Wildlife Photography – Anhinga

Happy Monday Morning Everyone!

I thought I'd start off this week a little differently after last week's fanboy review of full frame sensors and the new 5D Mark II camera. I took this shot about nine months ago using an EOS 40D camera. I stalked this anhinga for about thirty minutes as it flew from tree to tree at the Brazos Bend State Park near Needville, Texas. I took almost 100 shots of this beautiful bird as I slowly walked to within fifty feet or so from where it was perched.

The lighting that afternoon was dismal with high clouds blocking most of the sunlight and the smell of rain in the air. The anhinga was lit from the right side and I thought I could get some decent shots if it would just spread those beautiful wings for me. Once it happened I had only milliseconds to react and my 40D's 6.3 fps frame rate and fast AF system really saved the day as I snapped off sixteen frames in a little under 3 seconds before the anhinga took notice and flew off.

I really don't think this result would not have been possible with the 5D Mark II's meager 3 fps frame rate unless I got really lucky. I guess what I'm trying to say to you crop body owners out there is don't despair. The EOS 40D and 50D cameras are quite possibly the best sports and wildlife cameras currently available for under $3000. Yes, I prefer the 5D Mark II for landscape and commercial work but if sports and wildlife are your passion, then spend your money on one of these and use the savings for a telephoto lens like the EF 300mm f/4 L IS USM.

BTW - Don't let anyone tell you that you can't get great looking bokeh from a crop body camera. This shot was taken with the 40D and EF 300mm at f/8 and post processed entirely in Lightroom. No Photoshop magic here.

Anhinga
Copyright 2008 Jeff Lynch Photography
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 40D set on aperture priority (Av) using an EF 300mm f/4 L IS USM + EF 1.4x Extender monopod mounted. The exposure was taken at 420mm, f/8 for 1/30th of a second at ISO 100 on Sandisk digital film. Post capture processing was done entirely in Lightroom 2. Click on the image above for a larger version.

Posted in Photography Tagged: Bird Photography, Canon, Canon 40D, Photography, Wildlife Photography