14 PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS FOR BIRDS IN FLIGHT | Capturing sharp puffin photos

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Photographing birds in flight and capturing sharp photos takes practice and proper technique. In this video, we share 14 photography tips about how to capture photos of birds in flight and what methods we use. This is based on our experience in bird photography over the years. This approach can also be used for wildlife photography in general.
This was filmed on a cliff on the island of Grimsey, north Iceland, where there are hundreds of thousands of puffins, guillemots and razorbills.
We are Einar Gudmann and Gyda Henningsdottir, we live in Iceland and wildlife photography is our passion, but landscape photography is what keeps our photography business going. We strive to be creative in our photography and really put our hearts into what we do.
✦ OUR BOOKS:
BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY IN ICELAND: Our 40 Favorite Locations (A must-have for trips to Iceland)
PHOTOGRAPHING ICELAND: A Photo Guide To 100 Locations (A must-have for trips to Iceland)
GRIMSEY: The Arctic Wildlife Wonder (Our latest book about our favorite bird-island)
ICELAND: Wild At Heart. (Our bestseller)
(The books are available at www.ggart.is with worldwide shipping.)
✦ WEBSITES AND SOCIAL MEDIA
• Our blog and website: www.photographingiceland.is
• Online store (Books): www.ggart.is
• Einar Gudmann gallery: www.gudmann.is
• Gyda Henningsdottir gallery: www.gyda.is
• Instagram (Gyda) gydahennings
• Instagram (Gudmann) einargudmann
• Facebook: gudmannandgyda
You are welcome to send us a line through one of our websites if you have questions about our photos or ideas about collaboration.

Опубликовано:

7 авг 2024

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Комментарии : 82

@andrewgaffney4881 2 года назад

Whatever you’re doing is working. You and Gyda take amazing pictures.

@GudmannAndGyda 2 года назад

Very nice of you to say so, Andrew. Thank you for watching.

@kenkathie171 2 года назад

From Powell River BC my wife and I so enjoy your channel. Not to often you see a couple enjoying this sport together. We have been birding for about five years now and totally understand your excitement as a couple. Keep up the great work.....

@mustafakasapoglu 2 года назад

Thanks for the great tips. Thanks for your time and efforts that you prepared and made easy for us. All the best from Istanbul.

@BayouJosh 2 года назад

Such a magical place!!!! I need to come visit you guys. Great tips and tricks. Pro advice for sure!

@GudmannAndGyda 2 года назад

You should! Let us know if you make plans for Iceland.

@gerardvincenot7573 2 года назад

Beautiful images,well explained shot , thank you .😊

@Kai-Infinity 2 года назад

Nice location for photograph puffins.

@GudmannAndGyda 2 года назад

Indeed!

@MikeKatona 2 года назад

Very nice. Thank you G&G

@GudmannAndGyda 2 года назад

Thank you too!

@TerryKontopoulos 2 года назад

For the Stabilization a couple of people make tests for using it on tripods and in contrary with the "myth" they find that it helped them, I tend to agree with my limited experience... Very nice video! Thank you!

@Vahagraphy 2 года назад

Very good tips. What an interesting bird. Thank you for this video.

@darrendavy4248 2 года назад

Very informative.. Beautiful images of the puffins, thank you.

@GudmannAndGyda 2 года назад

Glad you enjoyed it. Thank you.

@darrendavy4248 2 года назад

@@GudmannAndGyda we enloy all your video's, very much.

@anna-karinmickwitz7249 2 года назад

Many useful tips. Thank you!

@dolittlelane Год назад

Cool, thanks for sharing 😻🐦

@Bob4golf1 2 года назад

I know you're still shooting with the D850 (wonderful camera) and I still use mine for certain subjects but I have to say, the focus system on the Z9 is SO incredibly powerful that my yield (number of motion images in sharp focus) has increased dramatically! The eye focus for both humans and birds blows my mind. I am primarily a sports photographer but have lately also started shooting birds which can be even more difficult to capture in flight than some sports photos. The first time I used the Z9 for birds in flight, I couldn't stop giggling - WOW I had so many images of sharp focus birds I had to start shooting in single frame rather than continuous. I almost never use Image Stabilization - to me it just gets in the way. With the Z9 you won't have to worry about it. I know the Z9 is still hard to get but after waiting 4 months, I messaged NPS and they go me one in about 10 days. Love your videos and have been following many of your tips. Please keep it up.

