![\"white-crowned](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/white-crowned-sparrow-4435-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\nGetting a sharp\u00a0image of any passerine in flight is not an easy task, especially when they’re coming toward you.\u00a0 I’m convinced I’d have missed this shot if I’d still been shooting with my Canon 7D.<\/p>\n
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\u00a0\u00a01\/2000, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon<\/em> EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n The focus tracking system of the Canon 7D Mark II is quite impressive (and intimidating, I must say).\u00a0 It’s significantly easier (for several reasons)\u00a0to get the bird sharp if it’s flying parallel to you but this one took off at a quartering angle toward me.\u00a0 These little birds are so incredibly fast\u00a0in flight that most AF systems can’t keep locked on to them at this\u00a0flight angle\u00a0(of course the skill of the photographer comes into play here too – it all can’t be blamed on the camera..).\u00a0 I remember in the field (3 days ago on Antelope Island) that I didn’t even check my camera screen to see\u00a0how this shot turned out because I assumed I either missed the bird altogether or it would just be a big blur.<\/p>\n Some of the bird is soft (the wings)\u00a0due to motion blur at this shutter speed and to lack of depth of field (the tail) at f\/6.3\u00a0but the head is sharp enough\u00a0and there’s nice light on the face so the image works for me as is.\u00a0\u00a0I was delighted to get a songbird in flight and sharp coming toward me like this.\u00a0 Thanks, Mark II.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a01\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon<\/em> EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n I decided to throw in “dessert” by concluding this post with a little whimsy.\u00a0 I took this photo of another juvenile White-crowned Sparrow yesterday, also on Antelope Island.\u00a0 I get a kick out of the image for several reasons – the bird’s wings aren’t even slightly lifted while it’s this far off the perch, I like the position of the feet between the budded stems and I also enjoy how the tail follows the upward\u00a0angle of the perch.\u00a0 The sparrow was simply jumping down from a higher position on the twig and I caught it in mid-air.<\/p>\n It’s not a great shot but it does amuse me.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Getting a sharp image of any passerine in flight is not an easy task, especially when they’re coming toward you. I’m convinced I’d have missed this shot if I’d still been shooting with my Canon 7D.<\/p>\n (I’ve also included a whimsical shot of the same species for “dessert”).<\/p>\n![\"white-crowned](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/white-crowned-sparrow-5400-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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