FRUSTRATION

OK - I'm stumped. I seem to remember that Edison, while trying to invent the lightbulb, once said something to the effect that, "Today, I have discovered almost a hundred things that don't work."

 

I spent the better part of the afternoon by my feeders trying to get some flight shots of the little guys coming in or leaving. Larger birds I have a handle on, it's the little songbirds that have me baffled. They are just too darn quick. The above photo was the best I got (I took hundreds of pictures), but it still doesn't have the clarity and sharpness that I have seen in the photos some others post on this site. I guess it's OK, but I know it can be better.

 

For my life, I can't figure out how to focus. Do I manually focus at a point where they are likely to fly and hope for the best? I don't know if it is even possible to pan on birds that move so fast, and I don't think the AF has a prayer of locking on. I'm using a Canon 40d with a Canon 300mm f2.8 lens.

 

Of course, there is also the issue of the dreaded "purple fringing" After a few hours playing with Photoshop, I have also determined that the best way to make one of these photos worse it to try to make it better.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Taken in New Jersey, USA

 

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