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Help with wing movement (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Old Jim
- Start date
jobkjoseph
Well-known member
a bad idea (harmful for birds)...
use a high-powerful flash to freeze motion...hence use a narrow aperture also..
use a high-powerful flash to freeze motion...hence use a narrow aperture also..
Short of increasing the shutter speed, which you say you can't do, flash is the only way. However, I would have thought that 1000th should freeze the wing is the bird is not flapping so fast (!) ...what I'm suggesting here is take dozens of pictures of the same bird, hopefully one will get the result you seek (hopefully you're on digital, not film). Also, some wing blur, in my opinion, is good - gives the sense of movement.
Thanks Jos,
Your advice is sound. I do take dozens and dozens of shots and I do use an external flash. I guess I just have to wait it out untill that special shot I am seeking comes. The first pic posted was at 1/1000 @f3.6. Here is another one if anyone cares to comment on it. It was 1/1000 @ f4.5 with flash.
Thanks.
Your advice is sound. I do take dozens and dozens of shots and I do use an external flash. I guess I just have to wait it out untill that special shot I am seeking comes. The first pic posted was at 1/1000 @f3.6. Here is another one if anyone cares to comment on it. It was 1/1000 @ f4.5 with flash.
Thanks.
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Keith Reeder
Watch the birdie...
Jim,
AAMOI, what camera are you using?
Most if not all modern cameras can get waaaay faster than 1/000 - my D70 will give 1/8000 if I want it.
AAMOI, what camera are you using?
Most if not all modern cameras can get waaaay faster than 1/000 - my D70 will give 1/8000 if I want it.
Jim,
You should be able to freeze wings, even at slower speeds, if you use your flash as the main source of lighting. IOW, don't use it as a fill flash. I can usually freeze hummingbird wings at 1/200, using the flash as the main light source, that I could never freeze at 1/2000, or faster, using a fill flash/no flash.
Steve
You should be able to freeze wings, even at slower speeds, if you use your flash as the main source of lighting. IOW, don't use it as a fill flash. I can usually freeze hummingbird wings at 1/200, using the flash as the main light source, that I could never freeze at 1/2000, or faster, using a fill flash/no flash.
Steve
Old Jim said:
Jim,
High speed flash is the only way. I use this technique for my hummingbird shots. I use an array of 5 or 6 old vivitar HV285s, set to manual mode, and 1/16th power to yield a flash duration of somewhere between 1/10,000 and 1/15,000 second. It is the flash duration, not a fast shutter speed that freezes the motion. Because the power levels are decreased, you must compensate by using more flash units, and/or by moving in closer to the subject. "Beamers" or other types of flash attachments that make the flash light more directional can also help. A seperate flash used only for backlighting will help keep the background from going totally black.
The photo at the link below was shot using the method described above with my Pentax *stD and Sigma 100-300 EX lens. Flashes were fired via optical triggers. The camera was mounted on a tripod about 12 feet from the subject, and fired via remote cable switch.
Settings were:
1/125 second shutter speed
f/16
260mm
ISO 200
Hummingbird shot
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