Remembering the Veterans. The Weatherman Blew It. And What Bugged Me About the Spoonbill Flight Image

Remembering the Veterans

Exactly two years ago today, I published a tribute to my late-Dad PFC Robert Edward Morris in the blog post here. Included is a rare photo of Bob Morris with his right arm.

Peter Noyes left this beautiful comment:

Artie, Thank you very much for sharing your wonderful story about a soldier’s soldier, your Dad. It is because of your Dad and many other brave soles like him that we speak English today and enjoy the many freedoms that we are blessed with. Sadly, there are many who take those freedoms for granted and fail to realize the high price our country paid to preserve them. Our country owes those veterans a debt that we will never be able to pay.

They went without food, drank water stored in gasoline drums, lacked warm clothing, went for long periods without being able to bathe or change clothing, and endured other hardships beyond our imagination. Our soldiers toiled long and arduous hours persevering in the face of obstacles encountered overcoming hardships to be victorious in the end.

The world was a very different place following WWII than it is today. Television wasn’t perfected, computers were unheard of, many families didn’t have a car, many didn’t have indoor plumbing, and there were some without electricity. Many of those who returned from WWII were effected in ways that we are just beginning to understand. Soldiers like your dad who paid a horrendous price in fighting for our freedoms were changed forever as a result of the war. There are many in our country who don’t understand this.

We can thank God for Bob Morris and those like him. It is because of them that we are here today and able to enjoy our life style.
I never knew your Dad but I’m proud of him. You have very good reason to be extremely proud of your Dad. Thank you very much for sharing your wonderful story.

What’s Up?

The Weatherman Blew It Again

The forecast for Sebastian Inlet for Thursday morning was for cloudy skies with south/southeast winds at 8mph. I arrived at 6:15am with the time of sunrise being 6:40pm. There was little wind and it was totally cloudy so that ruled out any sunrise color. I tried doing some blurs as there were lots of pelicans flying in and out of the inlet. But they were gliding rather than flapping. I did some diving pelicans with the handheld 600mm f/4/a1 combo but as things brightened up, it was evident that the gentle breeze was from the north/northwest. And then the sun broke through completely; that was the end of any hope for flight photography. I made a wiggle, did some Wood Stork head portraits, and headed home. Some days you’re the pigeon, and some days you’re the statue.

Today is Thursday 11 November 2021, Veterans’ Day. This morning, at Sebastian Inlet, I was the statue. 🙂 Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about two hours to prepare.

Remember that you can find some great photo accessories (and necessities, like surf booties!) on Amazon by clicking on the Stuff tab on the orange/yellow menu bar above. On a related note, it would be extremely helpful if blog-folks who, like me, spend too much money on Amazon, would get in the habit of clicking on the Amazon logo link on the right side of each blog post when they shop online. As you might expect, doing so will not cost you a single penny, but would be appreciated tremendously by yours truly. And doing so works seamlessly with your Amazon Prime account.

Please remember that 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 save 3% 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.

Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART

Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission on items priced at $1,000 or more. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charged a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. They went out of business. And e-Bay fees are now up to 13%. The minimum item price is $1000 (or less for a $50 flat-fee). If you are interested, please scroll down here to read the terms. Stuff that is priced fairly — I offer pricing advice only to those who agree to the terms — usually sells in no time flat. Over the past years, we have sold many hundreds of items. Do know that prices for used gear only go in one direction. Down. You can always see the current listings by clicking here or on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.

If you would like to learn about selling your used gear on the BAA Used Gear Page, click here.

New Bedfords BAA Discount Info

Folks who have fallen in love with Bedfords can now use the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout to enjoy free Overnight Fed-Ex Air shipping for orders over $1,000.00 and free Second Day Fed-Ex Air shipping for orders under $1,000.00.

Money Saving Reminder

Many have learned that if you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H and would like to enjoy free Fed-Ex Air shipping as above, your best bet is to click here, place an order with Bedfords, and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If an item is out of stock, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592 (Central time). Be sure to mention the BIRDSASART coupon code and use it qualify for the free Fed-Ex Air shipping. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H and everywhere else. The wait lists at the big stores can be a year or longer for the hard to get items. Steve will surely get you your gear long before that. For the past year, he has been helping BAA Blog folks get their hands on items like the SONY a 1, the SONY 200-600 G OSS lens, the Canon EOS R5, the Canon RF 100-500mm lens, and the Nikon 500mm PF. Steve is personable, helpful, and eager-to-please.

