"You've Got To Be Kidding Me"!
by debbiedsd

Comment by Jutilda:
Those eyes are incredible.

Red Splendor
by debbiedsd

Comment by debbiedsd:
Thank you Weheh! Glad to see that I am not the only one that finds this to be such a challenge. I shoot about 2000 for every good one.

Red Splendor
by debbiedsd

Comment by weheh:
Woodland songbirds are extremely difficult to photograph in flight. I've been at it for years and only recently have I been getting results. Frankly, the equipment was holding me back for the longest time. I bought the Canon 1D Mark III to try to get in the game, it failed utterly because of the focus bug. I then upgraded to the 1D Mark IV and voilá! Success. Nevertheless, it's still very difficult. Some days I'm really "on" and some days not. I have to spend a lot of time getting to know each bird and where they are going to fly. Even at full burst mode, the bird will remain in frame for only 1 frame. Also, at the shutter speeds required for such shots the lens also tends to be wide open, so DOF is very shallow. Frankly, autofocus can barely keep up, even on the 1D Mark IV. So I have resorted to a combination of auto and manual focusing. Where I've had the best results, I composed the shot, went to manual focus, and waited for the bird to fly into the frame. Keep at it. Practice makes perfect.

Red Splendor
by debbiedsd

Comment by debbiedsd:
Thanks so much everyone for taking the time to drop by and comment!

Red Splendor
by debbiedsd

Comment by tate:
Wow - Fantastic. Birds have eluded me - capturing their image is quite a challenge and this is splentastic.

Red Splendor
by debbiedsd

Comment by tanguera:
Congrats on teh front page!

Red Splendor
by debbiedsd

Comment by sherpet:
AWESOME FINALLY ALL YOUR HARD WORK PAID OFF XOX

Red Splendor
by debbiedsd

Comment by MaryO:
Astounding capture.

Red Splendor
by debbiedsd

Comment by PenelopeK:
Great capture and lighting.

Red Splendor
by debbiedsd

Comment by jomari:
Lovely. Nicely displayed against the black.