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sweedie
Commander of the Wild Empire
Registered: October 2011
Location: cardiff South Wales
Posts: 2,034
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wow, how on earth did you manage to get his shot... brilliant 
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britnik
Member of the Wild Empire
Registered: February 2009
Posts: 301
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Hello sweedie, thanks for the encouragement.
How did I get the shot.
The biggest step was getting out there in the evening and finding the bats. Obviously a bat detector helps a lot with this but not a requirement.
Next step is watching the bats as they often fly backwards and forwards on the same flight paths. In my garden I noticed that they would fly between the neighbours oak and my end wall and then fly back in the opposite direction soon after. Last night I used this location.
With every thing on the camera in manual,
Pre-focussed the lens on a peg on the washing line at the same distance to where I expected the bat to fly.
Set the hot-shoe mounted flash gun to manual at 1/16 power (shorter flash burst) to freeze the wings.
Some trial shots using the cloths peg to balance the exposure of the peg with the ISO and aperture.
Obviously a higher ISO gives more grain but the corresponding aperture gives more depth of field.
Even with the excellent viewfinder on my Sony 850 I find it impossible to see the bats through the VF so I lookl through the gap between the left of the prism and the bottom of the flash. So I am aiming the camera without viewfinder or live view.
The final balancing act is between focal length and crop factor. With a longer focal length the bat is bigger in the picture and requires less cropping but it is harder to get the bat in the picture. I had many misses yesterday with no bat visible or right at the edge of the frame. With a smaller focal length you get more chance of a bat in the frame but when you do capture a bat it is smaller and requires more enlargement.
The picture above was taken with an 135mm at f5.6 on a FF Sony 850. I doubt that I would want to go much longer without improving my aim
Now all you need to do is wait for the bat to fly where you thought it would.
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Kenneth Baldwin
Officer of the Wild Empire
Registered: January 2012
Location: Dorset, on Hengistbury Head
Posts: 651
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Britnik, My bounce is spinning, I have still not got a clue how you did it and I don't think I will be trying it in the near future. Nevertheless, that does not detract from the fact it's a brilliant shot and I wish I could do it. I'm sure if the bat could see it he would approve.
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britnik
Member of the Wild Empire
Registered: February 2009
Posts: 301
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Ken, going by your other work, I am sure that you could do it.
First step, spend 10 mins in your garden at approx 9:45.
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sweedie
Commander of the Wild Empire
Registered: October 2011
Location: cardiff South Wales
Posts: 2,034
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Hahaa i don't think i could either if im honest, i have these little chaps hurtling around my garden...they are extremely quick,that makes this head on shot even more amazing thanks for the info though, i might have a go but i can see me having a tantrum hahahaaa!
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Kenneth Baldwin
Officer of the Wild Empire
Registered: January 2012
Location: Dorset, on Hengistbury Head
Posts: 651
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Nik, I've decided I'll save the experience until my blood pressure is totally under control. To attempt shooting a bat will test my gaskets to breaking point. Give me an obliging Robin or Stonechat anyday.
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Photo Details
