One in the Sun for Good Measure & a 2nd Nest Hatches

In-the-Field Instructional Photo Sessions

I am available for weather dependent, morning In-the-Field Instructional Photo sessions at either ILE for the cranes or Stick Marsh for the spoonbills: Thursday 4 April through Monday 8 April. e-mail for ITF details and possibilities.

What’s Up?

After hearing of a Burrowing Owl nest with five chicks, I drove over to Cape Coral, FL on Saturday afternoon. I checked out a few locations suggested in the old SW Florida Site Guide and with the help of passers by, miraculously located the nest. Photography was difficult at best. I received a text from ILE neighbor Claudia Cemken letting me know that a second nest hatched very recently! I still think that there may be at least one more nest. I fly to North Dakota on 9 April to do grouse and prairie chickens with BPN friend and IPT veteran Kevin Hice.

Today is 31 March 2024 and I am headed back to the baby owls. Spring is a glorious time for bird photography in Florida. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.

This image was created on 30 March 2024 down by the lake near my home in Indian Lake Estates, FL. Seated on damp grass, I used the toepod technique with the handheld Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) and the ridiculously amazing Sony a9 III Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 1000: 1/1000 sec. at f/2.8 (wide open) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file brightness was determined to be dead solid perfect. AWB at 7:33:24am on a clear sunny morning about 15 minutes after sunrise. Tracking Zone/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled performed to perfection. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the high-res version. Image #1: Sandhill Crane chick in purple flowers

Layers of Color and Gorgeous Early Morning Light

Does anything about this image bug you? I have a similar image with the bird in profile, profile, but I prefer the down the lens barrel look above.

How About them, the Sony 300mm f/2.8 and the a9 iii?

Paraphrasing Mel Allen somewhat above. I am using my new gear more and more and am just about finished with the first-ever BAA lens guide. As far as the a9 iii, I am now convinced that eye tracking is better than it is with the a-1. And if you photograph birds in flight and in action and think that it is too fast for you, you are dead wrong.

If you plan on purchasing a Sony a9 III Mirrorless Camera (or anything else for that matter), please remember to use or write for either my Bedfords discount code or my B&H affiliate link. Folks who use one of my two affiliate links to purchase the a9 III will receive my .DAT settings (the complete camera set-up) along with a Buttons and Dials Guide and may additional thoughts.

The First Ever BIRDS AS ART Lens Guide

Impressed by my Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) images from the last three posts? Use either my Bedfords or B&H affiliate link to purchase your Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM lens and shoot me your receipt via e-mail and request a copy of the first-ever BAA Lens Guide. This short guide will be published sometime in late March as I have a lot more to learn about this amazing new lens. I thought that it would take only minutes to create, but I was dead wrong. In the process of creating the guide, I learned a ton about the lens. And even better, I discovered a simple yet potentially fatal flaw that was resulting in sporadically unsharp flight images. The set-up fix is simple. Just be sure to use one of my affiliate links.

Typos

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