(Leggi questo post in Italiano)
Let’s start with this premise: photographing birds in flight in their natural environment might seem easy, but easy it is not.
Some say that for a photographer, nature photography is the hardest thing to do. For the moment it is the thing I like to devote myself to.
I want to start from the past, from when I started photographing rally cars in the 1970s.
I took my first shots of rally cars in 1977 at the Campagnolo Rally that ran on the inland roads in the province of Vicenza (Italy), and in that case I used an old cockpit camera that a friend had lent me.
It was a feat for me to be able to get with this type of camera some good shots of the racing cars.
Around the 1980s I bought a 35 mm film SLR camera, a Canon AE-1, time-priority, and some lenses, including a telephoto, also Canon, fixed-lens, 200 mm. From then on, the “photographic” situation improved.
In the early 2000s came the event of digital cameras. At that time the cost of upgrading photographic equipment from analog to digital was high for me and so I abandon this kind of photography. I purchase an Olympus uTough-6000 that will accompany me on my travels for a few years.
Below are some links about it
Travel in France by caravan discovering Paris and the Loire chateaux https://www.romiocostabissara.it/wordpress/viaggio-in-francia-in-caravan-alla-scoperta-di-parigi-e-dei-castelli-della-loira.html/2
Summer sunset at the mouth of the Pila https://www.romiocostabissara.it/wordpress/tramonto-dell%e2%80%99estate-alle-foci-del-po-della-pila.html
An important moment
In the continuation of the years, I get reacquainted with action photography at the time when I start following my children in the world of sports.
My trusted shopkeeper suggests me to buy an Olympus kit consisting of an Olympus E-PL3 camera body, an M. Zuiko ED 40-150mm F4.0-5.6 R telephoto lens and a 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 IIR lens.
This is an important moment for me. I get back a technologically up-to-date tool that allows me to be able to start taking action photos again without having to invest large sums of money.
12° Rally Storico Campagnolo 2016 https://www.romiocostabissara.it/wordpress/12%c2%b0-rally-storico-campagnolo-2016-foto-selection.html
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Rok Cup International Final 2016 – https://www.romiocostabissara.it/wordpress/rok-cup-international-final-2016-%e2%80%93-foto-selection.html
For many years with my PEN E-PL3 I shoot with satisfaction thousands of photos in the world of karting, rally, soccer and basketball.
After 62,204 shots I place my Olympus PEN E-PL3 into retirement and add two Olympus OM-D E-M10 mark III cameras to the photographic outfit and turn more and more toward the photography of birds and free-roaming animals in the wild, a photographic genre that requires as much, if not more, alertness in the photographic shot than does sports photography.
Again from a technological and photographic point of view, a new horizon opens in front of me with the possibility of continuing my experience in the field of photography with new tools.
Photographing birds in flight with the Olympus OM-D E-M10 mark III remained difficult for me in any case. I often photographed them with manual focus modes.
Cormorant in flight in wedding livery photographed in manual focus mode with Olympus OM-D E-M10 mark III and Olympus 100-400 f5.0-6.3 IS micro four-thirds telephoto lens.
At the end of the year 2024, after 57450 shots reported only one of my two Olympus OM-D E-M10 mark III, with the entry into the photographic market of the OM-1 mark II model I felt that it was finally time to upgrade The body compartment and therefore I add the OM System’s flagship OM-1 mark II to my photographic kit.
And now comes the best part. My wife tells me that from now on I will not be able to make excuses if I have difficulty taking pictures.
From a technological point of view, I have seen how far the field of photography has come in recent years. Now it is up to me to be able to grasp and take advantage of these technological upgrades and improve myself as a photographer in skill and expertise.
And so we begin
On my first shots I set the OM-1 mark II camera setting for nature photography as follows:
Speed dial in S mode (shutter speed priority); shooting in Procap SH2 mode with the setting at 12 frames pre-shot and 28 frames post-shot; bird+eye recognition; ISO auto setting; C-AF (Continuous AF) subject tracking continuous focus mode; focus area: small.
