Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED VR Lens with extra

BAA Record-low Price!
Price Reduced $200 on 12/10/22

John Armitage is offering a Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED VR lens in excellent condition for a BAA record low $1,195.95 (was $1,395.95). The sale includes the original tripod mount, a Lens Collar Support Tripod Mount Ring RT-1 for Nikon AF-S 300mm f/4E PF ED VR lens (a $29.99 value), the soft case, the front and rear caps, the original box, 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.

Please contact John via e-mail

The skilled and venerable Anita Gail Erica North owned and used this very sharp lens a lot on her international travels when she shot Nikon. It is light in weight and focuses quickly and accurately. artie

What’s Up?

The fog was dense on Saturday morning and did not burn off until almost 11am. I created a few interesting images with the 400 f/2.8 — the best was a caracara take-off blur. There were lots of dewy spider webs but with no light and a stiff breeze from the NW, photographing them was impossible (even with digital). I spent most of the day relaxing and watching the last two World Cup soccer games. Kudos to Morocco and defending champion France for advancing to the semi-finals. Today is Sunday 11 December 2022. Though it is mostly clear with a NW wind, I will head down to the lake early looking for some more Vulture Tree silhouettes. This blog post took more than three hours to prepare, more than half of that trying to learn to make arrow shapes in Photoshop! Today makes two hundred fifty-nine days in a row with a new, educational post just for you. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.

Be sure to check out the Camera Gear Shipping Warning item below.

Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links that are found on most blog pages and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords to get 3% back on your credit card and enjoy free second-day air FedEx. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn!

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 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.

Photo Gear Shipping Warning

On Friday afternoon I sent my Sony 600mm f/4 in the lens trunk in the original shipping carton with the protective styrofoam corners in place. I used UPS Ground Insured.

When you need to send any photography gear anywhere do NOT be tempted by the lower rates offered by the United States Postal Service. Last year I sent a Canon RF 100-500 to the UK using the post office. It was lost in a matter of days. It simply disappeared off the radar screen. Though it was insured, and we had all the paperwork, the post office had no idea where it was. I actually got the insurance money amazingly quickly, but the whole thing was a huge hassle.

Consider this one via e-mail from IPT veteran Bill Wingfied:

I sold the Canon 600mm f/4 lens to Jack Jeffrey in Hawaii on the Big Island. The lens reached Hilo and the post office there would not deliver it to Jack or give it to him personally as I had addressed it to his street address and the USPS will only deliver registered mail to a PO Box! It has been almost a month and it is still not back to me. I hope to get it this week, check it to be sure there is no damage, and ship it back to him.

Can you say “insanity”?

Fed-Ex wanted $400.00; the post office only $180.00. Bill was tempted and wound up paying the price.

Brand-New and As-Good-As-Ever Bedfords BAA Discount Policy

Folks who have fallen in love with Bedfords can now use the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout to enjoy a post-purchase, 3% off-statement credit (excluding taxes and shipping charges) on orders paid with a credit card. The 3% credit will be refunded to the card you used for your purchase. Be sure, also, to check the box for free shipping to enjoy free Second Day Air Fed-Ex. This offer does not apply to purchases of Classes, Gift Cards, or to any prior purchases.

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 getting 3% back on your credit card along with free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex Air shipping, 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 check the box for Free Shipping. That will automatically upgrade to free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H and everywhere else. The waitlists 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

As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small percentage when you purchase from Amazon after using any of the Amazon links on the blog (including the logo-link on the right side of each blog post page). My affiliate link works fine with Amazon Prime and using it will not cost you a single cent. Huge thanks, BTW 🙂

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. And the same is true in spades when ordering new camera bodies or lenses. My advice will often save you some serious money and may help you avoid making a seriously bad choice. Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. If you are desperate, you can try me on my cell at 863-221-2372. Please leave a message and shoot me a text if I do not pick up.

Click on the screen capture to view a larger version. Diagram #1 image

Know the Wind. Think Fast. And Act Fast

Fifteen minutes after creating the Vulture Trees sunrise silhouette bird-scape image featured in yesterday’s blog post here, I was at “A” driving slowly heading north and looking for birds. Looking to my right, I saw a Bald Eagle (at “C”) gliding south in flat flight toward the nest tree. At times, the human brain can process information as fast as a computer. With the north wind, I knew that the bird would need to fly well past the nest tree, make a U-turn, make its way to the nest, and land (at “X.”.)

