Your Call?
Which is the stronger image, the student’s or the teacher’s? Why?
DeSoto and the Sony FE 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS Lens (Sony E)
On a perfectly clear and sunny morning, the 400-800 was superb at Fort DeSoto on Thursday. I continue to be astounded by the sharpness of this G lens, the accuracy of the AF system with Bird Face-Eye enabled, and its incredible versatility — especially with a dancing Reddish Egret that we photographed for nearly an hour; every single image was sharp on the eye despite the birds unpredictable gyrations. Mishael was using his Canon RF 400mm f/2.8 and had to change or remove teleconverter seemingly every few minutes as the bird cavorted near and far. That while I simply zoomed in and out quickly. At the long end, the 4-8 was deadly on foraging shorebirds. I am more convinced than ever that this lens can be a life-changer for folks who cannot afford $11 to $13K or do not want to lug around a tripod and a fast super-telephoto lens like a 400mm f/2.8 or a 600mm f/4.
Price Increase/Tariff News
A reliable source told me that on Monday, Sony will be raising the prices of their G lenses 13% because they are made in China. It is believed that the prices of the super-telephoto GM lenses and the a1- ii mirrorless bodies will not be increased. I spoke to B&H by pone late on Thursday afternoon. They stated unequivocally that they for folks who (back-) order the lens this weekend for $2898.00 that they honor that price and deliver it for $2898.00 regardless of any price increases.
Save $376.74 By Acting Right Now
If you have been on the fence about ordering this amazing lens, stop what you are doing and order your copy right now. Be sure to use this link:
Sony FE 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS Lens (Sony E)
You must order online; no phone orders please. Shoot me your B&H receipt and receive a free copy of the BIRDS AS ART Sony 400-800 G Lens Guide when you get your lens. DeSoto 440-800 images in the next blog post.
What’s Up?
On Wednesday morning past Mishael and I fed the big catfish that had been dropped out of a tree by one of the local young Bald Eagles to the local vultures. They made short work of it. The fish had been residing in my freezer for the past ten days. We did some crane colts and some Black-bellied Whistling Ducks as well. That evening, we worked the 3-day old killdeer chicks from my SUV at 1200mm. On a very sad note, we were checking out crane resting on the grass colt just before sunset on Wednesday. When the bird, about eight weeks old, stood up, we were aghast; it’s right wing was hanging down and dragging on the ground, it had been almost completely ripped off. As the colt was too young to fly, the injury could not have come from flying into an overhead wire. Bald Eagle? Bobcat? Coyote? Florida Panther? Dog? Did I miss a possibly? We will never know.
On a whim, we woke early and headed over to Fort DeSoto Park early on Thursday morning. It’s a good thing that there were very few birds there as we made more than 11,000 photos between us (3782 for me). (See the lead item above for more on our DeSoto visit).
On the way home we stopped at Jack’s Skyway Restaurant in St. Pete for some yummy, down-home omelettes. Huge thanks to Mishael for getting us there and back safely while I worked on my laptop; he drove all the way, both ways! I finished editing the flight guide and added several dozen images. It now tips the scales at 243 pages with 166 inspirational images each with an educational caption. I’ll be sending the Word file to co-author Arash Hazeghi soon; he will surely be adding some additional photos of his. It will be available here for purchase fairly soon.
We had fresh flounder for dinner and Mishael prepared a scrumptious broccoli salad for us. I thought that it was from some secret Trinidadian family recipe but it turns out the he found a recipe on line and added a few twists of his own. He made a huge salad bowl full and we just about polished it off.
Today, Friday 16 May 2025, is Mashael’s last morning. We are both excited as we are putting out a 3 foot long young American Alligator for the vultures. I found it — freshly dead, in the shallow water just south of the pier on Wednesday morning. I put a slit in the belly, hopefully to help the vultures get started on the carcass. I hope that you too opt to enjoy life and have a wondrous day.
There is still AirBnB room at Jacksonville from Thursday 26 June until 1 July. If you would like to change your life, please get in touch via e-mail. You can see the complete trip info here.
If an item — a Delkin flash card, or especially, a Levered-clamp FlexShooter Pro 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. If you are making a major purchase from B&H be sure to get in touch with me via e-mail if you would like to learn how to save some serious dollars on a B&H transaction. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And always earns my great appreciation.
B&H Simplified
To ensure that I get credit for your B&H purchases, you can always click here. The tracking is invisible but greatly appreciated. And, you can use your PayBoo card. You must use the website to order. You cannot get your free guides if you make a phone order. Once you have an item in your cart, you must complete the order within two hours. Huge thanks!
