A Good Bird Photograph Must Show the Subject’s Eyes
Is the above true? Check out today’s six featured San Diego images and let us know what you think. Consider changing your life by joining me in San Diego this coming January. Details below.
If …
If you had previously receiving blog post notifications via e-mail on a regular basis but they quit coming in the last month or so, please let me know via e-mail and cut and paste this into the subject line: Please Add to the Personalized Blog Notification List. It seems that some e-mail providers (likely including Gmail) recently began blocking the blog post notification e-mails being sent by the Word Press Newsletter plugin. The new, authenticated sending address was supposed to fix that problem, but it has not 🙂 Life goes on.
Don’t Just Shoot: Learn
If you are interested in changing your life and becoming a better photographer by joining me on the Extended IPT at Sebastian Inlet for Ospreys and more (OCT 25 to NOV 24, 2025), in San Diego for Pacific-race Brown Pelicans and more (JAN 6 to FEB 2, 2026) as below, or for Roseate Spoonbills at Stick Marsh (March 2026), please e-mail for dates, rates, terms, and additional information. Or shoot me a text to 863-221-2372. Some offerings include options for shared AirBnB lodging and meals. Ground transportation during your stay is a possibility at times.
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San Diego offers an incredible variety of attractive avian subjects, including and especially the Pacific race of Brown Pelican. Clockwise from top left back to center: juvenile and sub-adult Brown Pelicans; Heermann’s Gull; Western Gull; Allen’s Hummingbird; Brandt’s Cormorant; Gadwall hen; Wood Duck drake; Willet; Brown Pelican tight flight. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version. |
The 2026 San Diego Brown Pelicans (and more!) IPTs
San Diego IPT #1: 4 1/2 DAYS: THURS 8 JAN thru the morning session on MON 12 JAN 2026: $2599.00. Deposit: $699.00. Limit: 6 photographers.
San Diego IPT #2: 4 1/2 DAYS: FRI 16 JAN thru the morning session on TUES 20 JAN 2026: $2599.00. Limit: 6 photographers.
Morning BAA In-the-Field Instructional Sessions (ITFIS) followed by brunch and an Image Review & Photoshop session: $449.00/per session
Available dates: JAN 14 & 15, 2026. Please get in touch with questions or to register with an e-mail to samandmayasgrandpa@att.net and please shoot me a text to 863-221-2372.
AirBnB accommodations and ground transport with the leader are available for both IPTs and for In the Field Instructional Sessions on a first come, first served basis. Please e-mail for details and information on personalized pre- and post-IPT morning sessions.
Join me in San Diego to photograph the spectacular breeding plumage Brown Pelicans with their fire-engine red and olive green bill pouches; Brandt’s (nesting) and Double-crested Cormorants; breeding plumage Wood and Ring-necked Ducks; other duck species possible including Lesser Scaup, Redhead, Northern Shoveler and Surf Scoter; a variety of gulls including Western, California, and the gorgeous Heermann’s, all in full breeding plumage; shorebirds including Marbled Godwit, Willet, Sanderling and Black-bellied Plover; many others are possible including Least, Western, and Spotted Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Black and Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Plover, and Surfbird; Harbor Seals and California Sea Lions (both depending on the current regulations and restrictions). And as you can see by studying the IPT cards, there are some nice bird-scape and landscape opportunities as well. Not to mention a ton of excellent flight photography opportunities and instruction.
Please note: where permitted and on occasion, ducks and gulls may be attracted (or re-located) with offerings of grains or healthy bread.
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San Diego offers a wealth of very attractive natural history subjects, including and especially the Pacific race of California Brown Pelican. With annual visits spanning more than four decades, I have lots of photographic experience there … Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version. |
Learning Exposure, Whether You Like It Or Not
Whether you like it or not, we will be beating the subject of exposure like a dead horse. In every new situation, you will hear my thoughts on exposure along with my thoughts on both Nikon and Canon histograms and SONY Zebras. Whether you like it or not, you will learn to work in manual mode so that you can get the right exposure every time (as long as a bird gives you ten seconds with the light constant). Or two seconds with SONY zebras … And you will learn what to do when the light is changing constantly. What you learn about exposure will be one of the great takeaways on every IPT.
