Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Your Call?

According to you, which is the stronger image (by far)? Why?

What’s Up?

For the first time ever, I spent 13 hours at the beach. With the delayed entry time at Nickerson Beach, I had been thinking about staying all day to avoid having to re-enter at 6pm. So when private In-the-Field client Anke Frohlich suggested that we do just that, we did. With perfect cloudy/fairly bright conditions and a northwest wind, we enjoyed an incredible session (by being in the exact right spot …) We photographed until 12:15 before heading for a picnic lunch. The afternoon was far more challenging as the sun came out and the wind switched to the southeast. Not good. Our best chances were with skimmers battling in midair. With some decent sunset color late in the day, we opted to try for some sunset silhouettes. The wind switched to the southwest. Again, not good.

I created 3357 images; I will be picking my keepers after I hit Publish. When we took a peek at my morning folder during Image Review, we came across today’s featured images. To make sure that I did not accidentally screw up and delete them, I tagged them in Photo Mechanic and placed them in a TEMP sub-folder. I am not yet positive that one of them will be my very favorite image from a great day, but that is likely. Finding one that I like better would be a huge thrill.

With another sign-up and lots of interested folks, the 2022 Homer/Kachemak Bay Bald Eagle IPTs are looking good. Each trip needs four to run. I am still hoping to find a roommate who signs up for all 11 days. I was glad to learn of the sale of Ron Horn’s Canon EOS-1DX Mark II.

Today is Friday 6 August 2021. With clear skies and a west wind, staying in this morning was the obvious choice. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.

Remember that you can find some great photo accessories (and necessities!) on Amazon by clicking on the Stuff tab on the orange/yellow menu bar above. On a related note, it would be extremely helpful if blog-folks like me, who spend too much money on Amazon, would get in the habit of clicking on the Amazon logo link on the right side of each blog post when they shop online. As you might expect, doing so will not cost you a single penny, but would be appreciated tremendously by yours truly. And doing so works seamlessly with your Amazon Prime account.

This blog post took a bit more than an hour to prepare, and makes 221 consecutive days with a new one. Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, and 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 save 3% at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And doing so always earns my great appreciation.

Click on the composite to view a larger version. Homer 2020 IPT Images

Homer Bald Eagles Winter 2022

The photography on this trip of a lifetime is beyond amazing. You can do the whole trip with either the Canon 100-500 or the SONY 200-600 along with any 70-200mm lens. Flight photography until you cannot raise your arms, creative set-ups, lots of snow we hope (earlier in the season is best for that), and lots of opportunities for point-blank head portraits and talon shots. All in a variety of spectacular settings. This is an expensive (but competitively priced) trip. If you are seriously interested in joining me for the world’s best Homer/Kachemak Bay Bald Eagle trip(s) — mid-FEB thru early MARCH 2022, please contact me immediately via e-mail for dates and details. I am looking for a roommate who will be doing all eleven days.

This image was created on 5 August 2021 at Nickerson Beach. While standing at full height, I used the Induro GIT304L Grand Series 3 Stealth Carbon Fiber Tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted-Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 800. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/3200 sec. at f/4 (wide open). RawDigger showed that the raw file was almost perfect, about 1/6 stop under-exposed. AWB at 11:33:40am on a cloudy morning. Tracking: Center Zone/AF-C resulted in a sharp image. As Image #1 is a substantial crop, it was the distance to the subject that provided sufficient depth of field. At a given aperture, in this case f/4, the greater the distance to the subject, the greater the depth of field. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version. Image #1: Common Terns battling in midair

Loving White Sky Days

These images were created after 11:30am. If it had been a clear sunny day, I would have quit hours before regardless of the wind direction. The soft light on cloudy-bright days allow you to photograph in any direction — staying on “sun” angle becomes a moot point. In such conditions, you will not get the dark shadows on the bird that plague flight images made on clear, blue-sky days and decent wing positions will reveal superb underwing detail.

