fast outgrowing their mud cup nests and
begging stridently and constantly for food.
Shooting with a full-frame DSLR, I had
ample light as it was a very sunny day,
and the sandy ground reflected brightly
on the underside of the birds. I knew I
could use a very fast shutter speed to try to
freeze these birds’ frenetic motion. At that
time, my favorite lens was my 500mm,
and I resolved to try that one first, shooting
wide open at ƒ/4. I chose 1/5000 sec. as
my shutter speed and situated myself in a
spot where I’d be on a more or less direct
path to a nest that seemed particularly
active. I wasn’t blocking the nest at all as
it was high above me; the swallows were
swooping in over my head as they were
with the passersby.
I could handhold the big lens pretty
well, and I thought that since the birds
were flying directly toward me, it wouldn’t
be too difficult to get my sights on them.
But I was wrong. These birds were so
fast, and their flight so erratic, that by the
time I had lifted the lens to capture them
coming in, they were out of my lens’ field
of view, and I couldn’t find them again.
I next turned to my 400mm ƒ/5.6, a
solid workhorse that had always served
me very well for birds in flight, but even
that wasn’t up to the task. Of course, it
must be said that operator error may have
been at play here, but I think it would
have been tough for anyone to be suc-
cessful in this situation.
Next, I tried my 70-200mm ƒ/4. I was
quite sure this would fit the bill, that if I
zoomed out, 70mm would give me the
field of view I needed in order to fix on
the bird. Dang it! I was foiled again. The
swallows almost seemed to taunt me as
they whizzed by my head on their way
to their nestlings. I just couldn’t keep up
with them, even with that lens.
Frustrated, I turned to my camera bag.
All I had left to try was my wide angle—a
24-105mm ƒ/4. When had I ever shot birds
with a wide angle? Never. Not at that point.
But necessity is the mother of invention. I
attached the lens to my camera body, set
my shutter speed to 1/5000 sec., assumed
my position and waited. Suddenly, there
was a single barn swallow returning to the
nest. I raised my camera and shot. And then
another. With my lens zoomed to 105mm, I
could both see the birds as they flew toward
me and keep them in my sights! And the
short lens made for a very maneuverable
rig. I was able to lock focus by selecting
multiple focus points that helped to grab
onto the bird.
When I looked at the photos later on
my computer screen, I was thrilled to see
that the birds were tack sharp in beauti-
ful poses and that the cloud detail in the
background that the wide angle was able
to pick up added extra interest. I had to
crop a moderate amount, but the images
retained high enough resolution to stand
up to later publication in magazines and
as high-quality prints.
I share this particular tale of how I got
the shot to emphasize that perseverance
and flexibility are the keys to successfulwildlife photography, particularly where
birds are concerned. You just have to stick
with it and think creatively when you
meet up with challenges—which you
inevitably will. Don’t give up!
Birds are extremely tough subjects. I
think I had gotten fairly stuck in always
reaching for the super-telephoto lens,
blindly certain that was the best way to
capture and represent a bird. It took a
challenge like this to stretch me, a bird
on the wing like a barn swallow to force
me to “broaden my horizons.” OPTo see more of Melissa Groo’s photog-
raphy and learn about workshop oppor-
tunities, visit melissagroo.com.outdoorphotographer.com April 2020 25