I decided to try to shoot photos of wild Chukar last week in the Mojave Desert. The Chukar is a game bird famous for its elusiveness. Many desert travelers probably pass right by these wily birds without even knowing they are there. Having hunted them in a certain area, I at least knew an area where I had a good chance to find them. I got to the area a little after 2 in the afternoon and got set up, expecting to wait for an hour or more before seeing the first birds. In about fifteen minutes, I started to hear the familiar call of the Chukar.
After scanning the rocks where I thought I heard the calls, I was able to spot the lookout bird. I moved slowly into a position with my camera on a tripod, and got a couple of shots. I continued to hear the birds as the afternoon wore on, but they sounded like they were in the next little canyon, so I moved my position. As it turned out, I moved into the perfect location and vantage point to get some great shots of wild birds in their natural habitat.
I was using a Nikon 80-200 lens with a Nikon 1.4 teleconverter on my Nikon D700. My tripod was a Monfrotto with a heavy-duty joystick-type ball head that uses a handle and lever for locking. For each shot, I tried to get a bird in the center of my for focus, and in my haste, found myself continuing to squeeze the handle of the camera mount as I was shooting. I was close enough to get what I thought were some great shots. Needless to say, my haste did not contribute to good photography.
The final result was very disappointing. Even with shutter speeds over 250 for most of the photos, I did not get the sharp clear shots that the lens and camera was capable of. Always let the camera rest on the tripod and mount before pressing the shutter release. Had I let go of the lever after getting the bird in the center of the shot, the images would have been sharp and clear. So back to basics, always shoot with a stable platform, regardless of the situation.