@GudmannAndGyda 2 года назад

The Z9 will convince us of it´s autofocus abilities when someone shows a side-shot of a flying puffin with minimal cropping. ;-)

@banarne71 2 года назад

Great tips and cracking images! 👍🏻😀

@jocelyngrondines8766 2 года назад

Thank you so much for all the tips. I am Nikon fan and will try theses in Quebec Mingan.

@oli-haukur-valtysson 2 года назад

Great! As always 🤠

@GudmannAndGyda 2 года назад

Thanks Óli! This was our first real tutorial so to speak... we are still experimenting. ;-)

@DJKEN26 2 года назад

Wow it's amazing to see.

@hasnaindostmohamed395 2 года назад

Awesome pictures

@marklorimor6672 2 года назад

I shoot with a D500 & 200-500 f5.6 Nikkor lens. When on the tripod with a gimbal head, I keep my panning & swing adjustments fairly loose which can produce minimal amounts of fluctuations that the vibration reduction of the lens can easily overcome and stabilize. For that reason, I never turn off lens stabilization for BIF on the tripod or handheld. I quite enjoy your videos and am in awe of the weather you both are able to endure to bring your viewers photos & video. I think your work is wonderfully produced and is both informative and entertaining.

@GudmannAndGyda 2 года назад

Thank you Mark Lorimor, we strive to do our best in our photography. As you know, some days are good while others are not so good for capturing photos. We are lucky to be in this together.

@robertlawrence7958 2 года назад

Excellent advice and backed up with top class images.

@GudmannAndGyda 2 года назад

Many thanks!

@ridealongwithrandy 2 года назад

Good stuff, thanks, Heading out the door right now with my new Nikon 200-500 f5.6 on the Nikon D750, wish me luck :)

@GudmannAndGyda 2 года назад

Good luck! - and a good choice of equipment. Have fun.

@christianwetzel1862 2 года назад

I've tried to photograph swifts in flight at high shutter speeds (canon r5, handheld, bird eye AF tracking) with and without image stabilization. The keeper rate with IS switched ON was dramatically better. I guess the AF is having a much easier job when the image is already stabilized in the first place.

@omerskipper114 2 года назад

Yeeehaaaaah

@benjaminthomas6585 11 месяцев назад

A superb video as always, but tell me please in Aperture priority how can you get such a High speed 5.11

@atropicali 2 года назад

Your videos are amazing keep it on

@GudmannAndGyda 2 года назад

Glad you like them!

@WernerBirdNature 2 года назад

Hello Einar, already in November last year we booked us a 19-day trip around Iceland combining 10 AirBnB's. After watching this great video earlier this year, we ordered your Photographing Iceland as e-book. And now my wife is cursing because we'd need each day more than 48 hours to cover all amazing things to see and photograph! With long days in July, we were wondering whether we'd have time to sleep. But thankfully in your last video Gyda demonstrated how to nap while photographing, heheh. I'm really looking forward to see how the eye-AF of my Canon R6 deals with the flying puffins! If we'd encounter you near the puffins, I'd be happy to let you try it out for yourself.

@williamzaca6280 2 года назад

Great video!! Here in Brazil to photograph birds in flight (mainly birds of prey) I use a Nikon D750 and a Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary lens. I always use continuous focus with 9 stops, f/8 and speed ranging from 1/1600 to 1/2000 with image stabilization on. I don't use the tripod because it's not very good, so I hold it in my hand. I don't miss many photos.

@GudmannAndGyda 2 года назад

Sounds similar to our method. It is only on occasionally possible to use a tripod, like when you are standing at a cliffs edge. Handheld shots are often the only way to go. Greetings from Iceland.

@fgb3126 Год назад

William, that Sigma 3rd party zoom is really becoming something of a legend. I shoot one on my Canon 7D Mk2, and I imagine the same quality shows put on a Nikon mount.

@drferry Год назад

I second it that the Z9 has made obsolete my very good D850. Tracking on the bird's eye is amazing and beats anything that preceded it. Couple that with the new Nikon 800 mm PF, and you will never go back.

@wpotrebkaphotography 2 года назад

In my test with stabilization (Canon, and Sony) I have found that when I am on a tripod, and/or shooting over 1250/sec I get a larger number of sharp images with it turned off. What I have found is that with it turned on I will get a sharp frame, followed by frames with worsening, then improving sharpness, followed by a few sharp frames. The softness also looks different than normal motion blur, almost like 2 images overlapped and blurred together.