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Though the pelicans will be the stars of the show on this IPT, there will be many other handsome and captivating subjects in wonderful settings. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version. |
It Ain’t Just Pelicans
With gorgeous subjects just sitting there waiting to have their pictures taken, photographing the pelicans on the cliffs is about as easy as nature photography gets. With the winds from the east almost every morning, there is usually some excellent flight photography, at times with 70-200mm lenses! And the pelicans are almost always doing something interesting: preening, scratching, bill pouch cleaning, or squabbling. And then there are those crazy head throws that are thought to be a form of intra-flock communication. You will be guided as to how to make the best of those opportunities. Depending on the weather, the local conditions, and the tides, there are a variety of other fabulous photo chances available in and around San Diego. Each IPT will include one or two duck sessions.
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Did I mention that there are lots of great birds and natural history subjects in San Diego in winter? Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version. |
The San Diego Details
These IPTs will include four or five 3-hour morning photo sessions, three or four 1 1/2-hour afternoon photo sessions, and three or four working brunches that will include image review and Photoshop sessions. On rare cloudy days, we may — at the leader’s discretion, stay out in the morning for a long session and skip that afternoon shoot. To ensure early starts, breakfasts will be your responsibility. And so that we can get some sleep, dinners will be on your own as well. In the extremely unlikely event that Goldfish Point is closed due to local ordinance (or whimsy) — that has never happened in the past fifty years, I will of course do my very best to maximize our photographic opportunities.
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San Diego offers a wealth of very attractive natural history subjects, including and especially the Pacific race of California Brown Pelican. With annual visits spanning more than four decades, I have lots of photographic experience there. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version. |
Deposit Info
A $699 deposit is required to hold your slot for one of the 2024 San Diego IPT. You can send a check (made out to “BIRDS AS ART”) to us here: BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855, or call Jim or Jennifer at the office with a credit card at 863-692-0906. Your balance, payable only by check, is due three months before the trip.
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Variety is surely the spice of life in San Diego. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version. |
Getting Up Early and Staying Out Late
On all BIRDS AS ART IPTS including and especially the San Diego IPT, we get into the field early to take advantage of unique and often spectacular lighting conditions and we stay out late to maximize the chances of killer light and glorious sunset silhouette situations. We often arrive at the cliffs a full hour before anyone else shows up to check out the landscape and seascape opportunities.
What’s Up
Conditions were perfect at Sebastian Inlet on Friday morning with a strong southeast wind and cloudy bright skies. The Ospreys did not start catching fish until after 9:30am. Eugen and I had several really good chances and we both made them pay off.
Today is Saturday 11 October 2025. We will be heading to the park early as usual. The forecast is calling for light winds from the NW (not great) and cloudy skies (might make the less than ideal wind direction manageable). Whatever you opt to do, I hope that you too choose to have a great day.
If you would like to join in the fun and learn an absolute ton, I have room at the AirBnB for you on a Sebastian Extended IPT any time from 25 October through and including 23 November. For complete details you can scroll down here, 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.
Volume II of the Digital Basics IV Video Series was distirbuted yesterday afternoon to the many wholesome ordered the entire series; it explains in detail how to handle images where some bright colors like reds, oranges, and yellows, show as over-exposed as soon as you hold down the Alt or Option key and move the Whites slider to the right in Adobe Camera Raw. We should be sending it out to the many who ordered the complete series this afternoon. Next up in Volume III will be the amazing Super Resolution feature in Photoshop 2025 v26.20.0.
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.
Don’t Just Shoot: Learn
If you are interested in changing your life and becoming a better photographer by joining me on the Extended IPT at Sebastian Inlet for Ospreys and more (OCT 25 to NOV 24, 2025), in San Diego for Pacific-race Brown Pelicans and more (JAN 6 to FEB 2, 2026), or for Roseate Spoonbills at Stick Marsh (March 2026), please e-mail for dates, rates, terms, and additional information. Or shoot me a text to 863-221-2372. Some offerings include options for shared AirBnB lodging and meals. Ground transportation during your stay is a possibility at times.
B&H Simplified
To ensure that I get credit for your B&H purchases, you can always click here. The tracking is invisible but 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.
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.
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This image was created on 30 December 2022 on a San Diego/Brown Pelicans and more IPT. While seated, I used the knee-pod technique with the handheld Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: ISO 800: 1/320 sec. at f/8 (stopped down one stop for additional depth of field at point blank range) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file exposure was determined to be about 1/6 stop short of perfect. AWB at 10:26:08am on a cloudy-bright morning. Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #1: Brown Pelican bill detail |
La Jolla Pelican Tameness
In the early morning hours, La Jolla’s pelicans are very skittish. If you walk down to quickly, or peek over the edge of the cliff at the lower shelf, most or all of the pelicans may fly away. By 9:30am or so, the bird’s that remain on the cliffs can be ridiculously tame. If you are willing get low and get the seat of your pants dirty, there are days, especially cloudy ones, when it seems that you can just about reach out and touch them.
