a lot of them that I feel the same about, I like them for a reason that I can't quite describe. I think a lot of it is the challenge to get the shot, and the knowledge that we managed to get something at least halfway decent. Shooting birds in flight is one of the more difficult challenges in photography in my opinion because the subject is so unpredictable. We can't control the light or the direction or the background or anything, we get what we can and hope for the best.

 

[Bynx]

It seems this species of bird has given me a couple of weird shots. Here is another one I love because of the eyes and the attitude.

 

[SCraig]

Agreed. That's another interesting shot. They do have striking eyes, and you can certainly see the motion blur in the wings in that one!

I'm a licensed pilot so I understand what is required for flight. Seeing birds do what pilots consider to be impossible always amazes me. Also seeing them perform many of the same actions during flight is also really cool. They spread their tails to give better control at lower airspeed, they will curve the trailing edges of their wings down to give more lift, and they will lower their feet to prepare for a landing. I love to watch them