Here is my cocker spaniel, Teddy, and I can now offer photographic evidence that cockers can fly once they get their large ears flapping fast enough! They defy the laws of aerodynamics. Unfortunately, this isn't tack sharp. My shutter speed was 1/800th of a second, and you would think that would be fast enough to freeze Teddy in flight. It wasn't. I know for birds who flap their wings very fast, such as kingfishers and lilac breasted rollers, I need a shutter of 1/2000 to 1/3200 to eliminate blur from the wing tip feathers. I should have recognized that Teddy is so fast that I should have used the same very fast shutter speeds. We are expecting 8 more inches of snow tomorrow, so I'll see what I come up with. Also, I switched from my Canon 5D Mark III to the 7D Mark II because the latter is capable of 10 frames per second as opposed to 6 fps with the 5D Mark III. Those four extra frames make a huge difference in capturing nuances of high speed motion.
4 Comments
Jan 24, 2016, 10:08:40 AM
Jim - Daniel, I've been dying to photograph a real tornado. So, lucky you to live in Tornado Alley! I'll check out the Jan. 15 blog now.
Jan 24, 2016, 9:57:47 AM
Daniel Reynaud - Very good to know. Like you, I would not have suspected that such a high speed was required. Wishing you the best of luck with the snow ( I live in Texas !! )( but again, tornado alley is not always a pleasure cruise either ) PS: have you seen the comment I left on your Jan./15 blog ?
Jan 24, 2016, 6:11:32 AM
Jim - Yes, he loved it, Carlton. Did you see my Facebook posts of him? More cool pictures. You'll see my favorite shot in the next Photo Insights due to be sent out Feb. 1.
Jan 24, 2016, 4:26:46 AM
Carlton McEachern - One fast spaniel. What a cutie! He looks very happy to be romping in the snow.