Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM Lens Thanks
Thanks to Sonia Durrance and Bill Ryan for using a BAA affiliate link to purchase their Sony 300mm f/2.8 this week. They will each be receiving the BAA Sony 300mm f/2.8 Lens Guide as a thank you.
An e-Mail Conversation with Bill
BR: What is the advantage of buying a 300 mm f/2.8 off your website. I can’t see the advantage although I am sure there is one.
AM: There are actually several :-).
BR: Please advise as I will purchase one when they reopen.
AM: Smart.
1- You earn a free copy of my 300mm f/2.8 GM lens guide.
2- Using one of my two links is a great way to thank me for the 20+ hours per week I put into the blog for the sole purpose of educating bird photographers. And doing so never costs you one penny.
3- Even better, I can often save you some money.
With love, artie
What’s Up?
After many weeks of sunny skies with predominantly east winds on no rain, it has been dark and rainy here at ILE for the past few days. The sun is supposed to return on Friday. Today is Thursday 9 April 2026. The forecast is calling for more rain, clouds, and a pretty stiff NE wind. I will spend many hours from now till Sunday late afternoon watching the Masters Golf tournament. Whatever you opt to do I hope that you too choose to have fun and enjoy life. Please remember that happiness is a choice — Byron Katie, The Work.Com
If an item — a Delkin flash card or reader, a Levered-clamp FlexShooter Pro, or a Wimberley lens plate or low foot — 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 or beat any price. Please remember also to use my B&H affiliate links or to earn 3% cash back at Bedford 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.
Gear Questions and Advice
Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BirdPhotographer’s.Net, 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.
B&H Simplified
To ensure that I get credit for your B&H purchases, you can always click here. The tracking is invisible. Using my affiliate links is greatly appreciated. And, with B&H, 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!
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 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. Using either my affiliate links is greatly appreciated and will often earn you free guides or discounts. To receive a free guide or free entry into a Sony Set-up and Info Notes e-Mail group, you need to shoot me your receipt via e-mail. The B&H receipts need to include the order number.
Bedfords Amazing BAA Discount Policy
Folks who have fallen in love with Bedfords can always 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 when your product ships. 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 prior purchases.
You can visit the Bedfords website here, shoot Steve Elkins an e-mail, or text him on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592.
|
|
This image was created by yours truly on 5 April 2026 at Indian Lake Estates, FL. Standing halfway down the slope to the South Canal I used the Robus RC-5570 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter, and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial. ISO 1600: 1/2000 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open). AWB at 7:59:10am on a partly sunny morning. Wide AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger, inexplicably sharper and warmer high-res version. Image #1: Sandhill Crane chick waiting to grab Mole Cricket |
Hard Work & Effort Rewarded
Getting down on the slope that leads to the South Canal is challenging for me. The footing is slippery and wet and you must make your way through tangles and high reeds along with some thorn bushes. Then you need to pull out the front leg of your tripod and position the tripod so that the tripod platform is relatively level. All that while trying to get on sun angle. I was well rewarded by the intimate, eye level look at the chick in Image #1, by the resulting soft background, and by having the heads of both birds on the exact same plane. Not to mention right on sun angle.
|
|
This image was created by yours truly on 5 April 2026 at Indian Lake Estates, FL. Seated in the front seat of my SUV I used the BLUBB-supported Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter, and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial. ISO 1000: 1/4000 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open). AWB at 8:00:50am on a sunny morning. Wide AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger, inexplicably sharper and warmer high-res version. Image #2 Osprey flapping after bath with tail raised |
Persistence Rewarded
As I mentioned here recently, I make my rounds down by the lake each morning. If there is nothing to be found, I retrace my steps at least twice. While I know all the reliable spots, at times I am rewarded by finding something different in a new place. On Sunday morning, there was nothing to shoot in the bay next to the pier until my third visit when I came across a bathing Osprey. I created several hundred images and had many that I liked a lot; one was featured in the last blog post. In Image #2, the bird had just about finished bathing and was about to take flight. I love the raised tail.
|
|
This image was created by yours truly on 6 April 2026 at Indian Lake Estates, FL. Seated in the front seat of my SUV I used the BLUBB-supported Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter, and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial. ISO 1600: 1/1600 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open). AWB at 7:52:28am on a partly sunny morning. Wide AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger, inexplicably sharper and warmer high-res version. Image #3 Pileated Woodpecker — female on Bob Eastman’s v-perch |
An Unspoken Wish Granted
On three previous mornings I had been puzzled by the appearance of a Pileated Woodpecker in the South Marsh — it flew right by my open vehicle window on several occasions. I never saw it coming. This species is seen fairly often at ILE but I had never seen one in the marsh before this week. They live and nest in the woods. I had a fleeting thought that it would be nice if it landed on one of the perches that Bob Eastman had erected along the southern lakeshore but figured that that would never happen.