To drive home my point, here is more of the same from yesterday’s blog post:

I chuckle also when I think of my first decade of photography; I would not head out to do photography unless it was sunny. Such were the limitations of Velvia 50 push processed one stop to ISO 100. Cloudy-bright days are ideal as there is enough light to work at reasonable ISOs with decent shutter speeds and no shadows at all. And best of all, the “wrong” wind direction is never a problem when you are photographing when the world is a soft-box.

This image was created on 5 August 2021 at Nickerson Beach. While standing at full height, I used the Induro GIT304L Grand Series 3 Stealth Carbon Fiber Tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted-Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 800. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/3200 sec. at f/4 (wide open). RawDigger showed that the raw file was almost perfect, about 1/6 stop under-exposed. AWB at 11:33:40am on a cloudy morning. Tracking: Center Zone/AF-C resulted in a sharp image. As Image #2 is a substantial crop, it was the distance to the subject that provided sufficient depth of field. At a given aperture, in this case f/4, the greater the distance to the subject, the greater the depth of field. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version. Image #2: Common Terns battling in midair

The Realities of 30 Frames per Second

With your a1 set up properly, you will be able to take full advantage of 30 frames per second. Please do not be misled into thinking that you will capture every possible moment (or pose). Let’s divide one second into 4000 tiny increments. There will be 4000 different poses in one second. So when you are working 30 fps with a shutter speed of 1/4000 second, you will capture 30 of those moments. Thus, you are missing 3970 of those moments. That means that you will be missing 99.25% of the poses.

The good news is that when working at 30 fps, you will get to pick from 50% more “moments” than when working at 20 fps, and three times as many moments (or poses or frames) than you would if you had been working with a 10 fps camera body.

How Fast is a Blink?

Today’s two featured images were created consecutively in a short burst in the same second. They represent two of the thirty moments (or poses or frames) captured in that same second. Though it is difficult to see in the 1200 pixel wide JPEGs here, the bird’s nictitating membrane is covering the eye in Image #2, but the eye is fully open in Image #1. Aside from giving us 30 moments (or poses or frames) every second, we get some excellent insurance protecting against nictitating membranes. This can become very important when shooting larger-in-the-frame portraits of static subjects.

SONY and artie

Switching to SONY, first with the a9 and the a9 II, and then with the remarkable a1, has enabled me (and others, like Mike De Rosa as seen recently in the blog post here), to create images of birds in flight and in action that I could not have even dreamed of when using Canon for 33 years and then Nikon for more than two. Most of the time I am using one of two AF methods that together, cover about 99% of the commonly-encountered bird photography situations. At present, I am experimenting beyond those … Learn more by joining the group!

From Long-ago IPT veteran Keith Kennedy via e-mail

Absolutely great information. I am calling Jim in a few minutes to order a couple of Delkin 128GB UHS-II cards. Your timely email has saved me a ton of money! Many thanks

In the same vein, via e-mail from John LeClair

Well, e-mail #21 alone was worth the price of admission!

From Pamela Viale, after receiving artie’s a1 settings along with detailed instructions on how to copy them to her SONY a1 via e-mail

This e-mail group has been an incredible boon to me! Thank you so much!

From Joe Barranco via e-Mail

Thanks for your great ideas on the A1 set up. I have been getting MANY more keepers doing things your way!

From Barbara White via e-Mail

Wow, I just gotta say – I learn so much from the SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info group! My camera is on my desk, and I’m always picking it up and changing something that I’ve read about in the e-mails.

Thanks, Barbara

From Janet Horton via e-Mail

Hi Artie, Mystery solved. Yes, I was able to replicate what you did. I forgot that you have to set self-timer using the upper dial. I am used to that being a MENU selection.

