Ninja Moorhen

Hello all. I've been a bit quiet recently on the forum. Seem to be drowning a bit in other things. However, I have managed to take a few shots over the past couple of weeks and thought I might post this series from last sunday morning. For a change it was quite bright and I encountered three Moorhens locked in a lengthy fight. Not sure whether they were males fighting over a female, or females fighting over male, or even just fancied a tussle... but they were really getting stuck in.

These were all taken with the DA* 300 on my K7. It was pretty early in the morning (8AM ish?) and whilst it was bright, I was still at ISO800 and f4 to get the shutter speed to creep over 1/300. Ideally I would have liked a little faster although I think I'll have to keep saving up for a K5 so I can push the ISO higher.

The real issue I had was focussing. The Moorhen were really zipping about, in all three dimensions, frequently flying into the air and then landing and racing around. I tried basic autofocus (AF-S) and continuous (AF-C) but found I had best results focussing manually, or fixing the focus at a known point and trying to catch the birds at that point. Suffice to say I took LOADS of shots and the vast majority were way OOF - including some with very cool poses, but overall I am quite pleased with the handful that I did get...

First up - a bit of a three way slanging match:



before the action kicks off:



One of the Moorhens seems to get a bit squished early on (ganged up on...):



The other two then get stuck in:



The defeated Moorhen feigns nonchalance whilst the other two fight on...



BANZAI!



Finally, the victor chases off his remaining rival:



I hope you like these. Any C&C welcome, and If any folk have any hints and tips for faster focussing I would be grateful to hear I think that if it had been a bit brighter so i could have used a smaller aperture with a greater DOF that would have helped a little - in fact I am sure a K5 with it's excellent high ISO capability would have helped here. I think any AF system would have strugled with these guys flitting about though.

Regards

Love this set Mat, they are sharp where they need to be and yet still show motion blur which definitely adds drama to the shots. Great stuff.

That's a great series

They were certainly intent on their 'discussion' and that gave you the chance to capture what you could . Well done

Love this series especially Banzai! I think any autofocus system would struggle and manual focusing on a set spot is probably the way to go.

K.

What a great series Mat. I only comment on bird pictures when I think they are exceptional because it's not my subject but these fall into that category.
I think I'll have to start saving for the DA*300mm lens.
David

Great set - really love these ! I didn't know Moorhens could be so aggressive.

I've just bought the DA*300 to go with my K5 and have just posted my first series on here, taken it on the 2nd day of ownership. Therefore I was particularly interested in your comments on focusing issues as I encountered the same with a flock of small birds that were flitting around all over the place - one or two sharpies but it is tough going at times even shooting at 1/800 !

Focussing fast moving subjects with long lenses is a problem all action photographers have to tackle, particularly with subjects that are darting around in random directions. It's a skill sports photographers have to master, particulalry in sports like football and rugby. Its slightly easier in track events like athletics, cycling, motor sport etc as you can predict more acurately where to pre-focus. Perfection comes with a lot of practice, in other words you have to be match fit like the sportsmen being photographed. Great natural history photgraphers also develop this skill with lots of experience.
David

Fantastic set Matt, this is an amazing sequence which would not be out of place in a wildlife documentary or such like. Must be rare that this sort of behaviour is captured. Well taken

Amazing series of shots! I don't mind a bit of dynamic movement blur, but I think I agree - pushing the ISO would have allowed a little bit more depth of field... for this sort of thing, a K5 would really shine. Although in good light I might have been tempted to go to ISO 1250 even with the K7.

For all the technical stuff you have got right with these Matt it is the timing that impresses me the most.

I feel a bit sorry for the one that got squashed

Many thanks everyone for such encouraging feedback. I was back in the park this morning and all the Moorhens were absolutely sweetness and light! couple of coots nipping at each other though. As David suggests, I think I am just going to get out there and practice, practice, practice (I do a fair bit already)

Regards