Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Your Call

Which of today’s featured images is your favorite? (It’s OK to mention several). Why did you make your choice(s)? Note: all but Bob’s images were optimized by yours truly using the techniques detailed in DB II and in the DB III Video Series, Volume I.

Please note: you will be seeing some of Colleen O’Connor’s images here soon. She is staying nearby with her husband.

What’s Up?

San Diego is fantastic. The photo opps have been fantastic. The group is fantastic. Six of us are staying in a large AirBnB place and everyone has been getting along fantastically. We have been having our fantastic brunches at Cafe Vahik where we are routinely teased and insulted by the fantastic owner and chef, Vahik himself — No bagel for you! Everyone in the group has been enjoyed the fantastic dinners prepared by Bob Eastman and me.

Today is Sunday 12 January 2025. We are headed early back to Santee Lakes to try for some fire-in-the-mist and some Wood Ducks. And yes, we all hope that you too choose to have a fantastic day.

If an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, is also available in the BAA Online Store, it would be great, and greatly appreciated, if you would opt to purchase from us. We will match any price. Please remember also to use my B&H affiliate links or to earn 3% cash back at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout for your major gear purchases. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And always earns my great appreciation.

Should You Upgrade to or Purchase a Sony a-1 ii?

I will be purchasing a second a-1 ii quite soon.

Aside from the improved ergonomics as compared to the a-1, other nice features include the fact that the rear screen tilts both ways. Pre-capture will surely prove to be a plus while in my option, the Speed Boost feature is a total waste for bird photography. In addition, the resolution on the rear monitor has been improved dramatically. Not to mention that Bird Face-Eye tracking on the a-1 ii is significantly better than on the a-1 and that the 51MP file are to die for. And don’t forget the Pre-Capture feature!

So, the big question is, is the a-1 ii “worth” a gear upgrade. Remembering that I can never know whether or not something is worth it to you, I can say that I was not floored when using my a-1 ii. The differences between the a-1 ii and the original a-1, are neither huge nor eye-opening. The huge difference between the new camera body and the a9 iii is, of course, the 51MP a-1 raw files (as compared to the 24MP files rendered by the a9 iii).

With the price of a new a-1 having recently dropped $1500.00 to $4,998.00, the decision for new Sony buyers is a very tough one. The a-1 ii sells new for $6,498.00. And the price of used a-1 bodies will continue to drop (but surely not as much as I had thought before using the a-1 ii).

If you do purchase an a-1 ii, be sure to use one of my two affiliate links so that you will receive my a-1 ii settings (in the form of a CAMSEa1ii.DAT file), the Buttons and Dials Guide, and an Info Sheet. Folks who do not purchase their new a-i using my B&H link or from Bedfords here and entering the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout will be able to purchase the a-1 ii guide for $227.43. If you are at all confused and do not want to screw up your order, please get in touch via e-mail.

Sony a-9 iii Mirrorless Camera Body

The First Buyer Changed Their Mind

Yours truly, Arthur Morris, AKA artie, is offering a Sony a9 iii Mirrorless camera body (Firmware v1.00), this one in excellent plus plus condition for a ridiculously low $3998.00. The sale includes the original product box, the body cap, the battery charger, one battery, the strap, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Your purchase will also include my latest a9 iii Set-up e-mail, the new Buttons and Dials Guide, and the new INFO Sheet. This body already has my latest settings on it so you will be good to head out and start making great images as soon as you review the e-mailed materials.

Please contact artie via e-mail.

This camera’s incredible frame rate, an unheard of 120fps, gives you at least four times as many wing positions and flight poses as the other top-of-the-line mirrorless camera bodies. With the incredible AF system that is even better than the AF system of the a-1 with Firmware v2.02, most every single image will be sharp on the bird’s eye. And the raw files can stand up to decent crops. A new one sells at B&H for $5,998.00. B&H has two used a9 iii bodies list right now, one for $5,217.95 and another for $55217.95! And KEH is offering a used like-new a9iii for $5823.00! Used Gear Page regular Karen McCormick sold a used a9 iii for $4298.00 last month. If you have been thinking of an a9 iii, grab my lightly used a9 iii right now and save a sweet $2,000.00. artie

ps: You can see some of my a9 iii images in the blog post here.

