Your Calls?
Which two of today’s featured images are your favorites and which two do you feel are rather ordinary? Why for each if you would.
Enjoying the Sony 400-800 on the Beach at Fort DeSoto
I cannot fully explain how much I love walking the beach on sunny or cloudy bright days with a single lens that I can use without a tripod and still enjoy 800mm of reach without a TC. It is total freedom. And easy. And fun. Check out the great versatility of the Sony 400-800 by scrolling down and learning a few things about bird photography as well.
I fly to Long Island early on Monday morning for a week of early season bird photography at Nickerson Beach before attending BILD courtesy of my friends at B&H. If you are interested in a fun morning, afternoon, or day (or two) of In-the-Field Instruction there, please get in touch via e-mail or try me on my cell at 863-221-2372. Please leave a message and shoot me a text if I do not pick up.
Speaking of my Nickerson Beach trip, I was considering leaving the 600mm f/4 and the tripod at home and traveling only with the 400-800 and the 300mm f/2.8 gm lens, three TCs, and two a-1 ii bodies. But I will likely bring the 600 and a tripod to use when it is cloudy and overcast.
The pipelines for the 400-800 lenses and the a-1 ii bodies are loosening up somewhat. Whatever you do, be sure to use my affiliate links to earn your free guides. e-mail for additional info.
The BIRDS AS ART SONY 400-800mm f/6.3-9 G Super-telephoto Zoom Lens Guide
When I borrowed this lens from Sony, I assumed that at 5.45 pounds it was too heavy to handhold for long and that at f/8 at the long end (800mm,) it was too slow for most bird photography applications. In short, I did not want to like the lens. After a month of using it, I cannot live without it. After returning the loaner, I was miraculously able to get my own from Bedfords on 16 April 2025. In this guide I share everything that I have learned about using the 400-800. For best results, you need to know exactly what you are doing to get the most out of this zoom lens. It would be best, therefore, to consider and study the material in the guide so that you can begin making great images with your new lens.
You will learn how to deal with the relatively show apertures: f/6.3, f/7.1, and f/8 when working in Manual mode.
You will learn how to ensure that you are working at the widest aperture by working in Shutter Priority mode with AUTO ISO.
If you are able to hand hold the lens, you will learn proper hand holding techniques.
If you can’t, you will learn when, why, and how to employ other options. Those include:
1- The knee-pod, heel-pod, and toe-pod techniques
2- Using the lens on a monopod.
3- The best lens plate and low foot for your 4-8.
4- The best tripod and head for the 4-8 and how best to utilize them.
5- How to use the lens from your vehicle while supporting it on a BLUBB (or not and why not).
6- Detailed instructions on how to set and use the lens controls and buttons:
a- AF/MF
b- DMF Switch
c- Limit Range Switch
d- OSS (Optical Steady Shot) Switch
e- OSS Mode Switch
f- Focus Hold Buttons
The guide also includes a Hand Holding Shutter Speed Primer and an illustrative, educational, and inspiring (67) image gallery.
Free to folks who use one of my two affiliate links to purchase their Sony 400-800 G lens. Otherwise, please send a PayPal for $115.43 to birdsasart@verizon.net and include the words “400-800 Lens Guide” in your e-mail.
Don’t Just Shoot: Learn
To learn of the late-registration discounts and AirBnB availability for the Jacksonville Royal Terns with chicks and more extended IPT late June/early July, or If you are interested in changing your life and becoming a better photographer by joining me on an Extended IPT at Sebastian Inlet for Ospreys and more (SEPT 25 to NOV 24, 2025) or in San Diego for Pacific-race Brown Pelicans and more (JAN 6 to FEB 2, 2026), please e-mail for dates, rates, terms, and additional information. Or shoot me a text to 863-221-2372. Both offerings include options for shared AirBnB lodging and ground transportation during your stay.
BILD EXPO Presented by B&H
Why Attend? BIRDS AS ART Appearances, Speakers, Gear, Deals, and More!
I am pleased to announce that I will be doing portfolio reviews and four round table sessions at BILD this June. Here are the round table topics:
1- Systems, Lenses, and Camera Bodies for Bird Photography
2- Creating Sharp Bird Photographs
3- Bird Photography Hotspots
4- Creating Bird Photographs that depict Flight, Action, and Behavior
Stay tuned for a definitive schedule. I hope to see you there.
