Resources
WING TIPS
The reasoning behind the numbers — why the reciprocal rule lies, what panning actually buys you, and how to shoot a bird whose wings move faster than any shutter you own.
- Field craft
- Gear
- Species
- The maths
Field craft
The peak of the stroke
Twice per wingbeat the wings genuinely stop moving. Learn to shoot in that window and a shot that was out of reach becomes a body-freezing problem instead.
4 min
Gear
The reciprocal rule is lying to you — in both directions
1/focal-length was written for 35mm film and grain. On a 61MP sensor it's optimistic; with modern stabilisation it's three stops pessimistic. Here's the corrected version.
5 min
Field craft
Panning buys you nothing on the wings
A good pan cancels most of a bird's body speed and none of its flapping. Knowing which of the two you're trying to freeze is the whole game.
4 min
The maths
How sharp is sharp?
"Sharp" isn't a property of a photograph — it's a relationship between blur, pixel size and how closely anyone is going to look. Pick the wrong one and you'll pay two stops of ISO for nothing.
4 min
The maths
When the number is impossible
Hummingbirds — and any small bird you refuse to pan — ask for shutter speeds no camera on earth can deliver. That isn't a bug in the maths, it's the maths telling you to change the photograph.
4 min
Species
Reading a bird before it flies
Takeoff is the most expensive moment in bird photography and the most predictable. Learn the tells and you can have the right shutter speed dialled in before anything happens.
3 min
New tips land occasionally. Subscribe by RSS if you'd rather not check back.