I was aware that I had the 2X on the 400mm f/2.8 GM lens. I had been creating some Sandhill Crane head portraits at 1/1000 second. Realizing that I needed a lot more shutter speed, I turned the Index Finger Dial a few clicks clockwise. Next, I turned the Thumb Wheel several clicks clockwise to increase the ISO. I did not have time to check the exposure as I needed to quickly make a U-turn and wind up at “B” with my SUV facing southwest so that I could photograph out the lowered driver’s side window with the brightest sky behind the nest tree.

That done, I grabbed the lens, hit the Set button to get to Tracking: Zone AF, and stuck the lens out the window. With one second to spare, I had no time to check for Zebras, so I acquired focus and fired off about fifteen frames as the big bird braked to land. I kept three, all with the wings swept back. The last keeper was my favorite.

There is no substitute for experience, fast thinking, and fast acting.

Click on the screen capture to view a larger version. Image #1: The Photo Mechanic screen capture for the Bald Eagle backlit landing at nest tree image

The Photo Mechanic Screen Capture

With significant space to the right of the end of the histogram, I knew that the image was under-exposed. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file brightness was determined to be 2/3-stop too dark. Had I not made the changes that I did, the image would not have been sharp. And the exposure was not terrible. Note that you can see the eagle’s white head in the original above.

This image was created on 9 December 2022 down by the lake near my home at Indian Lake Estates, FL. While seated in the driver’s seat of my SUV, I used the handheld Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined by guessing. 1/2000 sec. at f/8 (wide open) in Manual mode/ISO 2000. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file brightness was determined to be 2/3-stop too dark. AWB at 7:29:52am on a partly sunny morning. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version. Image #1A: Bald Eagle backlit landing at nest tree

The Optimized Version

I knew the moment that I stuck the lens out the window that I would process this image as a silhouette even though I could make out the adult eagle’s white head in the raw file. That’s why I positioned my vehicle with the bright sky behind the eagle tree.

Aside from the small crop and juicing up the sky color, what major change was made in Photoshop?

The BAA Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide You can purchase your copy here in the BAA Online Store.

The BAA Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide

126 pages, 87 photographs by Joe Przybyla and Arthur Morris.
The PDF for this e-Guide is an electronic download sent via e-mail.

Purchase your copy here in the BAA Online Store.

I had thought about doing a guide to some of the great but little-known photo hotspots around central Florida for about a decade, but those plans never came to fruition. I met Joe online in the Avian Forum at BirdPhotographer’s.Net about two years ago. Joe’s photography has improved tremendously over the past few years; he credits the BAA blog, my books and PDFs, and his participation on BPN. The one thing that I learned right from the get-go about Joe is that he is a hard and tenacious worker, always striving to improve his skills and to grow his knowledge base. As he knew of more than a few good spots in central Florida, I broached the idea of us doing a photographic site guide that covered many of the little-known photographic hotspots from Brandon to Lakeland to Joe Overstreet Road to Indian Lake Estates (my Florida home for the past 20 years or so). After more than many, many dozens of hours of effort, The BIRDS AS ART Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide is now a reality. Thanks to Joe’s wife Dottie for her review of our writing. We all learned once again that writing is a process, a back and forth process. All thanks to the white pelicans of Lakeland. Here are the locations that are detailed in this e-Guide:

• Indian Lake Estates: Sandhills Cranes with chicks and colts, lots of vultures, and Ospreys up the kazoo!
• Gatorland, Kissimmee: Learn to make great images of wading birds in a cluttered rookery.
• The Brandon Rookery: Great for nesting Wood Storks, Great Egrets, and more.
• Circle Bar B Reserve, Lakeland: Here you will find a great variety of avian subjects in a great variety of habitats.
• Lake Morton, Lakeland: There are lots of silly tame birds here including and especially American White Pelican during the colder months.
• Lake Mirror, Lakeland: Tame Anhingas, Limpkins, and a zillion White Ibises at times.
• West Lake Parker, Lakeland: Here you will have a chance for two difficult birds, Snail Kite, and Purple Gallinule.
• Joe Overstreet Road, Kenansville: Crested Caracara, meadowlarks, Loggerhead Shrike, and much more on the fenceposts and barbed wire.

Each location includes a map, a detailed description of the best spots, best season, light and time of day instructions, the expected species, and an educational and inspirational gallery that is designed to open your eyes as to the possibilities.

You can purchase a copy here in the BAA Online Store.

Typos

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

Typos

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