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DPChallenge Forums >> Photography Discussion >> Going to a Raptor exhibition/demo--which lens?
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AuthorThread
 03/18/2011 07:00:29 PM · #1
Have you been to one of those Raptors-Meets-the-Public exhibitions? They're having one tomorrow at the Botanical Garden. The ad says the birds will fly, so I might get a Bird In Flight. A first for me. Should I take the 70-200mm or the 18-70 lens? There will likely be a small crowd of kids present, this is a Spring Break activity. Any advice would be much appreciated.
 03/18/2011 07:05:58 PM · #2
Is there some reason you don't want to take both? ;)

If I had to choose (and I wouldn't, I'm sure), I'd take the 70-200, as you're more likely to want the tele than the wide.
 03/18/2011 07:22:46 PM · #3
A flying falcon will be tiny even with a 200mm, and will already be tough to pan with accurately at that zoom level. The only reason I'd see for taking the wide-angle would be if you want a scene of the crowd watching the birds.
Shot from around the 20th floor with a 436mm (35mmEQ) lens.
 03/18/2011 07:26:25 PM · #4
Wear dark, dark sun glasses and a stack of ND filters. I hear it is to be extreamly bright.
 03/18/2011 07:47:03 PM · #5
OK I just got a 10 ND filter, I'll take it. Since it's not wild & free, I might get a chance to catch it taking off or landing. And the crowd, of course. I have a 400mm but that would be silly, right? The thing is, my camera has this fast continuous auto-focus, & I'd kind of like to try that, too. I probably won't get one decent shot, but it'll be fun to try.

Message edited by author 2011-03-18 19:52:37.
 03/18/2011 07:54:26 PM · #6
I've only done it once and guessed wrong. I sat in the middle, hoping to get something flying right at me. Brought the 100-400 lens. Too big, and it was flying too fast. I would have been much better off sitting to the side to try to track it all the way along the path. Then the 100-400 would have be fine.
 03/18/2011 08:01:28 PM · #7
I'd take the 70-200. Ask the handler before the show where the birds will be flying from and to if it is not obvious. Then get yourself where they will be flying to you but not directly at you if possible (depending on light which would be best at your back but ...). As for it being bright I don't know why you would want to use ND filters for this type photography as you want as fast a shutter speed as possible. Expose for the bird and let the background do what it must. Just my two cents.

edit: one more thing - shoot in apperature priority mode at a stop of one or two above wide open as long as you can get 1/1000 / sec or better for shutter. 1/1500 or better would be great.

Message edited by author 2011-03-18 20:04:12.
 03/18/2011 09:35:47 PM · #8
Thanks. I'll test the light right away. It would test my courage to have a bird flying right at me, so yep I'll try to be off to the side a bit, plus I think that is the best orientation to test my camera's fast focus. It will be fun to try, at least!

I used my ND filter to try to shoot the moon. No luck there, I'm just not set up for that. It is beautiful, though.
 03/18/2011 09:41:17 PM · #9
Originally posted by pixelpig:
I used my ND filter to try to shoot the moon. No luck there, I'm just not set up for that. It is beautiful, though.


WHY? ND filter exists for one purpose only: to allow a longer exposure time. That's the opposite of what you want with the moon. And with birds, for that matter...

R.
 03/18/2011 10:29:54 PM · #10
The moon is so bright, I wanted to filter out some of that light so I could get something besides a bright white circle. Not a trained photographer, never tried to shoot the moon before, never had an ND filter before either.

Message edited by author 2011-03-18 22:30:42.
 03/18/2011 10:44:35 PM · #11
I'm going to one of these next Saturday (26th) and I'll probably only use my long lens.

//www.carolinaraptorcenter.org/photowild.php

I'm looking forward to it. I have been wanting to go for a long time and just never was able to make it happen due to schedule conflicts and such, but this is my year :)
 03/18/2011 10:57:32 PM · #12
Originally posted by jmsetzler:
I'm going to one of these next Saturday (26th) and I'll probably only use my long lens.

