Bird Photography and a Bad Surprise

Bird photography at Tokyo Port Wild Bird Park again! I looked out the window this morning and was thrilled. The weather was perfect—the exact type I liked, with big, fluffy cumulonimbus clouds filling the sky. I grabbed my Fujifilm X-T3, put the 100-400mm lens on it, and headed out, determined to have a great shoot. Little did I know that a simple mistake was about to cause a very unpleasant surprise.

High hopes at the park

I was particularly pumped because my last visit to the park in the summer of 2021 was a bust. That day was cloudless, hot, and I didn’t get a single good photo. This time, I had a chance to make up for it. The day started well; it was early autumn, the sky looked incredible, and birds were everywhere—great cormorants, spot-billed ducks, and later, great egrets and grey herons. They were in the water, perched on trees, and flying all around. In my mind, I could already see the awesome photos I’d be uploading to my computer.

The blurry photo problem

Eventually, I paused to check my shots on the camera’s screen. I couldn’t believe my eyes. While some looked okay, many of the birds in motion were blurry. What was wrong? Was I that out of practice? Confused, I pressed on, but I honestly couldn’t understand the problem.

Then, finally, the pin dropped. I had forgotten something critical. The Fujifilm X-T3 has three focus modes: single, continuous, and manual. Can you guess what I had done?

The lesson: A simple setting

For most of the afternoon, my X-T3 was in single-focus mode, which is designed to lock focus on a stationary subject. That meant anything standing still looked great, but the camera completely lost focus on anything that moved. Most of my flight shots were blurry. I felt like such a dummy.

So, I switched to continuous focus, which is designed to track moving subjects, and it immediately improved my bird photography tenfold. By then, however, the weather had changed, and the dramatic skies were gone. Such is life. I still got some nice pictures, and I definitely accomplished my goal of taking better photos than on my last visit.

It was a stark reminder that bird photography isn’t easy, and correct settings make all the difference. If only I had put my camera into continuous focus mode from the start! Next time, I’ll be sure to double-check. I hope I don’t forget!

Do you do bird photography? If you do, let me know what lens you use. Maybe my 100-400 mm is too short? I need the 150-600. To be honest, I’m quite envious of Nikon, Canon, and Sony. Those three camera brands all have bigger and faster offerings.

What do you think of these photos? Leave comments and questions below. And if you have been to the Tokyo Port Wild Bird Park, let us know your experience there. Have you ever had an unpleasant surprise like mine? Tell us about that too!