Important Note

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Please Remember Also

Please, if you enjoy and learn from the blog, remember to use one of my two affiliate programs when purchasing new gear. Doing so just might make it possible for me to avoid having to try to get a job as a Walmart greeter and will not cost you a single penny more. And if you use Bedfords and remember to enter the BIRDSASART code at checkout, you will save 3% on every order and enjoy free second-day air shipping. In these crazy times — I am out at least forty to sixty thousand dollars so far due to COVID 19 (with lots more to come) — remembering to use my B&H link or to shop at Bedfords will help me out a ton and be greatly appreciated. Overseas folks who cannot order from the US because of import fees, duties, and taxes, are invited to help out by clicking here to leave a blog thank you gift if they see fit.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BPN, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear, especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

Roseate-Spoobill-3200-incoming-_DSC6420-Stick-Marsh-Melbourne-FL-

I created this image on 20 March 2021 at Stick Marsh. While standing, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 374mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 640. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/3200 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that this image was about 1/3 stop under. AWB at 9:00am with a faint cloud passing by the sun.

Zone AF-C Bird/Eye Detection AF was active at the moment exposure and worked just fine. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the hi-res version.

Image #1: Roseate Spoonbill incoming flight

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What Bugs Me?

In the blog post here, I wrote:

We have a beautiful pink bird, sweet light, a sharp image, a dynamic flight pose, and a sweet blue background. Click on the image to see the hi-res version and leave a comment if you see anything that bugs you. Only one thing bugs me. What is it? See below for the answer.

Roseate-Spoonbill-SHADOW-REMOVED-incoming-_DSC6420-Stick-Marsh-Melbourne-FL

Zone AF-C Bird/Eye Detection AF was active at the moment exposure and worked just fine. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the hi-res version.

Image #2: Roseate Spoonbill incoming flight

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What Bugged Me?

The only thing that bugged me at all was the shadow of the bird’s head on its right leg. To eliminate it, I painted a Quick Mask of the corresponding section of the bird’s left leg (with a bit of extra all around). I placed the selection on its own layer, activated Free Transform (Command + T), and flopped the section horizontally. After hitting Enter, I moved the selection roughly into place with the Move Tool (V). Reducing the Opacity of the selection layer to 50% often makes it easier to properly position the selection. I hit Command + T again and used the double arrow cursor to rotate the selection so that it lined up perfectly with the leg.

The problem was that the texture of the scutes on the bird’s left leg did not match. I used three small Quick Masks grabbed from the upper part of the right leg to rest the texture. Each was refined with a Regular Layer Mask. I merged each of those layers with the leg layer and again added a Regular Layer Mask to refine that selection. That was most important near the spot where the leg thickened to join the foot.

Kudos to BAA-friend, a1 Group member, & IPT veteran David Pugsley who was the first to comment on the shadow on the leg:

I suspect you don’t care for the shadow of the neck.

He continued:

That or the wing being intersected with the vegetation line.

Others who commented mentioned the far wing intersecting with the shoreline. In truth, I feel that that merge added some needed tension to the image and that the vegetation line was nicely positioned. in addition, I love including strips of color to the tops both vertical and horizontal frames. I actually would prefer this image to one in which the spoonbill was completely set against blue water. Heck, I have zillions of those.

Others hinted at the dark triangle near the center of the far wing. A close look revealed that that was the shadow of a raised feather. It did not bug me. Jim Brown wrote:

IMO, not your best. I don’t much like the shadow on the leg, or the dark in-the-shadow tail.

I replied:

Thanks, Jim. I happen to love the image. with love, artie

One of my favorite comments was from Marc Wortsman who wrote:

Artie, whatever it is please don’t let it “bug” you too much. It’s a beautiful photograph.

Thanks to the many who commented on the what bugs me? question.