This image was created on 10 January 2025 by Bob Eastman on the 2025 Extended San Diego IPT at La Jolla, CA. Standing at full height, he used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 467mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel; 1/2500 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 7:56:50am. Tracking: Spot XS/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Image #1: Pacific race Brown Pelican head throw Image courtesy of and copyright 2025: Bob Eastman

Bob Eastman and His Trusty 200-600

Head throw images are challenging and difficult. After coming to La Jolla for more than 30 years, I have only a very few that I am proud of. So, what does bob do? He makes a great one while I am standing next to him helping Judy Stepenaskie with her framing of the same bird. To make matters worse; I had called the head throw one minute before it happened. Man, you gotta love it.

This image was created at La Jolla, CA on 10 January 2025 by multiple IPT veteran Warren Robb on the 2025 Extended San Diego IPT. Standing at full height, he used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel: ISO 1250. 1/3200 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 8:20:39am. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Image #2: Pacific race Brown Pelican adult preening Image courtesy of and copyright 2025: Warren Robb

Warren Robb, USN Retired Fighter Jet Pilot

One our pre-IPT morning I signaled Bob to bring Warren and Judy to me because I had a lovely sub adult pelican teed up and isolated. The first three images here are of that same bird. Though it was the BAS (best available shot), only one of the other 15 photographers made their way to our spot. You gotta love it. Warren nailed this over-the-back preening shot.

This image was created by multiple IPT veteran Judy Stepenaskie at La Jolla, CA on the 2025 Extended San Diego IPT. Standing at full height, she used the hand held Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM lens (at 500mm) and the impressive Canon EOS R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined using the in-viewfinder histogram and confirmed after evaluation of blinkies on the JPEG. AWB at 11:52:22am on a sunny morning. ISO 1000: 1/2500 sec. at f/7.1. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #3: Pacific race Brown Pelican sub-adult Image Courtesy of and Copyright 2025: Judy Stepenaskie

Judy’s Beauty!

Judy joined me at Nickerson Beach last summer and learned to use her Canon gear. You can read the whole story and see some of her fantastic images from that trip here. As she has not had many chances to practice bird photography since then, she needed a bit of extra help on our first morning. I am super-impressed by the clean, bright colors of the R6 ii images.

This image was created on 10 January 2025 by (Yo) Adrian Whitchelo-Scott on the 2025 Extended San Diego IPT at Santee Lakes Preserve in Santee California. Seated on the bank, he used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 467mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with Exposure Compensation on the thumb dial. Shutter Priority -0.7 stops. AUTO ISO set ISO 320: 1/1000 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open). AWB at 3:58:40pm. Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Image #4: Ring-necked Duck drake swimming Image courtesy of and copyright 2025: Adrian Whitchelo-Scott

AWS

My first contact with Adrian was this past Wednesday when he left a question on a YouTube Video. That afternoon he purchased a new Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens from Bedfords using my discount code. I sent him the Firmware 2.02 settings for his a-1 and he loaded them right up. He got his new lens on Friday morning, got into his car, and drove down from LA for the entire San Diego IPT. He made it in time for a complimentary afternoon session at Santee Lakes. You will be hard put to find a nicer human being.

This image was created by multiple IPT veteran Dietmar Haenchen on the 2025 San Diego IPT. Standing at full height he used the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (at 214mm) with the Canon Mount Adapter EF-EOS R and the Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via the histogram and blinkies review. Aperture Priority +1.0 stops. AUTO ISO set ISO 6400: 1/500 sec. at f/5.6. (wide open). AWB at 9:04:57am with the cliff in the shade on a sunny day. Image #5: Brandt’s Cormorants on nesting wall. Image courtesy of and copyright 2025: Dietmar Haenchen

14 Years Ago!

Dietmar attended a San Diego IPT 14 years ago. He joined me on a Galapagos trip in 2017. I was thrilled when I learned that he would be joining me in San Diego. Dietmar is to be commended for the creativity he employed to come up with this delightful almost whimsical image. I am impressed with the raw files from his relatively inexpensive Canon body.