@GudmannAndGyda 2 года назад

Very interesting...

@IanHayWildLife 2 года назад

Nice film. Re the eye focussing, give it a try, it is absolutely revolutionary but it is only part of the story. I use the canon R6 and grab a distant bird with wide area focus tracking then switch to eye focus as they get close. For me the transition from focus method is key as well as being able to get onto a distant bird that taking up a tiny part of the image, and track it all the way in. Also being able to compose the photo at the same time ie not having to keep it on a focus point is great. I have a film on it on my channel if you want to have a look. Great photos by the way. Ian

@KitsFishing Год назад

GREAT THANKS for this tips video. I came across it looking for info about buying the correct camera for taking photos of puffins gannets dolphins seals all things I see at sea. The video has helped me decide on the features I need and how to take the perfect picture for my channel. Thanks :0)

@jeroenvannieuwenhove7527 2 года назад

Excellent video (as usual) with a lot of good tips. I know how I can hopefully improve my keeper rate with flying puffins next time. I didn’t have great succes last summer 🙂

@GudmannAndGyda 2 года назад

Glad it was helpful! Your mirrorless camera needs to capture more puffins!

@GudmannAndGyda 2 года назад

...and by the way... it is you standing on the cliff at ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UojfM5PZp38.html

@jeroenvannieuwenhove7527 2 года назад

@@GudmannAndGyda Haha! I wasn’t entirely sure. I think this was the day I decided to nap up there 😅

@waynedettman6472 2 года назад

Interesting, you will get a lot more keepers using canon r5.

@johnjuby6184 2 года назад

Thank you for this helpful video. You asked about IBIS. Once, long ago, I was into auto racing and I believed the only way was a manual transmission in order to be in control. And now, automatic transmissions far outstrip the human me in their capability. I believe that this is also so it with IBIS. I wouldn't shoot without it. I use a Canon R6 mirrorless and my go to lens is the Canon RF 100-500. This gear doesn't wait for me to shift.

@GudmannAndGyda 2 года назад

Agree completely, the latest gear is really going beyond us humans in reflexes. Still - it depends on the gear. Some older lenses mess up the sharpness under certain conditions.

@coffeestory9533 2 года назад

Stabilization not only stabilizes the lens but also stabilize the view finder. Stabilization is especially good for flying birds because it makes tracking the subject easier.

@thescouser8629 2 года назад

I tend to leave the stabilisation on with my Canon. Also prefer hand held for tracking the birds even with 500mm prime. Preference is 100-400mm which is sufficient reach for most birds

@coffeestory9533 2 года назад

10:57 On mirrorless is not only the eye af but also the viewfinder has no blackout, wich make easy to track faster subjects and to keep it on the frame.

@GudmannAndGyda 2 года назад

The mirrorless systems are the future, but today it seems as it´s only the most expensive cameras that have a chance to match what a viewfinder can do. Keep in mind that we are using 500 and 600 mm lenses with a very narrow field of view to capture the birds as big as possible in the frame to minimize the need for cropping. It is very easy for almost any camera to get puffins into the frame if the field of view is wide, but then you would need a lot of cropping. The Nikon Z6 for example is no match for cameras like the D850 and the D4s we use for fast action. The Z9 might be, I don´t know, never tried it, but the ultimate test for the Z9 would be to try to capture full frame side-shots of puffins. Someone should test the Z9 for this. If it can capture a side shot of a puffin where the need for cropping is no more than 35% - it deserves full respect as a match of the best DSLR´s.

@andrewgaffney4881 2 года назад

I most always use image stabilization when I use a tripod. I mostly do bird photography so I’m always moving the camera to track the birds.

@GudmannAndGyda 2 года назад

Many lenses offer a "tripod" setting and a "action" setting. The tripod setting corrects circular motions while the action setting corrects horizontal movement. For BIF shots it would be proper to use the action setting to track the birds.

@andrewgaffney4881 2 года назад

@@GudmannAndGyda I do use the action setting for bird photography. I just think the image stabilization helps even on a tripod. I would love to go to Iceland for bird photography someday, it looks amazing.