Bild Expo is back! Join us at The Javits Center in New York City for an unforgettable event featuring 100+ expert speakers, 250+ exhibitors, hands-on experiences, and the world’s greatest creative community. B&H’s incredible show specials will be the icing on the cake! Whether you’re a seasoned pro, an enthusiast, or a beginner, at Bild you will get inspired, learn, meet like-minded people, and celebrate being part of this amazing world of creativity.
Click here or on the logo link above for more information.
Click here to register.
What’s Up?
After a sunny-every-day two month long drought, it continues to rain here most every day. Both the North and South Fields are so flooded that I will not drive on them to avoid getting stuck and the South Peninsula is not far behind. Most of the crane colts have either dispersed or perished and there are very few if any Black-bellied Whistling Ducks around. As far as bird photography is concerned, the summer doldrums are here. That said, I will of course be heading down to the lake as soon as I hit publish.
Today is Friday 6 June 2025. Whatever you opt to do, I hope that you too choose to have a wonderful and productive day. Do remember that happiness is a choice — Byron Katie, The Work.Com.
If an item — a Delkin flash card or a Levered-clamp FlexShooter Pro — 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.
Sony Alpha 1 (a-1) Mirrorless Camera Body
Price reduced $200.00 (total) on 5 June 2025
Multiple IPT veteran and longtime BAA friend Pat Fishburne is offering a rarely used Sony a-1 (ILCE-1) mirrorless camera body in excellent plus condition for a BIRDS AS ART record low $3,098.00 (was $3298.00). This body has been updated to Firmware 3.00 that reportedly improves Bird Face-Eye tracking to levels attained by the a1-ii. The camera has my latest a-1 set-up on it. The sale includes the current Buttons and Dials Guide and the Info Sheet, the original product box, one battery, the charger, the camera 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.
Please contact Pat via e-mail.
I used Sony a-1 bodies as my workhorse cameras for more than three years. They produce stunning 51MP files with vivid natural colors. The AF system is superb. They are rugged and dependable and 30 frames per second is nothing to sneeze at. With a brand new a-1 ii going for $6498.00, you can save an even $3200.00 by grabbing Pat’s nearly as good as new a- copy ASAP. Right now, B&H is offering a used Sony a-1 in the same condition, 9+, for $4,674.95 here. Don’t believe me? Click the link.
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This image was created on 27 May 2025 at Fort DeSoto Park, Tierra Verde, FL. Standing at full height, I used the hand held Sony FE 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS lens (Sony E) (at 800mm) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel — ISO 1600: 1/4000 second at f/8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was perfect. AWB at 6:57:11pm on sunny afternoon. Wide/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #1: Least Tern with baitfish |
Persistence Pays Off
On my first afternoon at DeSoto in late May I walked North Beach all the way to the inlet and saw a whole lot of nothing. I had almost made by way back to the parking lot for an early exit when I came across a Least Tern fishing the shallows. I stayed with it for more than five minutes and made a zillion images of the bird kiting while looking down for a fish. I missed the dive several times when I decided to pre-focus on the previous splash so that the AF system would be in the right neighborhood for the next dive when the bird emerged, hopefully with a baitfish.
Hope for the best, plan for the worst. In this case, bingo showed up in the form of a spearing.
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This image was created on 28 May 2025 at Fort DeSoto Park, Tierra Verde, FL on the day I ran into Matt Milnes. Seated on damp sand, I used the knee-pod technique with the hand held Sony FE 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS lens (Sony E) (at 452mm) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel — ISO 1250: 1/4000 second at f/8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect. AWB at 8:09:57am on a sunny morning with a bit of hazy fog in the air. Wide/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #2: White Ibis in small breaking wave |
400-800 Versatility
When we first sat down on this bird, Matt wound up sitting too close with his fixed focal length 800mm lens. My plan was to try for face and bill shots so I sat much closer to the edge of the surf, probably about 15 feet from the bird. Every minute or so, we needed to get up and back down again to stay roughly on sun angle. To create Image #2, I simply zoomed out to 452mm so as to include the whole bird. Compare this image with Image #3 made at a similar distance to the subject. As noted previously, the 400-800 gets you from the short end to the long end with a less than 1/4-turn twist of the wrist, less than 80° as the compass flies. As the lens features an internal zoom mechanism, the length of the lens does not change as you zoom; that makes lens handling a pleasure.
