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Tips on photographing moving subjects to capture outstanding images

Stationary subjects are quite simple to shoot. Simply compose the photograph, focus the lens, adjust the exposure, and click the shutter. Photographing moving subjects, on the other hand, introduces unique obstacles. For starters, when your subject moves around the frame, the composition changes. If you then move the camera to follow your subject, the backdrop is likely to alter as well. Then there's the problem of concentration. If the distance between the subject and the camera varies, you must compensate by adjusting your lens.

Black Headed Ibis - flying birds - photographing moving subjects — Black Headed Ibis

How To Capture Motion and Moving Subjects?

Photographing moving subjects isn't easy. Just having a long telephoto lens or an expensive gadget may not help you in getting great images. Here are a few tips that you need to keep in mind before photographing flying birds:

Positioning yourself - Birds flying at perpendicular to your camera would be easier for you to capture than a bid which is flying directly towards you. It would be great if you can capture an image of the bird flying directly towards you, but can a bit hard as focusing becomes a bit challenging even with the auto focusing system.
Taking good position so that you are in almost the same level - Try climbing up the tree or hill or get down to the lake/pond surface, instead of just standing in one corner and capturing just another ordinary shot. Capturing a bird flying high above your head is a very common shot.

Eagle flying low at Malleshwaram -photographing moving subjects

Check the background - You might have managed to capture a great image, but having some bright background or of a building may spoil your image.
Light source - You cannot always expect this to be right, but no harm in trying. You need lot of patience when it comes to wild life and bird photography. Sun at your back will look good as the bid will be front lit and may not look good if the light is from behind.
Photographing moving subjects without continuous focus can be challenging. Use continuous auto focus (AF-C) - as the flying bird change location continuously.
Select the vibration reduction to normal instead of active (in Nikon)/ Image stabilization to OFF. This doesn't matter much as the shutter speed is high.
Getting close to the bird - A 300mm telephoto lens or a full frame lens 70-200 f2.8 lens in DX mode should be more than enough to capture a bird in motion. There is no need to go for high end lens, but if you can afford costlier longer telephoto lens then go for it.
Use a mono-pod or a tripod which has a tilt/panning head to it. If you want even more freedom to use then you can always go for handheld shots, but there are high chances that your image may not be sharp or kind of blurred.
What shutter speed is best for fast-moving objects? Camera settings - Keep the shutter at 1/1000 sec or more. Depends on bird. If there is a humming bird then you might want to increase to 1/4000 sec or higher, and if there is an eagle then shutter of 1/1000 sec should be enough.

ISO auto - better to keep it in auto. The values of shutter, ISO and aperture totally depends on local conditions like when exactly the bird is, at what time of the day etc.
Other settings include - Use all focus points, spot metering, increase or decrease the exposure compensation by one or two stops if needed if the image is over or underexposed. Better to get these things right while capturing instead of doing the same during post editing for better quality image output.
Try capturing images early in the morning or in the evening or when there is shadow. Bright sunny day might bring harsh shadows which can spoil the image. But photographing moving subjects in low light is even more challenging. So, having a f2.8 lens or lower will be helpful.

Photographing moving subjects - example

Camera Panning - photographing moving subjects — *Photographing moving subjects - fast-moving bike captured using a point & shoot camera*

Try these tips the next time you go out with your camera. Leave a comment below if these tips were of help. Hope you enjoyed reading this blog post and start practicing to capture photos and edit like a Professional Photographer. Buy me a coffee to support my work or you can go to my store to buy some of my images. Also, do not forget to join my FriendZone by signing up for my newsletter. Consider subscribing to my YouTube channel.

Sonamarg Valley - A place known for its beautiful landscapes

During my Kashmir Great Lakes trip, I came across this view of Sonamarg Valley early in the morning. Sonamarg is a tiny town on the route to Leh on the national highway that connects Srinagar and Leh in the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir. Except for a few months in summer, when most hikers visit this magnificent valley, it is entirely covered in snow most of the year. Tourism and trade are the primary sources of revenue in the valley. Sonamarg, located at an elevation of 2730 meters, is a captivating hill station in Jammu & Kashmir's Ganderbal district. The valley is traversed by the Sindh River.

Sonamarg City — *Sonamarg Valley, early in the morning. Image Copyright: Ravindra Joisa*

Why is Sonamarg famous?

Sonmarg has historical significance since it was a stop on the old Silk Road, which connected Kashmir with China. It serves as a base camp for Ladakh and is strategically vital for India. Sonamarg transforms into a white gold valley in the winter, living true to its name. The road beyond will take you to Kargil, which was previously a battle zone, and then to Leh. Sonamarg derives its name from the Hindi language. Sona denotes gold, while marg denotes a meadow. The area is well-known for its valleys, which are carpeted with rich golden flowers in the spring.

Why is Sonamarg called Gold meadow?

Its name translates to 'golden meadow,' and it is rightfully so, with its breathtaking splendor of floral meadows, snow-clad peaks, glaciers, and pristine alpine lakes. The Sindh or Indus river flows across the valley, supporting exotic vegetation and lush woods of fir, pine, and silver birch. The place derives its name from the Hindi language. Sona denotes gold, while marg denotes a meadow. The area is well-known for its valleys, which are carpeted with rich golden flowers in the spring.

