Single Skimmer Aerial Fight Images : Sharp or Blurred?

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This image was created on 16 August 2023 at Nickerson Beach, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. Standing at full height, I used the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 397mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 1600. 1/3200 second at f/6.3 (wide-open) in Manual Mode. AWB at 6:48:04pm, late on a sunny aftenroon. RawDigger showed the exposure to be dead-solid perfect. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird/Face-Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #1: Black Skimmer — single bird diving during a midair fight — SHARP!

Skimmer Midair Battles

Adult Black Skimmer aerial chases and fights are most common at both breeding colonies on Nickerson Beach June through August most years. Though hot, sunny afternoons often offer the most action, such squabbles may occur any time of day. There are more aerial chases when the birds are setting up territories and then again when the eggs hatch and there are chicks about. There are fewer battles when the birds are on eggs. I am pretty sure that most such interactions are territorial disputes.

To photograph such battles, you can stand well back from the colony ropes. They usually begin when two birds fly up a short distance –five to ten feet. When you notice that, try to get your lens on the birds as they will often fly up much higher and interact, sometimes spectacularly with the birds pecking at or grabbing the other bird’s feet, tail, wing, head, bill, or neck with their bills. Some battles seem to last forever (at least in terms of action photograph), perhaps 20-30 seconds. Others last only a few seconds. Don’t quit when the birds break apart as they may circle around in flight and then resume their antagonistic behavior.

You have a choice of trying to photograph both birds or just one. If the former, the odds are 4-1 against your getting two good head angles, and much slimmer than that to capture a stunning image with the two birds nicely portioned in the frame, the faces of both birds visible, and both subjects pleasing oriented to the imaging sensor. In other words, getting a truly outstanding image of two birds battling in midair is like winning the lottery. On many occasions, one birds might have a sharp interesting flight pose while the second bird is clipped or facing the wrong way. The image of a single, sharp, nicely framed diving bird in #1 was accompanied by a badly clipped opponent. This, creating really good images of single birds involved in aerial chases is much much easier than photographing two birds engaged in battle.

This image was also created on 16 August 2023 at Nickerson Beach, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. Again, standing at full height, I used the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with Exposure Compensation on the Thumb Dial at +2.3 stops; AUTO ISO set ISO 320. 1/30 second at f/6.3 (wide-open) in Shutter Priority Mode. AWB at 7:27:06pm when the usual large cloud covered the sun on its way down in the western sky. RawDigger showed the exposure to be perfect. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird/Face-Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #2: Black Skimmer — single bird during midair fight — INTENTIONAL BLUR

The Big Cloud in the West

Nine days out of ten in summer, a huge, dark cloud will materialize in the western sky at Nickerson blocking out the sun and sending most photographers to their vehicles and dinner. On rare occasion, you might get some nice sunset colors. In those cases, remember that a wind from the east, the “wrong” direction, is best if you are trying to create silhouettes. The other option is to hang out on the beach and hope for some tern and skimmer flock blastoffs over the ocean. That is what I was doing when I noticed that some skimmers were engaged in midair battles. I quickly switched to blur mode, my invented term for Shutter Priority with AUTO ISO and lots of plus compensation.

With #2, I caught only one of the two fighting birds in the frame. I love the degree of blurring.

Your Call?

Do you prefer #1, the sharp image, or #2, the intentionally blurred photo? Please be so kind as to leave a comment and let us know why you made your choice.

Typos

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