Birds in Flight; The Challenge of Action Photography

If there is a secret to taking good action photos, it is that one must know the subject well enough to be able to anticipate the next move. The photographer must begin to apply pressure to the shutter release a split second before the peak of the action, so the shutter actually opens at the right time. People who aren't experienced with action photography tend to end up with photos where the subject is just past the peak of the motion.

I know ballet, contemporary dance and most sports well enough that coordinating the shutter release with the peak of the dancers' and athletes' motion has become almost perfectly reflexive for me. Photographing birds in flight, however, is a whole new experience. Different species of birds move differently in flight. I'm beginning to figure it out. Following are a few examples from the Mission Reach photo series taken last Wednesday: