I paid a visit to the Fern Ridge Wildlife Area this morning and was greeted by heavy fog. But it began lifting before long. Small birds were active, especially Red-wing Blackbirds. It is interesting how different in coloration the female is from the male. Yet, I see that it also has red on the shoulder. I hadn't noticed that before today.

Trying BBAF and Manual Mode

I am using a method for autofocus and exposure suggested by Steve Perry http://backcountrygallery.com/), which uses Back button AF (instead of half pressing the shutter button). The shutter button is still set to activate exposure lock. In addition to Back Button AF, Perry also suggests trying Manual Shooting Mode with Auto ISO, letting ISO float rather than shutter speed (when Aperture Priority is used) or aperture (when Shutter Priority is used). I really like this method, going back to manual settings as I did when starting out in photography (because that was the only option in those days). The difference today is Auto ISO. Allowing the ISO to vary according to what is needed by whatever combination of aperture and shutter speed is chosen works very well. When I was learning photography, ISO was a set figure, depending on the film being used. (Check out Steve Perry's video that explains the use of BBAF - http://backcountrygallery.com/af-on-and-back-button-autofocus/)

The use of Back Button Autofocus allows one to lock autofocus by pressing and releasing the AF-ON button. If one holds the button in while shooting, and the camera is set for Follow Focus, the camera will lock onto the subject and continue to track it if it should move. I was impressed by how well this technique works. My success rate of capturing birds in flight is much improved! I am glad that I decided to give BBAF and Manual Mode a try!

Note: Some who like Liveview will recommend use of the touch screen to choose focus. This certainly works well for landscape or travel photography. My D850 also has this feature. But it is not practical for wildlife photography where shooting in bursts is often needed to capture action, like birds in flight. For that, Continuous Mode with Back Button Autofocus is ideal!