This image was created ON 11 January 2025 by Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART while leading the 2025 San Diego IPT at La Jolla, CA. Seated on the bank, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and the and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 800. The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with Exposure Compensation on the thumb RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 4:06:44pm on a sunny afternoon. Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Image #6: Cinnamon Teal drake braking to land surrounded by three perfectly placed, out-of-focus Ruddy Ducks Image by Yours Truly — Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Your Truly

I was thrilled yesterday afternoon to have a chance on a drake Cinnamon Teal in flight. I was so excited that I did not look at the sequence on the back of the camera in the field. I wanted to first see them on the laptop. When I finally did, I was thrilled. We had some great flight photography chances as a result of thrilled scratch (duck food) throwing by yours truly. Everyone in the group helped by yelling on command as I tossed a load of grain and seeds into the pond. Feeding the ducks is encouraged at Santee where they are glad to sell you the scratch for $2 bucks a bag!

Supporting My Efforts Here

If you enjoy and learn from the blog, are all set for gear, or live overseas, consider leaving a BAA Blog Thank You Gift here.

If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.

In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars. And/or prevent you from purchasing the wrong gear from the wrong shop.

Typos

With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.

Your Call

Which of today’s two featured Turkey Vulture images do you like best? What do you like about it?

Sony a-9 iii Mirrorless Camera Body

Yours truly, Arthur Morris, AKA artie, is offering a Sony a9 iii Mirrorless camera bodies, this one in excellent plus plus condition for a ridiculously low $3998.00. The sale includes the original product box, the body cap, the battery charger, one battery, the strap, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Your purchase will also include my latest a9 iii Set-up e-mail, the new Buttons and Dials Guide, and the new INFO Sheet. This body already has my latest settings on it so you will be good to head out and start making great images as soon as you review the e-mailed materials.

Please contact artie via e-mail.

This camera’s incredible frame rate, an unheard of 120fps, gives you at least four times as many wing positions and flight poses as the other top-of-the-line mirrorless camera bodies. With the incredible AF system that is even better than the AF system of the a-1 with Firmware v2.02, most every single image will be sharp on the bird’s eye. And the raw files can stand up to decent crops. A new one sells at B&H for $5,998.00. B&H has two used a9 iii bodies list right now, one for $5,217.95 and another for $55217.95! And KEH is offering a used like-new a9iii for $5823.00! Used Gear Page regular Karen McCormick sold a used a9 iii for $4298.00 last month. If you have been thinking of an a9 iii, grab my lightly used a9 iii right now and save a sweet $2,000.00. artie

ps: You can see some of my a9 iii images in the blog post here.

Important BAA Blog Notices 🙂

#1: It has come to my attention that the e-mail addresses for some folks who were previously receiving blog notifications did not make it into the new Newsletter data base. Please go to the blog and click on the Subscribe tab on the lower yellow/orange menu bar at the top of the page and re-subscribe. It is the third one in from the right.

#2: At least two folks have e-mailed stating that the link to the new blog post that they are now receiving via Newsletter is not an active link. Please understand that the link is an active link and that the problem is caused by the recipient’s e-mail settings. How do I know that? Both folks replied to the sending e-mail and when it arrived in my Inbox the link was active..

If that is the case, and you cannot figure out how to rectify the problem, simply save the BAA Blog address as a Favorite. When you receive the e-mail notifying you of a new post with the seemingly dead link, go to the blog from your Favorites menu and click on the BAA Blog. The Home page with the three latest posts will appear. Now, click on the tile of the top post and you will be good to go, to enjoy and learn from the blog, and to leave a comment.

What’s Up?