Goldfinch https://www.romio.family/2025/01/08/passeggiando-lungo-le-vie-di-costabissara/
In making the image depicting the goldfinch in flight, the shooting data were:
Camera: OM-1 mark II
Shooting mode: Shutter priority
Lens: OM SYSTEM M. Zuiko Digital 150-600mm F5.0-6.3 IS
Focal length: 600mm (efov1200mm)
Shutter: 1/1250 sec.
N.F.: F6.3
ISO: 2000
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In making the image depicting the pheasant in flight, the shooting data were:
Camera: OM-1 mark II
Shooting mode: Shutter priority
Lens: OM SYSTEM M. Zuiko Digital 150-600mm F5.0-6.3 IS
Focal length: 300mm (efov600mm)
Shutter: 1/1600 sec.
N.F.: F5.9
ISO: 500
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I am on the road in nature with my OM-1 mark II
In this initial phase of learning to use the OM-1 mark II, the advice of a friend named Luca, an enthusiast and expert in nature photography, is also very helpful to me.
Luca, in the course of our photographic outings, urges me to customize the setting of my OM-1. This is a useful approach to getting to know the camera better.
I am learning and trying different things to understand the operation of the new camera. The feeling with my OM-1 mark II is very good.
Now it is not a matter of taking the perfect photograph, although the desire is there, but it is important to understand the operation of the new camera and in particular in conjunction with the OM SYSTEM M. Zuiko Digital 150-600mm F5.0-6.3 IS telephoto lens, to understand the potential and strengths of this photographer, camera and photographic lens combination.
OM-1 mark II setting
For the time being, I have decided to keep the following setting as a starting point for wildlife photography, which I will vary depending on the situations I face:
Color space: Adobe RGB;
Keep warm colors: OFF;
Dial in shooting mode M (manual) so that I can choose Times and Apertures at my discretion;
JPEG+RAW shots;
I assigned the ISO button, located on the camera, to change the exposure;
Shooting function in Procap SH2 mode with the setting at 12 frames pre-shot and 28 frames post-shot;
Recognition: bird+eye;
Sensitivity of auto focus increased to +2;
ISO setting: auto;
Aperture: F10;
Shutter speeds: 1/2500 (in consideration of the 150-600mm telephoto zoom lens combined with the camera body);
Focus area: small;
Focus modes: continuous subject tracking C-AF (Continuous AF) + manual MF.
I added the ability to focus, as well as automatically, manually to be able to safely focus quickly on animals in difficult situations such as a bird in the middle of vegetation may be. I want to emphasize that the camera in such a context in any case performs well even in automatic. For focusing, I use the Auto Focus “AF-ON” button on the rear of the camera and have disabled the shutter release button for this function.
Shooting data: photo Hen harrier in flight
Camera: OM-1 mark II; shooting mode: M (manual); lens: OM SYSTEM M. Zuiko Digital 150-600mm F5.0 6.3 IS; focal length: 600mm (efov 1200mm); shutter: 1/3200 sec; N.F.: F7.1; white balance: Auto (Keep of warm colors: OFF); Picture mode: Natural; ISO: 500; execution: Silence+ProCapSH2.
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Shooting data: Mediterranean Gull (Ichthyaetus melanocephalus)
Camera: OM-1 mark II; shooting mode: M (manual); lens: OM SYSTEM M. Zuiko Digital 150-600mm F5.0-6.3 IS; focal length: 600mm (efov 1200mm); shutter: 1/2500 sec.; N.F.: F10; exposure corrector: +0.7 EV; white balance: Auto (Keep of warm colors: OFF); Picture mode: Natural; ISO: 1600; execution: Silence+ProCapSH2.
Thank you
Thank you Luca for the valuable advice.
Greetings to the readers of the blog.
Maurizio