Your Call?
Which of today’s four featured images is your favorite? Why?
What’s Up?
On Sunday morning, there were virtually no birds at Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Boynton Beach. So, I left very early to check out Loxahatchee NWR for the first time in about 35 years. There were very few birds, but I did manage an OK flight shot of a Northern Harrier. My last gasp effort there was to try for the golden-yellow colored dragonflies that I had seen earlier. They had disappeared, but my efforts were rewarded with a near perfect capture that required only a square crop — Image #1, below. That afternoon I visited Vista View Park for Burrowing Owls. With lots of human visitation there were only two active nests. But I did well. On Monday morning, I headed to Green Cay, also in Boynton Beach. There were some good chances with birds in the pool just past the first pagoda when you walked the trail in reverse. But a breeze from the west made things difficult.
Tuesday morning back at Sebastian was insane. The big cold front arrived bringing 20mph northwest winds, temperatures in the very low 40s, and wind chills just above freezing. These classic wind against sun conditions are generally terrible for bird photography, but with variably cloudy skies and more than fifty Ospreys in the air at once, there was tons of backlit action. The birds were catching dozens of Mullet, Yellowfin Menhaden, Pinfish, Atlantic Needlefish, and some species that I had no clue on. The photography was exceedingly challenging. Working mostly with the 600m f/4 and the 2X TC on the tripod, I created 15,410 images. I kept 202 after the first edit. The plan is to create a new YouTube video featuring the best of the keepers and detailing the challenges.
Today is Wednesday 12 November 2025. The early morning forecast was similar to yesterday’s but with less wind speed and the temps in the low fifties. There were some clouds on the eastern horizon. In position well before sunrise there were no birds. Then suddenly there were dozens of pelicans twisting and turning and diving right in front of us. As the sun peeked through the clouds, we enjoyed some spectacular colors and enough light to create sharp photos. The action was non-stop for more than an hour. When the sun cleared the last cloud we were pretty much done for. I was back in my SUV before 8:15am. I have 7,659 images to go through! So much for “bad” conditions. Whatever you opt to do, I hope that you too choose to have a wonderful and productive day.
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.
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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.
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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 9 November 2025 by yours truly at Loxahatchee NWR. Standing at full height I used the Robus RCM-439 4-Section Carbon Fiber Monopod, /Wimberley MonoGimbal Head-supported 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 Exposure Compensation (EC) on the thumb wheel. Multi Metering +2.0 stops. AUTO ISO set ISO 1600: 1/3200 second at f/8 (wide open) in Shutter Priority mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead-solid perfect. AWB at 8:56:53am on a sunny morning. Tracking: Spot XS/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #1: Zebra Butterfly on wetlands blossom |
Why Such a High Shutter Speed?
Two main reasons:
1- There were lots of Zebra Butterflies flitting around and they almost never landed so there was an outside chance for a flight shot.
2- Monopods are nowhere near as stable as tripods so I went to 1/3200 second to prevent motion blur from the lens moving at the moment of exposure. I find a monopod great for supporting a relatively heavy lens for flight photography.
The butterfly was flitting around the flower and finally landed in the wrong spot. A moment later, it landed a bit higher on the flowers in the perfect spot and posed for about two full seconds. Happy birthday to me!
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This image was also created on 9 November 2025 by yours truly, this one at Vista View Park, Davie, FL. Standing below the nest that was on a small rise, I crouched behind my lowered 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. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. ISO 1600: 1/200 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead-solid perfect. AWB at 4:42:32pm on a then cloudy morning. Tracking: Spot XS/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #2: Burrowing Owls at nest hole |
A Serendipitous Juxtaposition
The owl on our left had been sitting more than a foot away from the other bird for quite some time. Then, it decided to jump down toward the burrow. Working at 840mm, this provided a lovely arrangement of the two birds. Tracking: Spot XS/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled allowed me to focus on either of the eyes of the closer bird.
Understand that with the long focal length and the second bird four or five inches behind the front owl, no practical amount of depth of field would have rendered the more distant bird sharp. Attempting to stop down would have rendered the pleasingly defocused vegetation surrounding the birds sharper and thus distracting.
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This image was created on 10 November 2025 by yours truly at Green Cay Wetlands, Boynton Beach, FL. Standing at full height on a boardwalk behind my Robus RC-5570 Vantage Series 3 Carbon Fiber Tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the Wide/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #3: Anhinga tossing fish |
Why Such a High ISO?
This Anhinga was fishing and catching. So, I went with the action stopping shutter speed of 1/2000 in hopes of creating a sharp image of a successful capture. To get to +2 on the analogue exposure scale, I needed the relatively high ISO of 3200. The bird speared this fish with its sharp bill and then attempted to shake it free and grab it out of the air. This is a routine maneuver for this species. On the third attempt, it was successful. And so was I!
