BotswanaB

[HansE]

A common bird in Southern Africa is the lilac breasted roller. I make no apology for taking a few pictures of them. It was difficult to catch them flying.

#1


#2


#3


Whoops


#5


#6
They are just as spectecular in flight as they are regally seated.

[loose cannon]

Gee they are beautiful.

I like the last a lot. It's all wrong on many levels from a purist viewpoint but manages to work a treat. Well framed and presented.

[sejac]

Wonderful series. What a great shot "Whoops" #4 is.

Keep 'em coming.

[HansE]

Glad you liked it.

[seaslug]

Beautiful bird Hans and well captured.

[Isac]

#3 for me Hans, nice and clean and showing all the beautiful colours.

[HansE]

A cropped crop. It does show the beatiful colours inside the wings. I found it very hard to get them in flight.

[HansE]

A poor picture only added to give you an idea of the magnificent colours on this bird whilst in flight. Maybe I should go for a return visit and just concentrate on it.

[Isac]

They do look quick Hans. Well done to capture them - colours are amazing! Maybe a bit of practice before you return! For my BIF I use shutter priority (with pretty good results) at 1/1000th up to 1/2500th depending on the speed of the bird, stabilization to OFF because at those shutter speeds it has no effect, auto ISO and spot metering. I vary my focus points and change from single point (extended) and centre group and on occasions set it to ALL focus points. Have a go at these settings and see how you go. You can play with the settings and use these as a starting point.

[HansE]

Thanks Greg. I am sure I should be practicing on seaguls but we don't have any here.

[Isac]

Crows? Magpies?

[HansE]

Swallows but not at the moment

[eaglem]

Great colour and detail.

[HansE]

Just found another and had to add it.

[loose cannon]

For those little suckers I'd suggest a ss of 1/3200 and maybe centre group focus or single point if you think you can hold them in frame. I use back button focus as that offers superior control for fast BIF.

Good luck. Tricky as hell to catch small birds in flight.

And at 1/3200 you can still get a lot of blur on the wings!

[HansE]

I will look at getting more of what is required!
Thanks Mick.

[Isac]

Agree with Mick on the back focus Hans, I've had that set for years.

[LJG]

Wow, number 3 is a stunner Hans, I love that one. Scrolling down the giraffe was a nice surprise!!

[HansE]

OK when they sit still The giraffe was a mistake hence the whoops. Thought it was ok for a lark to leave it there.