As I was checking Bob’s v-perch for perhaps the fourth time that morning when I saw something land. When I realized that it was a pileated, my heart raced. What luck. I prayed that the bird would not fly before I had a chance to make a few images.
Quick Thinking and Acting Rewarded
Once I got the bird in the frame, I saw too many Zebras so I raised the shutter speed to get to a useable exposure and fired off about 15 frames before the bird took flight and headed away to the northwest. It often pays to be lucky, but my quick thinking saved the day as the bird was on the perch for only a very few seconds. As noted here often, however, you cannot make any good images when you are sitting on your couch watching TV. even the Masters.
|
|
This image was created by yours truly on 6 April 2026 at Indian Lake Estates, FL. Seated in the front seat of my SUV I used the BLUBB-supported Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter, and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial. ISO 1000: 1/1600 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open). AWB at 8:19:12am on a mostly sunny morning. Wide AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger, inexplicably sharper and warmer high-res version. Image #4: Turkey Vulture adult with wings raised |
Patience Rewarded
After getting lucky with the pileated, I checked the bay south of the pier. Nothing. I headed for the North Field and checked The Perch II but it was empty. I headed north and checked Bob’s North Perch. Nothing there either. Then I scoped out the natural Osprey nest by the North Canal. Nada. I made a u-turn and headed back south. This time there was a handsome vulture on The Perch II so I positioned the car and went to work. The bird was facing the sun and had its wings raised just a bit. It was a somewhat interesting pose but nothing to get excited about. As it was getting warmer by the minute, I was hoping for a full facing wingspread. I sat there for perhaps twenty minutes as the bird either preened or did nothing.
At one point, I added the Vello RS-S2II Wired Remote Switch for Select Cameras with Sony Multi-Terminal Connector to ease the strain on my right shoulder. When the bird began to shift its position, I got my finger back on the shutter button and placed my left hand below the lens barrel so that I could reframe the image if needed. The TV raised its wings, turned around to face away from the sun, and spread its wings fully. I keep two of the full wingspread photos but Image #4, made just as the bird raised its wings, was my very favorite.
Note: Patience is generally not my strong suit.
|
|
This image was created by yours truly on 7 April 2026 at Indian Lake Estates, FL. Seated in the front seat of my SUV I used the BLUBB-supported Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter, and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial. ISO 800: 1/60 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open). AWB at 8:50:18 am on a dark, drizzly morning. Wide AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger, inexplicably sharper and warmer high-res version. Image #5: Osprey bathing |
Determination (Stupidity?) and Creativity Rewarded
It was raining pretty good when I left the house at 8am on Tuesday morning. The forecast was for heavy thunderstorms. Most folks would have stayed in bed or at least stayed home. My first bird of the morning was an ugly spoonbill feeding south of the pier along with a Great Egret, a Snowy Egret, and an adult Little Blue Heron. Nearby was a pair of Common Moorhens, several Limpkins, and the ever-present Boat-tailed Grackles. On my third visit I spotted another bathing Osprey. It was in the exact same spot as the bird in Image #2 had been on Sunday; I suspect that it was the same individual. Despite the low light, I added the 1.4X teleconverter before positioning the vehicle as bathing raptors are generally quite wary. I made a few sharp images as the bird decided whether or not it would bathe.
In the extreme low light, deciding to work on pleasing blurs was a fairly obvious choice. Once I was convinced that the bird would indeed begin splashing up a storm, I lowered the shutter speed — first to 1/30 second and then to 1/15th. I made many dozen images as the bird bathed. Note that every time that I changed the shutter speed I needed to change to ISO until I saw lots of Zebras in the low light. All of the exposures were perfect.
The Osprey took flight, flew a few circles, landed again in the same spot, and soon began to bathe again. This time I tried 1/60 second. That turned out to be the winning choice as it produced a sharp eye with lots of nicely blurred water droplets. All in all, I kept 21 images of the same bird bathing. Image #5 was my favorite.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
Leave a Reply