kite_1

Nikon D700, 70-200 VR with 1.7 Teleconverter at 290mm, 3200th @ f/5.6, ISO 500

Thanks to everyone for their kind comments about the Red Kite shots from a couple of weeks ago, as promised I thought I’d better post a bit more on the technique and equipment behind the scenes.

You might think that we used shutter priority to select a fast shutter speed, but I was worried that with contrasting low light in the background the camera would select too large an aperture, and the bulk of the bird may be thrown out of focus. So I used aperture priority, adjusting the aperture between f/5.6 and f/8, and using the ISO speed to get a quick enough shutter speed to make the Red Kites sharp. For much of the day I was able to use ISO 320 to get a shutter speed over 100oth of a second, but at times I went as high as ISO 800. Fortunately the D700 makes such choices academic.

I was delighted at the performance of the D700′s autofocus system which worked brilliantly in conjunction with the AF-S 70-200 f/2.8 lens and TC-17e teleconvertor. The effective maximum focal length was 340mm, which although not really long enough to fill the frame as much as I’d like was still fine for getting some shots I was pleased with. Andy Keen, a local wildlife photographer, was shooting with a Canon 5Dmk2 and 100-400mm lens and got some great shots, some of which are now on his blog. If I did more wildlife work then a longer lens would be nice (could a 200-400mm AF-S lens fit in my stocking, Santa?) but I think that’s a dream for another day!

Another thing I’ll take away from the Red Kites is a sore pair of arms. We had our tripods set up inside the hide, and while it was useful to track the birds as they came in from a distance it became a little restricting when they flew closer overhead. I found myself hand holding the lens (thanks to the quick release on the 70-200 lens collar) and taking more shots like this towards the end of the day.

Gigrin Farm is a great location, especially with the Elan Valley and it’s spectacular dams and reservoirs close by. In my youth I loved the Dambusters story, and my enthusiasm was nothing short of childish when I found out this was the testing area for the famous raid by 617 Squadron. Next time I visit I’ll be focussing on the dams in the morning when the light is at it’s best (hopefully!).