Eagle Heights - Kent

kelack

kelack

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Hope this is in the right place - if not, feel free to shout at me (although not loud - have aheadache!! :lol: )

After my great day at the Big Cat Sanctuary, my family have clubbed together to get me a day's shoot at Eagle Heights in Kent

This fills me with dread as with the cats - they lay there and were relatively easy to take photos of.

Has anyone got any handy hints and tips for taking photos of birds of prey :help:

Also, has anyone been there before and done a day's photo shoot?

tia
 
Have never been there, i think Matty has though.

Try to stay low in relation to the birds, eye level or lower really, keep the shutter speed up if they are flying and watch for the backgrounds if there are people about. If they are flying about with sky behind in relation to you, sometimes its best to meter the grass and set the settings manually so you expose for the bird not the sky.

Have fun :)
 
tis an excellent place, take a flash, and a monopod, check flying times, and ask the keepers if they can hold the birds!
 
Cheers Ian - just one thing - I am a complete amateur - how do I meter the grass? :thinking: :D

Matty - I gathered from the conversation on the phone earlier that I will have a falconer with me and they will get the birds out and feed them and then take me round and get me up close etc etc. It's about £100 for the day but probably well worth it. They're going to give me a ring Monday with more details and dates

Oh, I feel such a beginner! I thought I did all right with my photos - wish I hadn't come on here :lol::lol:

Thanks both for your replies :)
 
in program mode or whatever, point the camera at the grass roughly where the birds are, make sure none of the settings are flashing, even take a pic and see what the histogram looks like, then make a note of shutter speed and aperture, switch the camera to Manual mode and enter those settings into the camera :) and as long as the light doesnt change drastically it should be ok. If you arent comfortable with that leave it in TV and make sure you keep the shutter speed up and dont let the aperture flash at you otherwise it will be under or over exposed

Enjoy it as well :)
 
:help: Will you come with me :lol:

I shall give it a go then :)

Do you think they'll laugh at me if I take little flash cards with me with my instructions on :D
 
Dunno - they're going to ring me Monday with a list of dates for me to go
- you're more than welcome to come and hold my hand but you have to pay for yourself :lol::lol:

Thought I knew how to take photos til I came on here - gee thanks :D
 
Right, I have 3 days to go til my photo shoot and in a state of panic now. Have been for a walk in the woods today (before battery ran out - forgot to charge it after weekend - doh) and took a few pics but til battery is charged, can't see what they've come out like. Might go out again this afternoon depending on whether husband will let me (Supposed to be doing DIY today :D ). Can't find the instructions for the camera anywhere, have been through all the drawers upstairs.

Any other words of advice?
 
ENJOY IT!!!

I did one at a different place earlier in the year, and its great fun. Try and keep shutter speeds at 1/650 or above if flying, [so use shutter priority or ful manual shooting, letting the camera worry about the focusing] and of course pan with the birds. Get as close as you can for 'still' shots.
You will usually find on these days, the handlers have loads of experience and advice, and will helo as much as they can, as well as providing a lot of info on which direction the birds will fly [which is much better than wild ones, that never go where you want]

I was as worried and nervous as you, but still managed to do these BIRDS so just relax and enjoy it, don't be too stressed. :thumbs:
 
Kelack, when you are looking at a subject in the viewfinder to shoot your pic, press the exposure button half-way down. That way the camera meters the light and focuses on your subject. So that's been done and taken care of. Then, keeping the button half-pressed, you compose your scene, wait for the right moment and then press through, making your exposure!
This way light will be correctly metered, and the subject correctly focused, and you will avoid the shutter delay as much as possible.

Have fun!
 
Thanks both, will bear that in mind. Going to sound thick here, but how do I pan? Is that where I follow the bird with the camera and keep the button down?
 
kelack said:
Thanks both, will bear that in mind. Going to sound thick here, but how do I pan? Is that where I follow the bird with the camera and keep the button down?
Click to expand...

"Panning"? "Panning" means sweeping from left to right (or up or down) following your subject and recording image(s) the whole time. So that would be filming. I'm guessing you mean "tracking": following your subject to the point that you press through and make the still exposure.
Problem with tracking and half-pressing the button is that the camera nails the metering and the focus down the instant you half-press. But you're still tracking the subject (bird), so its lighting and its distance-to-camera (focal point) changes all the time. The half-press settings won't be valid (anymore)at the precise moment you expose. UNLESS you have a "CF" setting on your camera: Continuous Focus (as opposed to Single Focus). Which, when set, tracks the subject, focuses on it, and meters it, well..., continuously!
 