//www.carolinaraptorcenter.org/photowild.php

I'm looking forward to it. I have been wanting to go for a long time and just never was able to make it happen due to schedule conflicts and such, but this is my year :)


Thanks for the link, good luck to you! I wonder, looking at the shots in our link, if maybe there won't be a vulture there, tomorrow. Even if I don't get a BIF, I might get a pretty good portrait, if I can angle the crowd out.
 03/18/2011 11:16:13 PM · #13
Originally posted by pixelpig:
The moon is so bright, I wanted to filter out some of that light so I could get something besides a bright white circle. Not a trained photographer, never tried to shoot the moon before, never had an ND filter before either.


ND filter won't make any difference, for that. Get exact same effect by using a faster shutter speed and/or a smaller aperture. ND filter is just another way of changing exposure.

R.
 03/19/2011 12:29:20 AM · #14
Actually I will take my SLR with a long lens and probably take my pocket camera also.
03/19/2011 01:12:24 AM · #15
I've been thinking about it. Realistically, the chances of me getting a BIF are next to zero. 200mm needs a tripod. Panning a bird in flight with a tripod at my level of experience with birds is not a realistic expectation. My only hope is to get near the spot where it will land, or take off. That's what I'm going for, if I can. A more realistic hope is to get a portrait shot of a bird on a perch & since I don't want BG distractions, that's the lens I'm taking.And I always have my pocket camera.
03/19/2011 01:22:51 AM · #16
Originally posted by pixelpig:
I've been thinking about it. Realistically, the chances of me getting a BIF are next to zero. 200mm needs a tripod. Panning a bird in flight with a tripod at my level of experience with birds is not a realistic expectation. My only hope is to get near the spot where it will land, or take off. That's what I'm going for, if I can. A more realistic hope is to get a portrait shot of a bird on a perch & since I don't want BG distractions, that's the lens I'm taking.And I always have my pocket camera.


If I recall correctly I shot this with a handheld 70/200 f2.8 and this with a hand held Sigma 50/500 f4.

Mind you, the quality of the image in the second image did suffer.

Ray
 03/19/2011 10:38:14 AM · #17
Raptor.....Rapture...:)
Get it? :)
 03/19/2011 11:05:32 AM · #18
I would take both lenses, but chances are you won't be using the wide angle very much,unless you get up close for some pearched shots. As for shooting the BIF'S, i would shoot in aperture priority, wide open, in burst mode. Hold down the shutter release and fire away. Panning with the bird along the flight path will yield more keepers than trying the capture the bird flying towards you...Good luck
03/19/2011 05:18:51 PM · #19


The birds were kept in an air conditioned van & brought out one at a time. The audience was seated in concrete benches in a hillside, & they flew some of the raptors over the audience to a handler standing on the crest of the hill in the back. The Black Vulture ran on the ground for his food. The Red Tailed Hawk bypassed the handler's arm & landed on top of a nearby tent, which suddenly tested my ability to track the bird with the camera when there was nothing on the display. The Falcon flew after a lure on the ground. The Bald Eagle is the mascot that flies before kickoff at University of Alabama games.

There was every kind of camera there from cell phone cameras to Big Lenses on Tripods. The event was not presented to photographers, though the handlers were very aware of people's desire to get pictures & gave them every opportunity possible without putting the birds at risk. It was an educational event presented to grade school children & as far as I could tell they had a great time. The show had a lot of variety. The best place to be would've been on foot, on the crest of the hill behind the audience, or in the front row, on the end.

I didn't get any good shots, but I did learn something new. Those long separate feathers on the tips of vultures' wings are what enable them to fly at just above stall speed, real slow, to look for their food from the air.

Thanks for the tips & comments & stories. I did have a good time.
 03/20/2011 07:49:08 PM · #20
A little late in the day as I just heard about this thread. Ryan and I have shot at several raptor shows put on by the Canadian Raptor Conservancy. There was only one falconer flying the birds, but to a perch already set out before the show began, so we had some idea as to where they would be going and set up. Mostly the show's birds consist of a Harris hawk, a redtail hawk, an American kestrel (aka sparrow hawk), a Great Horned owl, a turkey vulture, and usually the finale is either an immature bald eagle or golden eagle.

In terms of how and what we shoot with, Ryan usually has the 70-200 mounted up, and I have yet to try out the 300 so I'd shoot with the 18-200. He prefers to use a tripod, I go for handheld. Shutter speed is kept pretty high, say at least 1250, ISO low, and fstop generally around 5.6.

Hope this helps! And look forward to seeing your entry :-)
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