Recommended lenses for a Birds of Prey Photo Day

Roxie · Mar 1, 2024

I will be attending a 1/2 day program for photographers at the Center for Birds of Prey in Charleston, SC...assuming the weather cooperates. I am unfamiliar with the site but from the promotional videos it seems that the area is very large but that the birds and the demonstrations will for the most part be close. That makes me think that something like a 400mm or larger lens would be too big and more likely something like the 70-200 (maybe with a tele-converter) would be more suited to the task, but if any of you have experience with this kind of event please let me know and give me your thoughts and recommendations. Thanks

wotan1 · Mar 1, 2024

I took a look at the web page. They do indicate the birds will get close

I would suggest calling them and finding out a bit about the conditions.

They advertise some events for photographers, I would think they are able to tell you enough details to make sense of what you should bring.

Roxie · Mar 1, 2024

wotan1 said:
I took a look at the web page. They do indicate the birds will get close

I would suggest calling them and finding out a bit about the conditions.

They advertise some events for photographers, I would think they are able to tell you enough details to make sense of what you should bring.

Thanks woton1. I just spoke with them and while the person had no lens recommendations she did say they bring out 10 birds, one at a time, and walk them in front of the photographers so you can take various angles. They then fly them and there is a smaller area where they have some demonstrations. So, the birds may be far away at some point but they fly them in front of the photographers apparently. The one video I saw was 4 years old and the person had a D850 and a D500 with a 70-200 and a 300pf and a teleconverter. Others I saw in his video were using tripods and monopods and larger lenses. So it looks like I may be using that large bag I have and working out of it.

wotan1 · Mar 1, 2024

Would be nice to catch them in flight at which point anything is possible.

Roxie · Mar 1, 2024

wotan1 said:
Would be nice to catch them in flight at which point anything is possible.

Absolutely...a catch would be really neat. Thanks for the input.

wotan1 · Mar 1, 2024

wish I could go too but it would take a long flight.

Mike Delgado · Mar 1, 2024

There usually between 20' to 50' in flight from the photographers. I used a 70-200mm 2.8 for flight shots and my 600 for static shots on perches.

wotan1 · Mar 1, 2024

Mike Delgado said:
There usually between 20' to 50' in flight from the photographers. I used a 70-200mm 2.8 for flight shots and my 600 for static shots on perches.

Good to know. I had given up on the idea of using my 70-200 for wildlife.

Mike Delgado · Mar 1, 2024

wotan1 said:
Good to know. I had given up on the idea of using my 70-200 for wildlife.

Just go prepared, the might change something but you should be good. Post those pictures when you get back.

Dave Douglass · Mar 3, 2024

I don't think you can go wrong with Nikon's 180-600 lens. It'll shoot things 4 feet away on up to the moon, and everything in between. It's very user-friendly too. Super quick to zoom and compose tack sharp images.

RichF · Mar 4, 2024

I have shot a similar workshop. A longer lens allow you have a narrow FOV which means you can control the background. Downside is some one could accidentally walk in front of you or youi not be able to far enough back.

For BIF I would go with a longer lens. For perched birds assuming there is the working distance I would also go w/ 400 but keep the 70-200 if you need to get closer to avoid have people in front of you, in your shot

EricBowles · Mar 4, 2024

I lead a workshop with captive raptors 1-2 times a year in the Atlanta area. There are lots of different ways birds can be handled and it affects the lens choice.
The birds I work with have been injured and are never "flown". They are always on the glove of a handler. Distances to the subject vary, but we're normally 10-15 feet away. The birds are comfortable at those distances. We pay a lot of attention to controlling backgrounds, testing gear with different settings, choosing the direction of light on the subject, etc. If the birds were flown, they would have straps or jesses hanging off the legs, so you never truly have an entire wild bird in flight.

Focal lengths vary, but we're typically using a 400mm f/4.5, a 200-500, or a 500mm PF. There are plenty of people in the class using 150-600 zooms and similar options. Many of these lenses have similar magnification ratios at minimum focus distance, so it does not really matter which lens you use. If your focal length is too long, you simply back up a little. Longer focal lengths give a lot better control over DOF and backgrounds. You can move just a foot or two and change the color or brightness of a background.

Dollar · Mar 4, 2024

I've done a couple of different captive raptor workshops as well as shooting "ambassador" birds presented at my state's annual Cranefest, and so far based on my experience it definitely pays to bring a versatile kit if you aren't sure exactly how the workshop goes and what distances the birds will be at. At one such event I mostly relied on my 200-500mm as that worked better for the distances at the time, while at another that was held in the relative darkness of a wooded area I was very happy to have my 70-200 f/2.8, as the birds were rather close and I made full use of the wider aperture to keep ISOs lower.

At each of the events I've been to, people have largely been respectful of each other and there weren't really issues with other photographers blocking your shots if you happened to bring a longer lens. If you bring a full bag of kit, you will most likely have some opportunity to swap lenses as needed. At the workshops I've done they always have some form of pavilion or dedicated area to keep your bag and additional gear, so that you can just walk back and change lenses as needed before returning to the birds. Since it sounds like you will have a mixed of flying and gloved birds, I definitely would bring flexible and versatile gear.

As Eric said, the birds will most likely have anklets and jesses for handling purposes. However this likely will not matter as your description makes it sound like they will not be on perches but rather carried by a gloved handler that you will presumably want to keep out of frame/crop out as necessary.

Below are some of the shots I've gotten previously on an eagle carried by a gloved handler. The first was taken with a 24-70 on an APS-C body and the other two were taken with a 70-200 on a full frame body. Perhaps not as exciting as observing proper wildlife, but it's always captivating to be up close and personal with birds of prey regardless. Don't forget to enjoy watching the birds with your eyes a little bit instead of always through a viewfinder.