Gun club shoot

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Squaredoch

Senior Member
If the terrain allows and it does not interfere with a following drive you could ask if you could position yourself behind the guns at say about 70 yards perhaps a bit more. There you should be safe and with the 70 300 you might get some shots of the guns in action as well as the birds in the air. The best position for that though is on the flank. Usually there are flankers out on the edge of the line of guns to guide the birds and beaters in.
i would take the 18 105 and the 70 300. The 18 105 will be good for the dog / shooter and informal stuff between drives. Problem is of course the weather conditions as you might not be able to change lenses easily. Pity you don't have an 18-250 or such like.
 
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Skwaz

Senior Member
Thanx squaredoch
It seems like you know your stuff when it comes to a shoot !!
I thank you for all your advice and taken onboard
I hope I can post some fantastic photos next week .
Whatever happens I will post and take the flak if deserved
thanx all
 
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Skwaz

Senior Member
Hi thanx again for advice
One last ques should I shoot raw or JPEG I'm thinking of buffer filling up .
Guns going off and birds whiz zing about maybe several shots may get the one .
What do we think ?
 
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Squaredoch

Senior Member
Hello, I always shoot raw because I don't like to lose any information. I don't think the problem you may have in continuous shooting will be the buffer either in Raw or Jpeg. The problem will more than likely be the autofocus being able to keep up. I know this is the problem when I try and get shots of dogs running. The other thing is that you are unlikely to get all the birds flush at the same time so you will have plenty of time between shots. I don't know the shoot and it depends how many birds they have to ground. If they are red legged partridges they are more likely to run than fly... but if it is the native grey partridge then they fly more easily and will be in batches of about a dozen or so. At first I would try and use a fairly fast shutter speed to try and capture the birds in the air and have a look at the shots after the first drive. Resist the temptation to look after each shot or you may just miss something potentially good. Normally you would have 5 drives in the day, so plenty of time to change tack. I know you are after success but treat the first drive or two as a learning exercise and stay calm. If you use raw and the exposure is a bit out you can always try and correct using software... Thats the benefit of RAW
I think earlier on you said that you were restricted on your software. I recently tried DX Optics pro It is excellent. They have a 30 day trial so you could download that and play but wait until after the shoot before you download to maximise the time you have it. I think the software that came with the camera works with RAW too but I have forgotten. I don't use it as I think it is awful. Lightroom is available on a 30 day trial too I think. There is FastStone that I know some people use and there is a Lightroom like program that is called DarkTable and another called LightZone. Have a look online. I think DarkTable is Mac or Linux only though. Also you could search What Digital camera for a list of free software
By the way when is the shoot as the season only just started.
Good luck
 
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Skwaz

Senior Member
Thanx good info
Tha shoot is Saturday morning starting with bacon buttiesan at the local inn .
Then a couple off speeches and up on the moor by 9.00
I'm not too worried about the results as it's my first time and didn't know what to expect .
But you guys have been a great help
Think I will have the 18-105 on d7100 and 35mm on d3100 stick with that and shoot away
cheers
 
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Squaredoch

Senior Member
Hi Skwaz. Take your 70 300 as well. you can always leave it in a vehicle if you don't want to carry it. I think that you may well find it handy as you may well be some way from the action if you are put out on the flank.
 
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Skwaz

Senior Member
Well here we are Saturday morning being picked up at 8.00
The weather is not what I was hoping for its grey and cloudy, mild so that's a bonus
Probably have to crank up the ISO hoping to keep that as low as pos
Hope to post some good ones soon
 
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Deleted

Senior Member
Skwaz said:
Well here we are Saturday morning being picked up at 8.00
The weather is not what I was hoping for its grey and cloudy, mild so that's a bonus
Probably have to crank up the ISO hoping to keep that as low as pos
Hope to post some good ones soon
Click to expand...

Good luck & remember the feathered hat! :p
 
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Skwaz

Senior Member
Ok guys
I have to say it was a disaster almost
Unfortunately my host Harry injured himself during the shoot so we had to leave quite soon
Apparently it was a new gun and didn't feel comfortable with it .
As the first drive started and the birds came over Harry was still trying to get to grips with the feel , but took his shots and
it seems the recoil pushed the cartridge release !? Down the side of his thumb bit of a mess , but he carried on the hell he did it again .
What a mess , so we had to leave .
Up to that point it was very enjoyable , looking back I should have realy upped the ISO , I had it at 400 but looking at the results
I should have gone to 1600 and trusted the 7100 , some good pics ruined by camera shake or dogs too quick
Anyway will post what I consider ok I have more to process and look forward to the next trip with much more confidence
Enjoy the pics and I welcome ALL thought
Cheers guys
 
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Skwaz

Senior Member
Ok not National Geografic but I'm quite pleased with these given I had no idea what to expect.
There are several more prob worthy of posting but as they are in Raw they need a little tweak and not the time at the moment
Look forward to comments
 
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Skwaz

Senior Member
I think I agree Rodbender ( do you go fishing )
This is Harry my host , he's been shooting for over 50 years he owns the shoot ,
The guy is 80 years old got arthritis been diagnosed with Parkinson's and in my opinion his jacket is too tight for him
so I think we can cut him a bit of slack.
its fast and furious stuff when the birds flush don't think I did too good a job on that point , one or two shots away from the guns could be ok I post soon
thanx for the comments
 
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