Best time to visit Sonamarg Valley?

Sonmarg is open all year, although the best months to visit are April through June. The valley is expected to be carpeted with an eruption of wildflowers. The Amarnath Yatra attracts a large number of pilgrims throughout the months of July and August. This is also the base camp for hikers and bikers heading to Leh. This is the starting or ending location for the well-known Kashmir Great Lakes trek and Tarsar Marsar lake trek.

How to reach Sonamarg?

The travel from Srinagar to Sonamarg is unique. It was my first Himalayan week-long trek, as well as my first trip to northern India. I had planned this hiking trip during the summer. After reaching Srinagar 2 days in advance and staying in a boathouse, our trekking organization had arranged for cabs to be waiting for us. We took this cab to Sonamarg, which was a long (half-day) drive away. To get to Sonamarg, you can take a shared cab or a public bus. If you are traveling from Leh, you may also reach this location through Kargil.

Kashmir Great Lakes Campsite

We took a left turn just before the bridge just before Sonamarg and had to walk for about 10 minutes to reach our base camp. The valley provides access to hanging glaciers, local Gujjar settlement, and many more attractions. Shitkadi, which is somewhat ahead of Sonamarg, is another campground where you may camp directly near to the river. You may even stay in an abandoned Gujjar hut or request a stay in their hut to obtain that authentic local experience.

https://youtu.be/Az8z5_ZfGXo

Hope you enjoyed reading this blog post. Buy me a coffee to support my work or you can go to my store to buy some of my images. Also, do not forget to join my FriendZone by signing up for my newsletter. Consider subscribing to my YouTube channel.

Drive to Sonamarg, the unforgettable experience

The journey from Srinagar to Sonamarg is one of a kind. It was my first Himalayan week-long hike, and it was also my first journey to northern India. I had planned this trekking adventure for the summer. So, flew from Bangalore to Srinagar early morning (reached Srinagar 2 days in advance and stayed in a boathouse). Our hiking company, Indiahikes had arranged for cabs to be waiting for us. We took this cab to Sonamarg, which was a considerable (half-day) journey away.

Going around Srinagar and Dal lake

When in Srinagar, take a walk around Dal Lake, enjoy a Shikara boat ride to the flower market early in the morning, and stay in one of the boathouses. Also, they do visit the hilltop Shankaracharya shrine. There are many other places to visit around Dal lake like the King Hari Singh fort, Mughal gardens, the carpet industry, old market, etc. With a charge of ₹1000 to 1200 a day, the local auto driver can take you around including the shrine and the fort. Fort has an entry ticket of ₹ 50 which is to be purchased at the tourism office near the Sikh temple.

The journey to Sonamarg

You may take a public bus to Sonamarg from the TRC bus stop at Dal Lake, or you can take a shared cab directly next to the bus stop. You may also take a cab from the airport, which may be costly. The drive will take about 2-3 hours. By the way, Dal lake is the starting point to another famous trek in the region - Tarsar Marsar lake, another beautiful trek.

We stopped thrice on the way to Sonamarg. One was near Dal Lake, a place where hikers gather (and this is where I joined). The second was at a village outside of town on the route to the campsite. We just contacted the local driver that we needed to stop near a medical store to pick up a few medications that we would need while hiking. And the third location was around an hour out from Sonamarg.

srinagar sonamarg highway — Srinagar Sonamarg Leh National Highway

This is where we picked up some Kashmiri apples and had tea from a nearby tea stand. The tea tastes distinctly diverse here. In comparison to regular tea, the flavor is much more akin to a combination of salt and butter. Something out of the ordinary that you should attempt. It was a whole different experience. We followed the same way back and enjoyed the famous Kashmiri Kahwa tea. Beautiful sceneries, pine trees, streams, rivers, bridges, snow patches, and so on may be found along the trip to Sonamarg next to the Sind river.

Sonamarg and its stunning scenery

Sonamarg during day time — Sonamarg during daytime

Sonamarg is a popular tourist destination recognized for its stunning scenery. The national highway continues towards the battle zone of Kargil, through some of the most perilous roads and crossings, including the Zozilla pass, the famed Lamayuru moonland, and eventually Leh. My weeklong high altitude national-level mountain biking expedition took place in Lamayuru.

Finally, just before reaching Sonamarg, we took a left turn immediately before the bridge and had to walk for approximately 10 minutes to reach our base camp. Hanging glaciers, Sonamarg village, and many more attractions are accessible from Sonamarg valley. I had some time and didn't want to spend it inside my tent, so I spent the majority of it outside photographing.

Sonamarg at night, campfire far away by the locals behind the pine trees. Long exposure shot.

At the Campsite

We arrived early in the evening and had plenty of time to explore the area. I came to a shepherd's cottage and spent the rest of my time shooting the scenery. Your memory card and batteries will always be insufficient. Fortunately, I had brought four spare camera batteries along with my camera. That's just what I needed. By the way, it is important to keep your camera gear light while traveling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUVnHb3Xzb4

By this time, everyone had arrived, and it was time for dinner. I learned about all of the hikers in our group and spent some time photographing in an unflattering light. The final photo in the video below was taken at about 2 a.m. Sonamarg valley is an ideal place to capture start trails. The next day we hiked uphill from Sonamarg to Nichnai.

Ravindra Joisa

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