@hans-olofsvensson4567 2 года назад

Hallo! When Im photographing flying birds with tripod I don't use imagestabilation (Canon) Fantastic video Best regards from Sweden Skövde //. Hans-Olof

@GudmannAndGyda 2 года назад

It seems there are many photographers out there, turning the image stabilization off for BIF photography. I guess it depends more on the lens type and model if it is the right thing to do or not. Some lenses have a stabilization setting design for fast horizontal moving subjects. Best regards Hans-Olof.

@altrujillo3566 2 года назад

Thank you for the excellent advice. I'm heading to Alaska this summer and need to get better at shooting birds in flight. I currently use a ball-head on my tripod which is good for portrait/still photography but there are better choices for birds/wildlife. Do you have any recommendations on fluid or gimbal heads? Thanks!!

@GudmannAndGyda 2 года назад

The options are endless... actually we are using video heads today instead of gimbals. They do the same thing and can be used for fast action bird photography.

@hongk0ngfu3y 2 года назад

what fluid head is that? Sirui VH-15 ?

@martinbyrne6643 2 года назад

Do you use spikes on the tripod to get a good steady shot especially in heavy winds on a windy cliff edge , just made a set for my tripod out of polypenco nylon on the lathe , a charging elephant wouldn’t knock it over on soft ground and they are very light weight . Good information in that video .

@GudmannAndGyda 2 года назад

Yes, we use spikes all the time when outside. Our tripods come with short spikes. It is only when the ground is sensitive that we don´t use them.

@bamsemh1 2 года назад

Image stabilization slowing the system all comes to the lens. Premium and pro lenses don't suffer from using IS, but entry-level/cheaper lenses with IS can slow it down.

@captinktm 2 года назад

All good points. Question. I to use a group of 9, I toggle this on and off using the fn button while the back button engages cf. How do you operate yours. I also use or leave os on, it makes no difference. Thanks for posting.

@GudmannAndGyda 2 года назад

Most of the time I use a single focusing point, but as you do, using 9 is sometimes the choice. So far I also use the stabilization when using the Nikon D850. It depends on the lens.

@captinktm 2 года назад

@@GudmannAndGyda Yes but how do you go to the 9 group? what button do you use?

@rasecroel2366 2 года назад

Hello Gudmann... Greetings from Chicago... Loving your videos... I also use a D850... Do you mostly use spot metering or matrix metering?... Thanks..

@GudmannAndGyda 2 года назад

Hi Rasecroel, we use the matrix metering most of the time but depending on the histogram using over- og under exposure helps.

@rasecroel2366 2 года назад

@@GudmannAndGyda Thanks a lot for the response... 🙏👍.. Can't wait for the next video.... Stay safe..

@jsadiving 2 года назад

Very informative video, thanks

@pimnauta3840 2 года назад

Image stabilization (VR for Nikon) does not make sense when using fast shutter speeds, it always slows everything down so when you get a bird in focus it will be sharp but the rest after a refocus will not be in focus. I never ever use my VR and I own a couple of lenses with VR, I have played with my Nikon 400mm during a soccer game and switched my VR on but I noticed a lag with focusing and missed a few shots that way. I read that the VR will do a better job when using shutter speeds slower than 1/800 sec and even then I will not use the VR. I think that your keepers will be higher if you switch off the stabilization when shooting birds in flight because of the high shutter speeds you use to get those flying birds in focus. I am not going to say that my theory is right but I read about using VR and not only did I read about it I tried it myself and what I wrote here above made me believe that VR does slow focusing down considerably.

@matthias7114 2 года назад

🙄 Promo_SM!!

@jacovanlith5082 2 года назад

Your photos are not sharp and there is very few DOF. The 320 ISO has caused that problem. A 6400 ISO give f/16 and +/- 1/4000 so better sharpness and more DOF of the two wingtips

@GudmannAndGyda 2 года назад

Cleaning computer displays is a better help with the sharpness in this case. ;-) f/16 is a no go and on a D850 6400 iso is a mess. The wingtips movement adds speed to the images.

@sfiron 2 года назад

You need the A1…

@michealhall4512 2 года назад

He shoots Nikon - the Z 9 would suit him just fine. No need to learn an entirely new system. Same resolution as his D850, but substantially updated AF and frame rate. I recently added two to my bag along with my D5s and sold my D850. Haven't used the D5s since the Z 9s came in.

@GudmannAndGyda 2 года назад

...or the Z9 ;-)