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This image was also created on 10 November 2025 by yours truly at Green Cay Wetlands, Boynton Beach, FL. Standing at full height on the boardwalk behind my 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 2x Teleconverter and the Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a1 II Mirrorless Camera. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. ISO 1000: 1/1000 sec. at f/8 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was dead-solid perfect. AWB at 4:42:32am on a then cloudy morning. Wide/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection enabled performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger, inexplicably sharper high-res version. Image #4: Green Iguana backlit portrait |
ACR Masking a Godsend for Backlit Images
Thanks for the tenth time to Anita North for teaching me to use the masking feature in Adobe Camera Raw. I have become much more comfortable shooting backlit images recently in large part due to the fact that using the masking feature during the raw conversion often produces stunning results.
I am hoping to complete and release Volume III of the Digital Basics III Video Series later this week. It will cover the use of the new Super Resolution features in ACR 17.5 and introduce and detail the use of the masking features during and after the raw conversions in ACR 17.5 (in both Photoshop and Lightroom).
Huge Thanks!
Huge thanks to b friends Pete Myers, Karen McCormick, and Jim Dolgin for using one of my two affiliate links to purchase their Sony a-1 ii bodies recently. Once they let me know the firmware version on their new camera bodies, I will send them three e-mails so that they can be up and running in just a few minutes with their a-1 ii-s set up optimally for bird photography.
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Composite #1: All with the a-1 ii Mirrorless Camera body.
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The a-1 ii for General Bird Photography
I have found that eye-tracking for general bird photography with the a-1 ii is far, far better than with the original Sony a-1. It grabs the eye and tracks it faster and far more consistently and focus is rarely lost, even with backgrounds other than sky.
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Composite #2: All with the a-1 ii Mirrorless Camera body.
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The a-1 ii for Birds in Flight
For birds in flight, the a-1 ii Mirrorless Camera body has no equal. As Arash Hazeghi says, “It is better than the a-1.” When I am late getting on a bird in flight, I have consistently been amazed at how often the AF system of the a-1 ii finds and tracks the bird’s eye.
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Composite #3: All the result of using Pre-Capture with the a-1 ii Mirrorless Camera body.
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Pre-Capture with the Sony a-1 ii
When it comes to Pre-Capture with the a-1 ii Mirrorless Camera body, Arash and I agree 100%. And with my slower reflexes, Pre-Capture is more important for me than it is for Arash. Understand that in each of the images in Composite #3, I did not push the shutter button until after the bird took flight!
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All with the a-1 ii Mirrorless Camera body.
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Purchasing or Upgrading to a Sony a-1 ii
The Sony a-1 ii e-Mail Set-up and Info Guide
I now own and use two Sony a-1 ii bodies. Every day that I use them, the more I am amazed by speed and accuracy of the Bird Face-Eye tracking in AF-C and the overall performance of the camera.
Aside from the improved ergonomics as compared to the a-1, other nice features include the fact that the rear screen tilts both ways — the lack of a tilting rear screen on the original a-1 always ticked me off. Pre-capture has proven to be a huge plus almost exclusively for take-off flight images. In my opinion, the Speed Boost feature is a total waste for bird photography because you should always be utilizing the maximum frame rate. In addition, the resolution on the rear monitor has been improved dramatically. I must mention again that Bird Face-Eye tracking on the a-1 ii is vastly improved as compared to both the a-1 and the a9 iii and that the 51MP files are to die for.
So, the big question is, is the a-1 ii “worth” a gear upgrade. Remembering that I can never know whether or not something is worth it to you, I can say that I was not floored when first using my a-1 ii. The differences between the a-1 ii and the original a-1, seemed to be neither huge nor eye-opening. But over time, I have come to realize that I was 100% wrong. The huge difference between the new camera body and the a9 iii is, of course, the 51MP a-1 raw files (as compared to the 24MP files rendered by the a9 iii).
The price of a new a-1 is $5,898.00. The price of a new a-1 ii is $1,100.00 more: $6,998.00. As the a-1 ii is clearly far superior for bird photography to the original a-1, the choice for folks new to Sony or for those upgrading from lesser Sony camera bodies is an easy one. Prices for used a-1 bodies has not dropped drastically as I anticipated. At this point, a-1 folks who like showing flight and action and can afford an a-1 ii, are advised to purchase an a-1 ii. Please remember that life is short; we only get one ride on the merry-go-round.
If you do purchase an a-1 ii, be sure to use one of my two affiliate links so that you will receive my a-1 ii settings (in the form of a CAMSEa1ii.DAT file), the Buttons and Dials Guide, and an Info Sheet for free. Using my links will never cost you one penny and may actually save you some money. Folks who do not purchase their new a-i using my B&H link or from Bedfords here and entering the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout will be able to purchase the a-1 ii guide for $244.93. If you are at all confused and do not want to screw up your order, please get in touch via e-mail. If you would like to chat about upgrading, shoot me a text to 863-221-2372 and LMK a good time to call you.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
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