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This image was created on 15 January 2022 on a San Diego/Brown Pelicans and more IPT. Standing at full height I used the Robus RC-5570 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted -mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the thumb dial. ISO 320. 1/8 sec. at f/25 (stopped down 2 1/3 stops for additional depth of filed) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file brightness was determined to be perfect. AWB at 8:45:55am on a cloudy morning. Five second self timer with the FlexShooteer Pro locked down. Tracking: Spot S/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #2: Brown Pelican Pacific race adult breast feather detail |
The Gold and White Diamond
At the height of breeding plumage, the lower breast and belly feathers of the handsomest Pacific race pelicans are jet black. The upper breast is a mix of black and gray feathers. In the center, there is a diamond-shaped patch made up of splayed gold and white feathers.
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This image was created on 15 January 2023 on a San Diego/Brown Pelicans and more IPT. Standing at full height on a sidewalk, I used the Robus RC-5570 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted -mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined by Zebras with Exposure Compensation (EC) on the thumb wheel. Multi Metering +0.3 stops. AUTO ISO set ISO 400: 1/30 second at f/11 (stopped down one stop) in Shutter Priority mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the exposure was determined to be perfect. AWB at 8:52:52am on a cloudy morning. Five second self timer with the FlexShooteer Pro locked down. Tracking: Spot S/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #3: Brown Pelican Pacific race juvenile covert feather detail |
Knowing Your Subjects and Understanding the Weather
On strong west winds accompanied by inclement weather, there is a readily accessible location in La Jolla where the birds rest and sleep just on the other side of a waist-high white fence. At times, the trick is to find a spot that offers a clear view of your desired through the vegetation.
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This image was created on 24 January 2024 on a San Diego/Brown Pelicans and more IPT. Standing at full height on the cliffs at La Jolla, I used the Robus RC-5570 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted -mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: ISO 800: 1/320 sec. at f/8 (stopped down one stop for additional depth of field at point blank range) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the exposure was determined to be perfect. AWB at 8:52:52am on a cloudy morning. Five second self timer with the FlexShooteer Pro locked down. Tracking: Spot S/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #4: Brown Pelican Pacific race adult in full breeding plumage — hind neck detail |
Realize That the Rules Were Meant to be Broken
It is generally accepted that photographs of the back of a bird’s head are pretty much worthless. If Image #4 does not change your thinking, you may miss lots of wonderful opportunities that pop up right in front of your proverbial nose.
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This image was created at Santee Lakes Park on 24 January 2024 on a San Diego IPT. Seated on a road, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) with the Sony FE 2x Teleconverter and the with the Sony a-1 (now replaced by the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera). ISO 2500. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel; 1/1000 sec. at f/8 (stopped down two stops for additional depth of field) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 10:19:09am on a cloudy bright morning. Tracking: Spot S/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Image #5: Wood Duck drake — back of head feather detail. |
More of the Same
Feeding the ducks at Santee is not only permitted by encouraged; the park sells small healthy bags of waterfowl food called scratch at the fee booth for $2.00 a crack. At times the paper bags split open and the ground around you is littered with bits of grains and seeds. The ducks will often gather around you at arm’s length. Good images are where you see them and they do not always follow the rules.
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This image was created on 26 January on the 2025 San Diego IPT. Leaning on the railing above the breeding shelf, I used the hand held Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens (Sony E) with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter and the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. ISO 1000. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel; 1/400 sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead solid perfect: AWB at 8:32:54am in total shade on a partly sunny morning. Tracking: Spot S/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Image #6: Brandt’s Cormorant on nest with eggs |
Eggs-Zactly
Making good images of the Brandt’s Cormorants on the nesting shelf scant yards below the sidewalk a La Jolla that show the eggs is a big challenge. Here, we do not see the bird’s eyes because it is tending the eggs. Bird’s often roll the eggs around in the nest and turn them over to prevent the embryo from sticking to the shell, distribute heat evenly, and keep the embryo centered. Turning the eggs ensures that all parts of the egg receive nutrients and remain at the proper temperature.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
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