On Sunday night, Bob Eastman and I enjoyed our second consecutive incredible sunset. There were few birds, but we stayed out on the pier till 30 minutes after the sun had gone down photographing the grand scene with our cell phones. On Monday morning, we played around with a Cattle Egret flock for a while and then photographed some vultures at the desiccated Coyote skeleton. Pickings were slim both for the vultures and the photographers. At 8:52am, I said to Bob, “Eight minute warning” and continued the countdown every minute or two until the clock in my SUV struck nine. As we were about to turn north to head home, Bob said, “An Osprey just landed in the small bay and is taking a bath. Hey, there are two of them.” Before I got my vehicle into position, one flew off and circled around in flight. We had some good chances and were stunned when the bird landed right in front of us right down sun angle about five feet from the shore, bathed, and took flight right at us into the southeast wind.

After some high fives, we turned around and headed for my house. Again. And again, Bob interrupted me. This time he said, “There’s a Turkey Vulture with its wings raised on the Skinny Perch.” I drove a big circle on the South Peninsula to get on sun angle and avoid scaring the bird. We went to work. It was obvious that the wet, bedraggled bird had just emerged from a bath and was drying its wings. I moved the car to get a bit closer and put the wind right behind us albeit a bit off sun angle. Within a few seconds, the bird lifted off and flew right at us. Thanks to Pre-Capture on the a-1 ii, I got some frames of the bird just before it lifted off as well as the entire take-off. I lifted the lens off the BLUBB- and got some nice flight shots as well.

We surely made hay with our fifteen minutes of overtime!

I stayed in all day on Tuesday to start packing for San Diego. Today is Wednesday 8 January and as my photo gear is already packed, I will be taking the whole day off again. I still have to finish packing and tie up lots of loose ends. Whatever you choose to do, I hope that you choose to have a happy and productive day. Jim is taking Bob and me to the airport at 3:30am on Thursday for our non-stop flight to San Diego.

If an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, is also available in the BAA Online Store, it would be great, and greatly appreciated, if you would opt to purchase from us. We will match any price. Please remember also to use my B&H affiliate links or to earn 3% cash back at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout for your major gear purchases. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And always earns my great appreciation.

Should You Upgrade to or Purchase a Sony a-1 ii?

Aside from the improved ergonomics — more room for cold weather gloves and a more comfortable position for the shutter button — both as compared to the a-1, other nice features include the fact that the rear screen tilts both ways. Pre-capture will surely prove to be a plus. In addition, the resolution on the rear monitor has been improved dramatically. Not to mention that Bird Face-Eye tracking on the a-1 ii is significantly better than on the a-1 and that the 51MP files are to die for. Tracking: Spot XS and Wide are so much better with the a-1 ii that I have activated both of them. And don’t forget the Pre-Capture feature! On the other hand, in my opinion, the Speed Boost feature on the a-1 ii is a total waste for bird photography. Why? You want to be at 30 fps all the time.

So, the big question is, is the a-1 ii “worth” a gear upgrade. Remembering that I can never know whether or not something is worth it to you, I can say that I was not floored when using my a-1 ii. The differences between the a-1 ii and the original a-1, are neither huge nor eye-opening. The huge difference between the new camera body and the a9 iii is, of course, the 51MP a-1 raw files (as compared to the 24MP files rendered by the a9 iii).

With the price of a new a-1 having recently dropped $1500.00 to $4,998.00, the decision for new Sony buyers is a very tough one. The a-1 II sells new for 6,498.00. And the price of used a-1 bodies will continue to drop (but not as much as I had thought before using the a-1 ii).

All that said, I will be purchasing a second a-1 ii ASAP. As Bob would say, “Gooder is goober.”

If you do purchase an a-1 ii, be sure to use one of my two affiliate links so that you will receive my a-1 ii settings (in the form of a CAMSETii.DAT file), the Buttons and Dials Guide, and an Info Sheet. Folks who do not purchase their new a-i using my B&H link or from Bedfords here and entering the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout will be able to purchase the a-1 ii guide for $227.43. If you are at all confused and do not want to screw up your order, please get in touch via e-mail.

