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Col

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My hovercraft is full of eels

Nice pics Col.

The second was crying out for this though

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Don't worry, be happy.
Sandy
Carried it in full, then carry it out empty.

A stillwater chub powers back:

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Col

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My hovercraft is full of eels

Fantastic action photography, how do you get such clarity and sharp focus, I have recently bought a DSLR and have been experimenting with action shots, but havent achieved anything that comes close to these images, can you tell me what kit you are using, and any advice you can give me on trying to "catch the action". looking back on some of the photos posted on previous posts I have got a lot to learn.

Really, the only advantage I have over you is just 7 years of trial and error with a dSLR - I am still making loads of mistakes and getting it all wrong every other time I am out. The way I get 6 worth posting is to take 200... there should be half a dozen in focus out of that lot

A few pointers...

Boat fishing is much easier for this job than river fishing for many reasons.

You need to take someone to catch lots of fish for you to experiment on - I find a 'Wee Jimmy' is perfect for this.

For action shots, try using shutter priority at 1/1000s and auto ISO. All these shots were at 1/1000s and even at that some have a lot of movement - I'm going to try 1/1500s next time

A 'fast' lens helps - one that can give you eg f2.8 wide open.

Set your camera to hi-speed continuous shooting and servo focus. I have servo focus transferred to the button under my thumb so I can just keep it actively hunting the whole time I am waiting for the shot.

Try to anticipate where the fish will break surface and be ready for it. Try experimenting with shooting 'from the hip' at times - it is difficult to watch for the moment while looking through the viewfinder.

Shoot RAW files and learn to process them really well, so you can get the best out of what you bring home - be it good, bad or indifferent.

These shots were taken with a Canon 7D and EF 135 mm f2 lens.

Hope that helps,

Col

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My hovercraft is full of eels

Superb shots Col.

Thanks for the info, I have a Canon 100mm f2.8 macro lens that i recently bought for macro shots, but I dont think this would be suitable for action shots, the other lenses I have are an 18-55 kit lens and a 75-300mm zoom,any help would be much appreciated, some of the shots that you and stuart pengs have posted are mind blowing, I will have to keep on experimenting, thanks.

The 100mm f2.8 would be an ideal lens skye. I use a 105mm f2.8 micro nikkor macro lens myself for action shots of fish.

Thanks for the reply, Im glad that the 100mm f 2-8 macro lens would be suitable for fish/action shots , what would you recommend as a start out setting, Manual mode or AV, Col has recommended 1000/s or 1500/s shutter speed, All information appreciated, As you probably guessed I am new to this.