Bedfords Simplified
Click here to start your search. Choose standard shipping, and when you get to the payment page, enter BIRDSASART in the discount code box and hit apply. You will be upgraded to free second day air Fed-Ex and receive 3% cash back on your credit card once your stuff ships. Either is greatly appreciated by yours truly.
B&H
Many folks have written recently stating that they purchased a Sony a1 from B&H and would like their free membership in the Sony 1 Info and Updates Group, a $150.00 value. But when I check my affiliate account, their orders have not been there. When I let them know that they get credit for B&H purchases only if they use one of the many B&H affiliate links on the blog or begin their searches with this link, they are always disappointed. If in doubt, please contact me via e-mail and request a BH link. I am always glad to help and to guide you to the right gear.
Bedfords Amazing 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, prior purchases.
Visit the Bedfords website here, shoot Steve Elkins an e-mail, or text him on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592.
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.
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This image was created on 13 May 2025 at Indian Lake Estates, FL by Mishael Voison. Seated on the sand south of the pier, he used the hand held Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Z Lens (White) with the Canon Extender RF 1.4x n=(at 151mm) and the Canon EOS R5 Mark II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 1600; 1/2000 second at f/4 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger< Whole Area AF with Animal Detection. Image #1: Sandhill Crane colt about 8 weeks old running |
Score one for the Canon Student
It goes without saying the Mishael has been learning a ton. About sun angle, about head angle, about choosing the best perspective, and about exposure to mention only a few. On Wednesday, I discovered that he did not have Highlight Alert enabled on his R5 ii; that is a cardinal sin for Canon folks. Anyhoo, we got it straightened out. When one of the parent birds grabbed a morsel and offered it to the colts, this one ran right to it. For some unknown reason, I zoomed in instead of out, clipped everything in sight, and did not wind up with a single useable frame. Misheal had several really good ones with Image #1 being the best of the lot.
Every afternoon we do a lengthy image review and Photoshop session. I am very proud of Mishael for improving his exposure skills so quickly; he nailed this one every which way but loose. So far, we have optimized seven of his best images; he will be leaving with a detailed screen recording of each of those. We still have two more sessions in store.
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This image was created on 14 May 2025 at Indian Lake Estates, FL. Working from the front seat of his SUV, artie used the BLUBB--supported Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 2x Teleconverter, and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a-1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel. ISO 1250: 1/1600 second at f/8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was perfect. AWB at 7:28:30am on sunny afternoon. Wide/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #2: Sandhill Crane colt about 11 weeks old strengthening its wings while running |
1200mm Action
With Mishael in the back seat and the North Field too flooded to drive on, I explained to him that we could make some nice photos from the road at 1200mm while working with a shallow angle of declination. With such a long focal length, the images will not look as if you were shooting steeply down at the subject.
Misheal was shooting horizontals and I was shooting verticals. When the bird ran forward to exercise its wings, we were both so tight that we clipped the wings badly in all but one of our images. That being Image #2 created by yours truly. Working horizontally, Mishael pretty much had zero chance. Score one for the instructor. Following action while using a BLUBB- is somewhat of a challenge. Remember that you need to have DMF turned off or risk inadvertently throwing off the focus.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
Art: I liked both images but preferred #2 because of the beautiful background colors — the blue sky and green grasses.
Slightly prefer Mishael’s image for its shadowless light and open background, but if it were mine, I’d boost the saturation a bit (understood that colors may be different on different computers). I’ve been enjoying the Select Subject tool in Lightroom and Photoshop to accentuate light or color.
I’d add gator to the possible list of colt predators, as they can hide in shallow water or grass and instinctually roll to tear off limbs. Note how the handler (in Utah, of all places) avoids losing her arm by going with the gator, though she might have drowned in deeper water:
https://www.kktv.com/2021/08/17/alligator-handler-recovering-after-attack-daring-rescue-utah/)
Thanks. And very good point. My only question would be “how did the colt escape?”
I had to quit watching the video after a minute or so …
with love, artie
My late uncle founded what is now, one of the largest bird and wildlife hospital charities in the UK, he received an MBE from the Queen for his work. That badly injured colt would have been taken right there or to a similar organisation, to be fixed or put out of its misery. Does this not happen in the US?
Good question. Yes, There are many bird rescue places on this side of the pond and in Florida as well. There main interests are in raptors and seabirds, the latter especially pelicans here in my adopted state. I have contact one or two before about injured cranes and they were not interested — too far, too hard to catch.
When we to out of my vehicle, the injured young bird stood up and began running away at high speed. I doubted that we could even have caught him. Neither the bird, its carcass, or the parent birds were seen this morning.
artie