This image was created on 1 January 2025 (HNY!) down by the lake near my home at ILE, FL. Seated in the front seat of my SUV I used the BLUBB-supported Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 622mm) and the and The Latest Greatest Flagship Body, the Sony a1 II Mirrorless Camera. Shutter Priority -1 stop (1): 1/2000 sec. at f/11 (stoped down 2/3-stop) AUTO ISO set ISO 125. The exposure determined via Zebras with Exposure Compensation on the Thumb Wheel. AWB at 7:30:45am just after sunrise. Tracking: Spot S/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Image #1: Turkey Vulture diving off perch at sunrise image

What Pre-Capture Can Do For You

Before you can realize the advantages of Pre-Capture, you need to understand exactly how it works. You must, of course, have the feature turned on. Next, you must be half-pressing the shutter button so that autofocus is tracking the bird, usually the eye or the face. Then, when you fully depress that shutter button the camera will save the images recorded during the pre-set duration. On my a-1 ii, I keep Pre-Capture turned on with the Pre-Capture Rec Time set to 0.5 seconds. At 30 fps, that gets me the 15 images that were registered by the camera body before I fully pressed the shutter button and began shooting. Magic!

When the vulture dived off the perch, I said to Bob in back seat, “Darn! I missed that.” I absolutely did not press the shutter button until an instant before the bird disappeared into the blackness of the trees below the perch. I was stunned later that morning when I saw that Pre-Capture had recorded and saved the perfect frame of the take-off, Image #1 above.

In this case, Pre-Capture saved the day even though I was slow to act.

The Time Has Never Been Better!

With the Sony 200-600 available for less than $2K (new) and the price of a-1 bodies falling, there has never been a better time to change your life. As you see in above and have seen in many recent blog posts, the versatility of this inexpensive lens often trumps the faster, far more expensive fixed focal length telephoto lenses offered by Sony: the 600mm f/4, the 400mm f/2.8, and the 300mm f/2.8.

Use one of my affiliate links and I can have you set up making great images in a matter of minutes, just as I’ve done with Bob Eastman, the amazing Anita North, Pat Fishburne (at age 86!), Andrew Schonbek, Steve and Elizabeth Shore, Carolyn Johnson (at age 80), Geri Georg, and too many more to remember. They all switched. You can do it too!

This image was created on 6 January 2024 down by the lake near my home at ILE, FL. Seated in the front seat of my SUV, I used the BLUBB-supported Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter, and Sony’s Latest Greatest Flagship Body, the a-1 ii Mirrorless Camera. ISO 1000. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/2500 second at f/6.3 (stopped down 1/3-stop in error) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was perfect. AWB at 9:12:13am on sunny morning. Zone AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version. Image #2: Turkey Vulture taking flight from the Skinny Perch

Another Pre-Capture Plus

With Image #2, I was right on the bird and focusing accurately when it began to take off. Even so, human reaction time is far from instantaneous. And those reaction times become incrementally longer as you age. As I will be 79 this coming June, I need all the help that I can get. With Image #2, Pre-Captured enabled me to capture a complete, all-encompassing sequence.

Realize This

With both of today’s featured images, the lens was supported by my BLUBB. A tripod or monopod would do the trick as well. When hand holding, stamina comes into play. Depending on the weight of your rig, the wait for a bird to take flight can tax your strength to the point of exhaustion. Many times, when you relax and lower your lens, the bird will leave the perch. In those cases, not even Pre-Capture can help you.

Supporting My Efforts Here

If you enjoy and learn from the blog, are all set for gear, or live overseas, consider leaving a BAA Blog Thank You Gift here.

If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please consider using one of my affiliate links when purchasing new gear. It will never cost you a single penny. To support my effort here, please order from B&H by beginning your search here. Or, click here, to order from Bedfords and enter the discount code BIRDSASART at checkout to receive 3% cash back to your credit card and enjoy free Second-Day Air Fed-Ex shipping. It is always best to write for advice via e-mail.

In many cases, I can help you save some serious dollars. And/or prevent you from purchasing the wrong gear from the wrong shop.

Typos

With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.