Bohemian Waxwings

[mbrager]

Sitting at my desk at home, I see a flock of birds land high in a tree about 1/2 kilometer away. Lots of birds. Can't photograph them through the window screen. Run downstairs to see them from a front window. Pull up the blinds. A clear view. Lots of birds, still there. Think to myself: go for it. Run upstairs. Get out my 120-400 mm lens. Attach it to my camera. It's a heavy bugger. Run downstairs. Take off the lens cap and the lens hood. Turn camera on. Check the camera settings. Shoot. Birds are mostly staying put, but some are coming and going from above and below. Keep shooting. Realize that I'm probably not getting very clear shots. Need the tripod. Run upstairs. Grab the tripod. Set it up. Put the camera on it. Compose and keep shooting. Birds still coming and going. At one point they all fly away at once, and a few seconds later, they all return at once. Still shooting, about 75 shots. I'm missing my remote to get even more stable shots. Run upstairs. Grab the wireless remote. Run downstairs. Attach remote to camera. Turn it on. Ready to shoot. Dang. The birds have all flown away.
Even in the 400 mm. shots I can barely identify the birds. There is a tiny bit of color in the tails and heads, which I heightened. I think the camera exposed more for the sky than the birds, so should have used spot or center weighted exposure. The more distant shots are black and white conversions. Main conclusion: I "need" a longer lens.

1. 400 mm
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8348/8237320272_1e18b40479_b.jpg

2. 171 mm
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8347/8235950993_987beb6f45_b.jpg

3. 140 mm
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8477/8237015042_5455cbbe9f_b.jpg

[Runmonty]

These are great MB. Glad you got a workout as well as some shots

[Realist]

I like the last one, it's like a blanket of birds. As for the lens, if you want longer you're gonna need a good bit of cash. Wish they were, but lenses like that aren't cheap!

[Lungelarry]

I think wildlife photo,is all about never having enough lens,I know it always happens to me....lol. Good shots ,considering what you went through!

[asnow]

WOW, what a lot of work to get some shots. You definitely are persistent. I really like that last shot with the mass abandonment of the tree. One question I have is - couldn't you have used the self timer on the camera instead of the last run down the stairs to get the wireless remote.

All that work to get a picture reminds me of a situation I had recently. We had our yearly departmental meeting at work and at the end of the meeting they decided to have a group picture. Up to 100 people quickly gathering at the end of the room. The person taking the picture had if I recall a 24-105 lens. It was no way wide enough to get everybody in. She was trying to take several pictures and she would stitch them together later. I offered to go get my camera as I had a 10-22 lens. I could fit everybody in, maybe a bit distorted, but at least I could capture the whole group. Problem was my car was near the end of the parking lot (maybe 200m away). So I ran all the way there and back in the pouring rain, getting rather soaked. No time to put on a jacket. Grabbed my camera out of my bag and of course I had the wrong lens on it. Had to change the lens. Quickly got in place and snapped a picture. Duh, I have back button focusing and forgot to hit the button before I snapped the picture. Out of focus. Tried again and .... card full. Ran to my bag grabbed another card .... card full. Ran to my bag grabbed a third card ... card full. The crowd got too antsy and decided to break up. All that work and no picture to show for it.
Conclusion: For you get a longer lens. For me get bigger cards.

[GJK]

I like the first shot, just a few yellow dots to ID as Waxwings,there here in big flocks this time of year too.

[Matt K.]

Superb. Really nice, Michael ... had to laugh at your blurb, reminds me of the typical photographer's life. Gave me quite the chuckle.

[ewaizel]

Very nice ones. All great!!!
Thank you for sharing your stories. We all have similar ones :D

[Mad Aussie]

Cool story! And the pics are still nice. I like that last one ... it's a keeper.

[QuietOne]

At least they sat still. More or less. The third shot's a nice one even if you can't tell what the birds are.

[Hillbillygirl]

Wow! Don't think i have ever seen that many Bohemians in one flock before. As with others here, really likin' that last shot with the motion. Well spotted, and very perseverant on your part in getting these captures.

(looking for a nice super-tele? If ya shoot Canon, I may be able to help ya out ;))

[mbrager]

Thanks for the comments. Much appreciated. Since this episode I have been considering an extender which multiplies the focal length but reduces the aperture size by the same factor. I am a Canon shooter, HBG. What do you have in mind?