Waiting for the kite

The Chao Phraya is not a quiet river. Barges push upstream from six in the morning, and the wake they leave slaps against the pier for a full minute after they have gone. I had been told the Brahminy Kites work this stretch at first light, and for three mornings that was true only in the sense that I saw them — high, distant, backlit, unphotographable.

The fourth morning

On the fourth morning the wind came from the east instead of the south. That was the whole difference. The bird banked into it about forty metres out, and for maybe two seconds the underside of the wing caught the low sun.

Most of wildlife photography is showing up on a day you cannot predict, having already shown up on three days you could.

The 70-300mm was at 300mm, wide open, and I had the shutter at 1/2000 because I had learned on day two that 1/1000 was not enough for a bird turning.

What I would do differently

• Arrive twenty minutes earlier. The light I wanted lasted about eight minutes and I spent three of them walking.
• Stop chimping. I missed a second pass because I was looking at the back of the camera.
• Trust the tracking. The A6700 held focus far better than I gave it credit for.