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Pelagic photography (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter andy hale
- Start date
RobHynson
Well-known member
Hi Andy,
firstly, good luck with the Scilly pelagic, I've done pelagics all over the world but never managed to do one out of Scilly.
As for tips for pelagic photography. The camera setup you have is good. I have a 7D with a 100-400 lens, I find the zoom lens a big advantage on the Australian pelagics as many of the Albatross and Giant-petrels come too close for a fixed 300 or 400 mm lens. I think 300 mm is good for the birds you're likely to see.
If your lens has image stabilisation, use option 2, apparently this is better for panning horizontaly. Also, If your lens has an option to change minimal focal lengths, depending on how close the birds are coming it will be worth setting it to the further distance if the birds are not coming within that minimum distance and changing it when the birds come closer.
On your 7D there will be an option in the menue for focus tracking (I think that's what its called) set this to slow, if you are focused on a bird and the bird moves away from your focal spot, on the slow setting the camera won't jump and focus on the backgroud striaght away and hopefully you can get the bird back to your focal point.
On the 7D I like to use the center single point expanded focus option, this is great for small fast moving birds like Prions, Storm-petrels and Pteradroma's where just getting the bird in focus can be tough. If conditions are calm I'll use the central single point focal point, espeicially for larger birds.
I like to stand at the back of the boat where the chumming is going on, this tends to be where the birds come in and hopefully closest to you for photography. On the boats I've been on this is often the steadiest part of the boat. Going upstairs can be good for spotting more birds but there will be more movement up there and photography will be tough.
There are many different waterproofing devices you can buy, I've never used any of them but I always keep a couple of small dry towels in my coat in case of any splashes.
Ask away if you have any questions.
Here's a link to some photos I took on a Wollongong pelagic this year.
http://upload.pbase.com/rob_hynson/wollongong_23_june_2012
cheers,
Rob
firstly, good luck with the Scilly pelagic, I've done pelagics all over the world but never managed to do one out of Scilly.
As for tips for pelagic photography. The camera setup you have is good. I have a 7D with a 100-400 lens, I find the zoom lens a big advantage on the Australian pelagics as many of the Albatross and Giant-petrels come too close for a fixed 300 or 400 mm lens. I think 300 mm is good for the birds you're likely to see.
If your lens has image stabilisation, use option 2, apparently this is better for panning horizontaly. Also, If your lens has an option to change minimal focal lengths, depending on how close the birds are coming it will be worth setting it to the further distance if the birds are not coming within that minimum distance and changing it when the birds come closer.
On your 7D there will be an option in the menue for focus tracking (I think that's what its called) set this to slow, if you are focused on a bird and the bird moves away from your focal spot, on the slow setting the camera won't jump and focus on the backgroud striaght away and hopefully you can get the bird back to your focal point.
On the 7D I like to use the center single point expanded focus option, this is great for small fast moving birds like Prions, Storm-petrels and Pteradroma's where just getting the bird in focus can be tough. If conditions are calm I'll use the central single point focal point, espeicially for larger birds.
I like to stand at the back of the boat where the chumming is going on, this tends to be where the birds come in and hopefully closest to you for photography. On the boats I've been on this is often the steadiest part of the boat. Going upstairs can be good for spotting more birds but there will be more movement up there and photography will be tough.
There are many different waterproofing devices you can buy, I've never used any of them but I always keep a couple of small dry towels in my coat in case of any splashes.
Ask away if you have any questions.
Here's a link to some photos I took on a Wollongong pelagic this year.
http://upload.pbase.com/rob_hynson/wollongong_23_june_2012
cheers,
Rob
edenwatcher
Well-known member
What Rob said!
All good advice. Never quite sure about the IS situation though. On my pelagic out of Sydney Tony Palliser said that he uses it, which is good enough for me.
Of course if it is nice and sunny it won't matter!
Rob
PS are you going to be in Fife any time soon Rob?
All good advice. Never quite sure about the IS situation though. On my pelagic out of Sydney Tony Palliser said that he uses it, which is good enough for me.
Of course if it is nice and sunny it won't matter!
Rob
PS are you going to be in Fife any time soon Rob?
Clive Watson
Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit ampheta
I don't have a huge amount to add, but I think it's an excellent idea to have a pelagic photography thread to exchange some hints and tips.
One of the major problems I have on pelagics is the autofocus hunting onto the sea instead of the bird. I periodically switch to manual focus out of frustration but that's not ideal either, you end up with lots of shots which aren't quite in focus. If anyone has any ideas I'd be interested!
I did this pelagic a couple of years ago in what turned out to be one of the worst years ever recorded for seabirds on Scilly. This year looks like being a lot better if the current trend continues. The weather is more extreme out at sea, if sunny it can get very hot and if cloudy (or early/late) it can get very cold. There is also no roof on the Sapphire so take clothing for every eventuality (well, almost). There is also the seasickness issue which there are threads about elsewhere.
One of the major problems I have on pelagics is the autofocus hunting onto the sea instead of the bird. I periodically switch to manual focus out of frustration but that's not ideal either, you end up with lots of shots which aren't quite in focus. If anyone has any ideas I'd be interested!
I did this pelagic a couple of years ago in what turned out to be one of the worst years ever recorded for seabirds on Scilly. This year looks like being a lot better if the current trend continues. The weather is more extreme out at sea, if sunny it can get very hot and if cloudy (or early/late) it can get very cold. There is also no roof on the Sapphire so take clothing for every eventuality (well, almost). There is also the seasickness issue which there are threads about elsewhere.
Andy
I'm assuming your going with Joe on the Sapphire? I've done a few on the Scilly's now and photo oppurtunities are superb. I'd advise getting some kind of camera / lens cover that is open at each end but with a drawstring at the camera end and elasticated at the lens end so yo ucan keep the worst of the sea spray / rain off it. Having the elasticated lens end makes it much quicker to use rather than having to take the camera out the water proof sleeve.
I've also been on a pelagic off Simons Town S. Africa where the 20 ft swells were a bit more than you'd expect off the Scillys! As others have said expect lots of out of focus photo's and lots of blank sea. Photographing a moving bird on a moving boat in a moving sea isn't easy.
I think Joe Pender uses the same lens as you and some of his photo's are superb.
ericbowles
Well-known member
Good advice already. The one thing I'd add is that if you have plenty of light, IS probably won't help. IS operates making small adjustments to a lens element. The cycles for these adjustments can't be completed at shutter speeds faster than 1/500 sec., so there is little value of IS. IS can also contribute a small shutter delay.
So if you have good light and shutter speeds of 1/1000 or faster, I'd turn off IS.
Be prepared to deal with salt spray. Blot - don't wipe. Take a mild lens cleaner and clean lens cloth to deal with issues. And be sure to use a lens hood.
As you would expect, forget tripods and monopods. They pick up vibration from the ship and make tracking a subject much more difficult than hand holding.
Tracking a subject can be very difficult. Think about tracking a stealth jet head on. Use your center sensor to the extent possible - it will focus faster than other sensors. Learn to manually adjust focus to pick up subjects faster and reduce hunting.
So if you have good light and shutter speeds of 1/1000 or faster, I'd turn off IS.
Be prepared to deal with salt spray. Blot - don't wipe. Take a mild lens cleaner and clean lens cloth to deal with issues. And be sure to use a lens hood.
As you would expect, forget tripods and monopods. They pick up vibration from the ship and make tracking a subject much more difficult than hand holding.
Tracking a subject can be very difficult. Think about tracking a stealth jet head on. Use your center sensor to the extent possible - it will focus faster than other sensors. Learn to manually adjust focus to pick up subjects faster and reduce hunting.
