In the Last Blog Post
Thanks for all the supportive comments.
Your Call
Which background do you like better, the dark green or the colorful kayak.
What’s Up?
Bob Eastman and I drove over to Sebastian Inlet State Park on Wednesday morning past. We met dear friend, multiple IPT veteran Jim Dolgin at 6:00am and enjoyed a great In-the-Field session with lots of action. We started with a lovely pre-dawn Great Blue Heron in breaking surf way followed by lots of flight action — mostly fishing Brown Pelicans along with a very few Osprey chances.
Steve Baglione flew down from his home in Maine that afternoon for two weeks of private In-the-Field Instructional sessions. We headed out very early on Thursday morning and did great again with the diving pelicans. Steve made a neat image of a diving Osprey just about to hit the water with its talons extended. As Bags was thinking about switching to Sony, I kindly loaned him an a- ii, the 100-400mm f/4.5 GM lens, and the 1.4X TC (that he did not use that first morning). I taught him to use the camera in five minutes and an hour later he said, “This is so much better than Canon I cannot believe it. The eye-tracking is amazing and with Zebras, making good to perfect exposures is easy.” After brunch he used my affiliate links to order the Sony kit above along with two extra batteries.
Despite the fact that photographic conditions at Sebastian have been — due to the ongoing bridge construction, have been abysmal at best, the three of us have been making some excellent photos. No worries, the project will only take six years and even worse, the entire North Jetty area will be closed in January for 1 1/2 years due to storm damage.
I worked hard on the comprehensive Sony A7R VI post that will be published next but did not quite have the time to have it ready for today. We will take a deep dive into theoretical shortcomings of the a7R VI for bird photography — along with the technical explanations that should back up those findings (or not). You will learn exactly why the a7R VI costs $2,500 less than the a-1 ii. Is the A7R VI is right for you? My conclusions just might shock you.
Today is Saturday 7 November 2026. It is 4:54am as I type. The three of us will be headed back to Sebastian Inlet to do our best despite the death on bird photography forecast: clear and sunny with a brisk wing from the NW 🙁 Whatever you opt to do today, we hope that you choose to have fun and enjoy life. Please remember that happiness is a choice — Byron Katie – The Work.Com
Note: Despite the shortcoming my plan is to use the A7R VI quite extensively at Sebastian to learn more about it.
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.
Sony Alpha-1 Mirrorless Camera Body/with Extras!
BAA Record-low Price
$200.00 Price Drop 11/7/2026
Jerry Barrack is offering a Sony Alpha-1 Mirrorless Camera Body in near-mint to like-new condition for a BAA record-low $2998.00 (was $3198.00). The sale includes the Sony VG-C4EM Vertical Grip (a $458.00 value), the original box, the front body cap, the camera strap, the charger, two Sony NP-FZ100 Batteries (one extra — an $88.00 value, 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. Photos are available upon request.
Please contact Jerry via e-mail or by phone at 1-201-638-3510.
I used two a-1 bodies nearly every day for four years until I replaced them both last year with Sony a-1 ii bodies. The latter sells new right now for $6998.00. The AF system of the a-1 was and is superb, and the color and quality of the sharp 51MP raw files took my breath away. I created countless family jewels with my a-1 bodies as they put me on the road to becoming a better flight photographer. The a-1 is still being manufactured and sells new at B&H for $6,198.00. Astoundingly, B&H is offering a used a-1 in 9+ condition, almost as good as Jerry’s, for $4,462.50. That’s with no vertical grip and no extra battery. Doubt me: click here. If you are looking for a great Sony body look no further — save a big bundle by grabbing Jerry’s pretty much like new a-1 right now. Your savings: $1464.50 plus a free extra battery and the vertical battery grip! artie
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This image was created by yours truly on 6 November 2026 at Sebastian Inlet State Park with Steve Baglione. Bags flew down from Maine for two weeks of private In-the-Field Instructional sessions. Standing at full hight, I used the handheld Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 560mm) and the alleged poor man’s a-1 ii, the Sony a7R VI Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined by Zebras with Exposure Compensation (EC) on the Thumb Dial. Multi Metering +0.3 stops. AUTO ISO set ISO 2000: 1/1000 second at f/6.3 (wide open) in Shutter Priority mode. AWB at 7:50.48am on a then cloudy 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 #1: Wood Stork adult — head and neck portrait with with dark green background |
Sharing Pays Off
I noticed a nice Wood Stork sitting on a fence rail before the sun came out. I created a series of images employing a nice dark green background. I walked over to Steve and Bob and shared an image with them as the bird just sat here. Bob said to me, “That’s nice — did you do any with a kayak background?” I replied, “Yikes — I saw the colorful kayaks but did not think about using them as a background. Had it been sunny, neither the dark green or the colorful kayak backgrounds would have been possible. See below and then thank Bob for me.
The bird was so copacetic that everyone got to make images with both backgrounds. Then the sun came out and ruined the party.
I learned something new yesterday about the happy, hapless life of Bob Eastman, my long lost brother from another mother: he was a champion archer, competing in the Hunter Class and won a gold medal at the Badger State (WI) Games in 2006! Live and learn.
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This image was created by yours truly on 6 November 2026 at Sebastian Inlet State Park with Steve Baglione. Bags flew down from Maine for two-weeks of private In-the-Field Instructional sessions. Standing at full hight, I used the handheld Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 560mm) and the alleged poor man’s a-1 ii, the Sony a7R VI Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined by Zebras with Exposure Compensation (EC) on the Thumb Dial. Multi Metering +0.7 stops. AUTO ISO set ISO 1600: 1/1000 second at f/6.3 (wide open) in Shutter Priority mode. AWB at 7:53.32am on a then cloudy 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 #2: Wood Stork adult — head and neck portrait with with kayak background |
That’s What Friends Are For
Seeing the shot is one of the key skills to be developed for those wishing to improve their bird photography. In this case, the 42-year veteran did not see what should have been an obvious juxtaposition. Huge thanks to Bob for sharing his thoughts and creative vision with us.
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Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
I prefer the dark green because for a lighter subject, a darker background results in more contrast. Good on Bob for seeing the opportunity and thinking outside the box with the kayaks.