Photographing terns in flight is often more challenging than it is for other bird species.
Their long wings and tails are easy to clip, their acrobatic flight is difficult to track with a long lens, it’s maddeningly difficult to get a catchlight with the eye surrounded by black and getting a proper exposure on the blacks and whites of the bird isn’t easy, to say the least.
1/5000, f/7.1, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in
I was able to get some practice with these challenges a few days ago at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. This bird was hovering over fish so at least that made it a little easier to track and when they’re hovering they often strike some interesting flight postures like this one.
1/4000, f/7.1, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in
Eight frames later the tern was still hovering and gave me another pose I liked.
I get my best shots of terns in flight when the sun is very low in the sky because it helps to avoid heavy shadows under the bird but even in that softer light proper exposure on them is a challenge and I didn’t get a lot of detail in some of the whites of this bird.
I do like the flight poses though.
Ron
Tough birds to shoot. I’ve spent a lot of time at it, I’ve never pulled off anything like what you got here. Great work.
Revisited as usual…decided the first is every bit as dramatic and beautiful as the first….they are BOTH amazing!!!
Now, Ron, It’s your tern….(the Devil made me say that)…,
When I think about the difficulties involved in hovering it seems only fair that you should have some difficulty in capturing a shot of this feat of athleticism.
Today? You nailed it, very nearly as well as the tern does. And I won’t talk about good terns deserving another. Oh, I did…
EC, sometimes you’re as bad as Patty is… Thanks for a good laugh!
I take being as ‘bad’ as Patty as a HUGE compliment.
Exactly as intended!!
Rocky, Ellie Baby- Thank you both…I think….P 😉
Patty, I love your sense of humor, including the really bad puns you sometimes come up with. I can assure you that from my end the compliment was what was intended, and I’m sure that EC intended the same. The two of you tend to give me the best laughs I get from reading Ron’s blog comments.
Definitely. I always love to read your comments, and frequently snicker. When I am not nodding my head in agreement (and sometimes then too).
Hello Ron, Another day, more great photos! These are great shots of a beautiful, elegant bird. And yes, the strong contrast is a challange, but you did a great job of keeping the whites under control. -Pierre
Beautiful crisp images… the contrast of the sky and the white tern is also very attractive. Do you lock your focus at the eye of the bird?
WOW!!!!
Challenging is exactly the correct word for photographing these sleek beauties! Your results belie the difficulty involved in achieving success. But isn’t it fun!
Thanks for the inspiration again, Ron, in showing some of us what’s possible!
What a beautiful creature ! Through your dedication to photography and your generosity in sharing your work and knowledge, I get to see wildlife that
I probably wouldn’t otherwise . Your blog enriches my life–thanks !
I echo your comments….INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL IMAGES!!!. The second one is just plain perfection!!!
Stunning. I really love both of these. The backwinging of the first is fabulous. 😀
These are both absolutely beautiful. The first one is full of optical illusions for me, so my brain got a lot of good exercise with it. Love the tail in the second one. Congratulations on doing so well with this difficult bird.
Spectacular tern shots! The dropped-head intensity of the first one is priceless!
So beautiful and such a challenge, indeed!
Wow, they are magnificent. So neat and that blue sky in this case is a must.
A Tern’s ballet dancer.
Did you take them from inside your van? I noticed that you did not use the TC.
Thanks for sharing.
Beautiful images Ron ! I love the wings in the first image the most, the high contrast of the black crown and the bright orange bill and feet. I notice that you use much higher shutter speeds than I do and your images seem to always be sharp. I use 1/1250 sec for my lowest and usually range between 1/1250 – 1/2000 sec for birds in flight. Do you have a rule of thumb that you follow w.r.t. shutter speed ? Thanks.
Elegant! I love the black cap, black-tipped beak and the black toenails. Very stylish! Great shots Ron!