How many shell fragments do you think are in the breaking wave???
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This image was also created on 28 May 2025 at Fort DeSoto Park, Tierra Verde, FL, the day I ran into Matt Milnes. Seated on damp sand, I used the knee-pod technique with the hand held Sony FE 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS lens (Sony E) (at 710mm) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel — ISO 1250: 1/4000 second at f/8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect. AWB at 8:12:16am on sunny morning with a bit of hazy fog in the air. . Wide/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #3: White Ibis feeling for mole crab |
Sensitive Bill Tips
Most shorebird and some wading bird species (especially those with long curved or decurved bills) have very sensitive bill tips, quite similar to our fingertips. As they probe the substrate for invertebrate prey items, they are actually feeling for their quarry. When they feel something that they identify as a meal, they grab it with their bill.
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Image #3A: 100% crop of the White Ibis feeling for mole crab image: water abstract pattern |
Patterns are Where You See Them
I saw this unintentional water pattern abstract in Photoshop when working large while removing some nasty specular highlights. Note that the bird does not have a prey item in its bill, at least as far as we can see, the base of its bill.
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This image was also created on 28 May 2025 at Fort DeSoto Park, Tierra Verde, FL, the day I ran into Matt Milnes. Seated on damp sand, I used the knee-pod technique with the hand held Sony FE 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS lens (Sony E) (at 400mm) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel — ISO 1250: 1/3200 second at f/8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect. AWB at 8:18:08am on sunny morning with a bit of hazy fog in the air. . Wide/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #4: White Ibis incoming flight |
One Out of Two Ain’t Bad
Universal advice for better flight photography with a zoom lens: zoom out!
Universal advice for better flight photography: pan faster.
I saw this bird out of the corner of my eye flying in from my right to land in front of us. I zoomed out to the max but failed to pan fast enough to keep the bird in the back of the frame. Therefore, I needed to either add canvas in front of the bird or crop to a square. I went for the former but it took me several tries to create something decent without any obvious seams or depth-of-field mismatches.
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This image was also created on 28 May 2025 at Fort DeSoto Park, Tierra Verde, FL on the day I ran into Matt Milnes. Standing at full height, I used the hand held Sony FE 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS lens (Sony E) (at 800mm) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel — ISO 1250: 1/4000 second at f/8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was perfect. AWB at 8:50:53am on sunny morning. Wide/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #5: Semipalmated Sandpiper in flight |
Huge Crop/Flyby Miracle
Peeps are small fast birds. When I saw this bird zoom past me on the beach, I raised the 4-8, acquired focus, and fired off a few frames. I did not expect to get anything worthwhile. I could not, however, resist this bird’s perfect downstroke wing position along with a decent head angle. How large was the crop? The optimized .TIF file comprised of slightly less than 13% of the original pixels. So, more than 97% of the image was cropped away and discarded. A testament to the quality (and crop-ability) of sharp a-1 and a-1 ii raw files.
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This image was also created on 28 May 2025 at Fort DeSoto Park, Tierra Verde, FL. Standing at full height, I used the hand held Sony FE 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS lens (Sony E) (at 725mm) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel — ISO 2000: 1/3200 second at f/8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was perfect. AWB at 6:14:22pm on mostly sunny afternoon. Wide/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #6: Nanday Parakeet stretching wings |
An Introduced, Now Established Species
Nanday Parakeets, also known as Black-hooded Parakeets, are a non-native species in Florida, originating from South America. They have established populations in central and south Florida, particularly around the Tampa Bay area and southeastern coast — AI Overview. They are seen frequently at Fort DeSoto. They are fast fliers and with their dark faces, a challenge to photograph well.
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This image was also created on 28 May 2025 at Fort DeSoto Park, Tierra Verde, FL. Seated on damp mud I used the foot-pod technique with the hand held Sony FE 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS lens (Sony E) (at 800mm) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel — ISO 2000: 1/3200 second at f/8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was perfect. AWB at 6:14:22pm on mostly sunny afternoon. Wide/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #7: Dunlin foraging among worm hole burrows |
Worm Hole Burrows
The small mounds of sand in this image are lugworm burrows. Lugworms are fairly large, black seaworms. They are a favorite food of Marbled Godwit but the godwits rarely get to swallow them as the instant they drag one out of the burrow, they are assaulted either by a piratical Black-bellied Plover or Willet. As the tide recedes at DeSoto, it is common to come across wet mudflats of an acre or two covered with lugworm burrows. I have never seen a Dunlin or any other small shorebird grab a lugworm; they prefect much smaller prey items.