W.Smith said:
"Panning"? "Panning" means sweeping from left to right (or up or down) following your subject and recording image(s) the whole time.
Click to expand...

Yup - keeping the button down so it takes photos continuously, so I did have the right thing, that's what I do for rugby, just didn't know what the term was.

Now, don't confuse me with tracking :lol:
 
Which Big Cat Sanctuary did you go to?
 
The one in Smarden, Kent
 
kelack said:
Yup - keeping the button down so it takes photos continuously, so I did have the right thing, that's what I do for rugby, just didn't know what the term was.

Now, don't confuse me with tracking :lol:
Click to expand...


Panning, I was always taught, actually means following your subject and continue following even after you have depressed the shutter button fully, so that the camera continues to move with it until after the exposure [takes practice especially with dslrs where the image is lost in he view finder for that vital exposure period]. It can include using 'continuous shooting' mode too, but can also mean only taking one or two shots in a single pan. If your camera [and most modern ones do] has continuous focusing, you can do the panning whilst holding the shutter half depressed so the camera constantly works to refocus on the moving object until the object is in the position you want to press the shutter. This method also helps to blur the background and creat a better feeling of movement.
 
Now I've worked out the continuous bit, can play with this. Thought it only worked in Sport mode :bonk:
 
The chap that ran our Bird of Prey day said the best thing he ever did was to practice taking pictures of cars passing on a local main road. Helps teach you to pan, expose and frame the object quite well.... Cant say as I have tried it, but I can see his reasoning :lol:
 
Ooo, that's a good idea, might go and stand by the main road tomorrow then (will get me out of the DIY :lol: )
 
LadyLens said:
Panning, I was always taught, actually means following your subject and continue following even after you have depressed the shutter button fully, so that the camera continues to move with it until after the exposure [takes practice especially with dslrs where the image is lost in he view finder for that vital exposure period]. It can include using 'continuous shooting' mode too, but can also mean only taking one or two shots in a single pan. If your camera [and most modern ones do] has continuous focusing, you can do the panning whilst holding the shutter half depressed so the camera constantly works to refocus on the moving object until the object is in the position you want to press the shutter. This method also helps to blur the background and creat a better feeling of movement.
Click to expand...

However, whether it's called 'panning' or 'tracking', both the camera and the subject are MOVING. A guaranteed recepy for blurring everything. Unless both cam and subject move in perfect sync, or unless very high shutter speeds (1/1000th and up) and synchronized flash are used.
 
W.Smith said:
However, whether it's called 'panning' or 'tracking', both the camera and the subject are MOVING. A guaranteed recepy for blurring everything. Unless both cam and subject move in perfect sync, or unless very high shutter speeds (1/1000th and up) and synchronized flash are used.
Click to expand...

Hmm, depends on speed of your subject - I got my practice at race tracks, and most people can do it with some practice, and trying to get a clear pic of a moving object is a recipe for a blur anyway, unless even faster shutter speeds are used than needed for panning, so surely better to narrow the odds. ;)




Anyway, enough of that, I am thinking Thursday is Kelacks big day [if I got my maths right], so best of luck, and hope you have a great day! :thumbs::thumbs:
 
Yup - just waiting for hubbie to finish getting dressed and we're off. :D

Wish me luck
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I remember all your tips
 
Great day - camera crap! Continuous mode didn't work properly, battery died at half 4. Used to last 8 hours. Time to get a new one I think. Not holding a charge much :(

Not sure if I've got any good ones, but I hve chick guts all up my back where they stood behind me and swung the lure to get the birds flying over me. Nice:razz::lol:

Peregrine falcon - far too bloody fast :lol:

Waiting for battery to charge a bit so I can download the photos. Will show a couple of the best.
 
Right, they're all downloaded. The ones I took where the birds are standing still are okay, the ones of them flying are okayish, not that great. I'm just not fast enough, never mind the camera :lol: Oh well, we had a good day anyway. Going to bed now, knackered!
 
Changed my mind, been looking at them again today and narrowed the 700 down to 290 good ones and I think I did well :D:D

Got to go to rugby now and I can't get on Picasa web albums for some reason so will show you tomorrow :lol:
 
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