As every year we went to the flight show, we bought one-year tickets so there will be lots of pictures to come...

After all these months getting rusty, this first show was not so easy.. This time, we were in different locations. G was up in a kind of terraza, and I was in the lowest part in a corner, since I was after a picture with the bird flying to the camera... As the first show of the year was not so beautiful either, Luna, the owl didn't want to fly, and the eagle was a new bird in the park so they flew it like a kite, with a robe to his foot, not to fly away, and Momo the horned owl wasn't there..

Anyway, here is what I got....


#1

This was pure luck.... I never thought I had got it.


#2

I like the pastel colors in this one. It has a feather in its beak because it had just eaten a piece of chicken.


#3

I was after this picture, and I got it... Not so happy with the result since the background is not blurred enough and.... well, it is not what I thought. Some post processing desaturating the background is what I did to make the bird stand out a bit more...


#4

Hard shadows in this one but I like the pose... I worked with curves to recover some detail in the shadows.


#5

With the eagle was very difficult since it flew just very little time. I got one picture but with a cluttered background so I decided to try again. This is a portrait I got after the show. I took it with the same settings I took the birds in fly and the picture turned out a bit noisy... so I post processed and gave it a bit of glow with soft focus...

All pictures taken at iso800, f/8, from 1/1000 to 1/640, aperture priority, AF servo, IS off.

Hope you like them.

I think these are brilliant. All of the images show very good sharpness and detail in the feathers. The idea of no3 is great and I would love to see anymore if you think you can improve on this one... It will be hard to beat. The tips of the wings look amazing.

No1 also stands out and I think it has more even light than the others. I imagine it would be difficult to control the highlights and shadows in the direct sunlight?

Thanks Shane for your comment...

You are right about the light, it is a bit difficult and the thing is that you don't have time to measure light at that moment, but just to set your camera to average conditions. Part of the show is in the field direct sunlight like #1, and the other part of the show is in the shadow #3. What I did this time was to set my EV to -1/3, and it worked ok. BTW, I am very happy you like #3...

Advantages in the flight show (if you have seen the show already) is that you know more or less where the bird will fly, different from taking pictures out there in the forest. Disadvantages, that you just have limited time and you cannot move from your sit. This constrains a lot your opportunities, which is a great advantage when you take pictures out there, where you have plenty of time and freedom to move.

I think these are great ! there is something special about a BOP in flight. I really like # 3 and #1 . very nice work Irma .

..... Shawn

You are right Shawn, they are very elegant when flying, and noiseless.

Thanks for your comment

Wonderful shots Irma! Each one is fantastic in its own right.

My favourite has to be #3 - love the perspective, and it looks so majestic!

I can't tell, but are the all pictures of eagles?

Congratulations on #3. I think it worked out pretty well. If the background was much more blurred, you would not realize what it was. I think the desaturation of the BG helped isolate the bird really well.

ST, the last one is the eagle, the others are falcons.

Toad, I think you are right about the background, somehow it gives information.

Last time I was there last year I saw a team of photographers taking pictures, in the same corner I was this time. The thing is that each photographer took care of an area of the field. One of them sat facing the public to take this picture. I saw her lens was very short. I can't imagine what lens could have been.

Thanks so much for your comment ST, Toad...

Great shots - number 2 and 3 are my favourites.

They are all very good. When I did mine last year I had the arena/public seats, pretty much to myself.
It is still difficult as the birds can turn very quickly from the direction they are going, or suddenly swoop up in the air. Did you use predictive focussing, or just guess?

Ey sweetie! You certainly haven't stood still since I last saw your stuff, Irma. Good on yer; these reflect a whole lot of confidence and hard work; am glad you're still blessing the place with your pics

Thanks Zig , I am very happy to see you around...

Thanks NT for your comment. Sorry I didn't see your question before.
The thing is that I have seen the show a lot of times, so I know when the girl is going to the other corner of the arena and calls the bird, this will follow a path, so to say, and then is when you catch it. I think you have to see few times the show and see their routine to get the best place and know where they will pass. About the focus. I used af servo, I think it is the predictive focus.

#1 and #3 are both great. I like the different approach to the BG on #3; if the people weren't paying attention to the bird they'd be a distraction, but as it is they don't detract from the subject.

Thanks Matt, I like your idea about the background in #3 ...