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This image was also created on 28 May 2025 at Fort DeSoto Park, Tierra Verde, FL. Seated on damp mud I used the foot-pod technique with the hand held Sony FE 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS lens (Sony E) (at 689mm) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel — ISO 1600: 1/2500 second at f/8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was perfect. AWB at 6:55:45pm on mostly sunny afternoon. Wide/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #8: Semipalmated Plover pulling small worm |
Oops!
On that Wednesday afternoon, I had not expected much action as the afternoon before had been a dud. So, of course, I filled a card and did not have a second card with me. This was one of the last images that I made as several shorebirds foraged at close range right down sun angle. Understand that this was not the first time I have made this rookie mistake; I just do not learn my lesson.
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This image was created on 29 May 2025 at Fort DeSoto Park, Tierra Verde, FL on an In-the-Field morning with Matt Milnes. Seated in ten inches of saltwater, I used the hand held Sony FE 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS lens (Sony E) (at 619mm) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel — ISO 1250: 1/4000 second at f/8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead-solid perfect. AWB at 8:33:17am on a sunny, slightly hazy morning. Wide/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #9: Sandwich Tern scratching in flight |
Why Sit in the Water for Flight?
When the wind and light are behind you, and some terns and gulls are landing on the beach or on a spit in front of you, what is the advantage of sitting down in the water? Thanks to Matt for helping me up without my dunking my lens.
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This image was created on 29 May 2025 at Fort DeSoto Park, Tierra Verde, FL on an In-the-Field morning with Matt Milnes. Seated in ten inches of saltwater, I used the hand held Sony FE 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS lens (Sony E) (at 600mm) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel — ISO 1250: 1/3200 second at f/8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead-solid perfect. AWB at 8:34:27am on a sunny, slightly hazy morning. Wide/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #10: Incoming Royal Tern |
Full Frame Perfection
It is rare that everything goes right with a flight image. This one features a super-sharp bird, sweet light, a lovely background, and, at 600mm, lot of pixels on the subject without having clipped anything. In short, a usually unrealized goal, at least for me. The tendency with a super-telephoto zoom lens is to be safe by zooming out a bit too much. Images #1 and #8 are both good examples of this as both were cropped substantially.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
I’m new to the blog so forgive the newby questions, please. Do you have affiliate link for Amazon or just B&H and Bedfords? Hope its not an inappropriate question. My other question again forgive newbieness, where can I find explanation for the knee-pod, heel-pod, and toe-pod techniques? I purchased the Sony 400-800 guide but didn’t see the technique explanations in there. Regards
Sweet shots one and all. Ok, maybe the scratching tern misses for me but still always amazed at your flight images sharpness of shots. Thank you for sharing.
Wonderful images, Artie. Couple of things that stand out to me are the interesting patterns created by the lugworm burrow mounds, the framing of the out of focus sand below the Royal Tern, and the originality of the abstract closeup of the feeding ibis. Thank you again for all the valuable lessons in the field and on the blog.
You are most welcome. I had a blast too and ) all learned (and figured out) some new stuff.
with love, artie
My favorites: #1, hard-to-get sandpiper in flight and #3, very sharp close-up of ibis intent on prey. What I consider ordinary: #1, not very sharp least tern in flight and #6, parakeet. By the way, there are two number sevens.
Thanks on all counts Pat. You are right about the Least Tern image it is not very sharp. The original is sharp so I must have screwed something up :-(. When I re-do the image, I will send you a new JPEG via e-mail. And the parakeets do not thrill me either 🙂
with love, artie
Great set of images sir!
I absolutely love my M. Zuiko 100-400mm (200-800 full frame equivalent) on my OM1 for the same reasons you mention. It’s an incredible focal range to have and to handholding with ease. It also focuses down to about 4 feet so it makes a great quasi macro lens too.
Thanks, Andrew. Good to hear from you. Convenience and versatility become more important as we age.
much love, a