Tip #94: Don't Trust the LCD

Flight of the Dinosaur (Grus canadensis)
Canon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS @ f4.0
Shot in IS Mode 2 to optimize Sharpness while panning

That TV screen on the back of your camera is a great invention, but never use it to separate the winners from the losers. The details of distant objects will be blurred to nothingness, while subjects shot close will seem to be brilliant. In the end, you’ll be disappointment by your premature winners and surprised by the loser that you nearly trashed. While the LCD is a great tool for assessing composition and reviewing histograms, I suggest you leave your sharpness checks for quiet moments with Lightroom™ or Aperture™ on the “Big Screen.”

Crane Migration (Grus canadensis)
Canon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS @ f4.0
Shot in IS Mode 2 to optimize Sharpness while panning 

Shoot the Moon (Grus canadensis)
Canon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS @ f4.0
Shot in IS Mode 2 to optimize Sharpness while panning

I'm not a Pteradactyl (Grus canadensis)
Canon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS @ f4.0
Shot in IS Mode 2 to optimize Sharpness while panning

Landing Gear Down (Grus canadensis)
Canon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS @ f4.0
Shot in IS Mode 2 to optimize Sharpness while panning

About the Images

These are Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) during the Fall migration. Crex Meadows Wildlife Refuge is an ephemeral stop to roost, fuel up on corn and reunite with old friends. The birds arrive as the sun begins to set, and they will roost through the night. At dawn and dusk the refuge echoes with the ruckus of these extant dinosaurs. They arrive at dusk in the thousands and exit the dawn with explosive burst of activity. 

Photographically, I am challenged by their flight that begins in the bright sky and terminates in the shadows of marsh. As throngs of birds glide over head, selecting “the one” often seems like an impossibility. They are the bombing raid that I imagine in my minds eye, and I am the gunner shooting for my own survival.

A check of the LCD always ends with disappointment and a feeling of failure. Each year I photograph these birds, believe something is wrong with my gear, and I swear in a way that embarrasses my own ears... and thus, a Photo Tip is born.

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