How do folks take 'action' wildlife shots ??

[Mega]

Would like some help from the experts please regarding say wildlife action shots or infact any action shots,this could include say cars racing etc ?? what i mean by this i have a basic idea and having some success in taking 'still' or slow moving wildlife shots,but as yet i cannot work out how to take the action wildlife image.

I dont have a massive Telephoto lens as yet only a 300mm one,the main one that is on the camera is the 55-200mm lens,this will do for the moment till i have done all my homework and then part with the money for a decent longer range lens,so say i wish to take a picture of a large interesting bird of prey,i will use that as my test example and its flying rather than sitting on a branch,what do i need to do to capture such a action photo ??

I have a tripod and monopod or do folks just take a photo handheld,i would think that one would need to try and sweep in front of the birds flight path and use a very fast shutter speed when panning the camera,your words of wisdoms and suggestions would be most welcome,am i going down the right path ?? with my way of thinking.

Many thanks

 

[fmurphy]

Hey there Mega...
Action photos are pretty much like any other kind of photography. It all depends on the subject and the result you want. Here is a link to a guy that has some great wildlife photography videos. https://www.youtube.com/user/backcountrygallery
Hope this helps a bit.
Frank

 

[Sven]

That's the website I was going to suggest, especially since he uses Nikons. I just found it two weeks ago.
Last weekend shot my first moving target using my Micro 4/3 Oly e-pl5 camera with the 40-150mm kit lens at 150mm. Shutter 1/500 second
Since its 4/3's the 150mm lens is equivalent to 35mm SLR film camera 80-300mm lens.
Was not prepared for the woodypecky to fly off so soon. Didn't have time to adjust the camera, just zoomed in and shot hand held.

Picture one is uncropped 100%
Last two pictures cropped.

 

[fmurphy]

Good catch Sven !! Sometimes you just have to push the shutter button and hope for the best... you caught a good one there

 

[THEMARTAMAN1941]

Tripods are a necessity for nature photography or any where you are using telephoto. Cars racing. I have seen photos that I did not know if car was moving or not. Pan with the car and try different shutter speeds. Until recently I carried a bag with all sorts of lens. That was the way we did it at studio. Switched to a Canon SX40 and now SX60. SX60 is fantastic and has a lens so long it shakes in my old hands. Tripod only. Prints from film required a lot of work in darkroom. Digital it is in software. My favorite is Corel Paintshop Pro. Panorama Factory for 2 and up frame Panos. Sometimes a scene is too wide. Shoot 2 shots and put together. Lot of cameras have a Pano Mode. Not the same quality as several shots put together.