I headed to the Canadian Raptor Conservancy with some fellow photographers to take pictures of birds in flight. As a new experience I wasn't really sure of what to expect. I did some research on methods for shooting birds. I decided on setting up my camera for back button focus and using the servo mode to help track objects with my auto-focus. It took a bit of getting used to, but the back button focus allowed me to keep the focus button pressed and focusing independently of actually taking a photo. I ended up focusing on the birds face, and snapping a few shots, then letting go of focus, re-focusing and snapping a few more. This method proved very effective and I got quite a few really sharp images. Most of the time I was shooting at around f4, shutter 1600-3200, and ISO 2000-6400. With shutter speeds this fast and some dark backgrounds, I needed to go low on the aperture and high on the ISO to correctly expose these images. The result is a little grainy in places, but definitely worth it for the images. Since then, I have left my camera on back button focus as I absolutely love it.
The first sequence below is my favourite of the day as the foreground element adds so much depth to the images and you can see the owl's focus on its target.
Barn Owl with it's eye on the prize
In for the kill
Eagle owl mid screech
Spotted Owl
Great Horned Owl
The Peregrine Falcon may not be moving, but i managed to freeze the rain into some nice bokeh
Golden Eagle
Coming in hot
Snowy Owl air brakes
No mouse is going to survive those talons
Backlit Bald Eagle
King of his castle
Touchdown
Show off
A living fighter jet