Thanks much, Janet

SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group

The SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group is going great guns as more and more folks chime in with thoughtful questions and experience-based answers. As the a1 is becoming more readily available, more and more folks are getting their hands on this amazing body. With two folks joining yesterday, we are now up to an astounding 67 lucky and blessed photographers! Early on, we discussed the myriad AF options. I gave my opinion as to the best one for flight and general bird photography. More recently, we have been in contact with folks at SONY sharing our thoughts, experiences, and frustrations with the EVF blackout problem.

All who purchased their Alpha a1 bodies via a BAA affiliate link will receive a free subscription to the Sony Alpha a1 Set-Up and Info Updates after shooting me their receipts via e-mail. (Note: it may take me several days to confirm B&H orders.) This same service may be purchased by anyone with an a1 body via a $150.00 PayPal sent to birdsasart@verizon.net indicating payment for Alpha a1 Info Updates. Alternatively, folks can call Jim weekdays at 1-863-692-0906 to pay via credit card. New members will receive composite e-mails that summarize all previous discussions.

Typos

With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.

This Just In

I began work on this blog post on Tuesday evening and almost finished it, but decided to hit the sack. Then I looked at the weather for Lido Beach — cloudy with light and variable winds. I set the alarm for 5am but woke at 4:39. I headed for Nickerson Beach and when I arrived there was no sign of sunrise color so I finished this blog post. And forgot to hit Publish 🙂 I am doing that now at 9:43am after an amazingly wonderful, still, soft-box of a morning at the beach. Images and details soon.

What’s Up?

There was not much doing on Tuesday as I returned to relaxation mode. I did get over to my sister Ilene’s house late in the day for my half-mile away-from-home swim. I chose my keepers from my Monday afternoon East Pond and Nickerson Beach sessions and was quite happy. My very favorite image is featured in today’s blog post. I am anxious to get back out, but the weather for the next few days is looking less than ideal.

Today is Wednesday 4 August 2021. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.

Remember that you can find some great photo accessories (and necessities!) on Amazon by clicking on the Stuff tab on the orange/yellow menu bar above. On a related note, it would be extremely helpful if blog-folks like me, who spend too much money on Amazon, would get in the habit of clicking on the Amazon logo link on the right side of each blog post when they shop online. As you might expect, doing so will not cost you a single penny, but would be appreciated tremendously by yours truly. And doing so works seamlessly with your Amazon Prime account.

This blog post took about two hours to prepare, and makes 219 consecutive days with a new one. Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, and 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 save 3% at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And doing so always earns my great appreciation.

Please Remember

With income from IPTs now close to zero, please, if you enjoy and learn from the blog, remember to use one of my two affiliate programs when purchasing new gear. Doing so just might make it possible for me to avoid having to try to get a job as a Walmart greeter and will not cost you a single penny more. And if you use Bedfords and remember to enter the BIRDSASART code at checkout, you will save 3% on every order and enjoy free second-day air shipping. In these crazy times — I am out at least forty to sixty thousand dollars so far due to COVID 19 (with lots more to come) — remembering to use my B&H link or to shop at Bedfords will help me out a ton and be greatly appreciated. Overseas folks who cannot order from the US because of import fees, duties, and taxes, are invited to help out by clicking here to leave a blog thank you gift if they see fit.

New and Better Bedfords Discount Policy!

You can now save 3% on all of your Bedfords photo gear purchases by entering the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout. Your discount will be applied to your pre-tax total. In addition, by using the code you will get 2nd day air shipping via Fed Ex.

Grab a Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III and save $14.99. Purchase a Canon EOS R5 and your discount will be $116.97. Purchase a Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and save a remarkable $389.94! Your Bedford’s purchase no longer needs to be greater than $1,000.00 for you to receive a discount. The more you spend, the more you save.

Money Saving Reminder

Many have learned that if you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H and would enjoy free second-day air shipping, your best bet is to click here, place an order with Bedfords, and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If an item is out of stock, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592 (Central time). Be sure to mention the BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order to save 3% and enjoy free 2nd-day air shipping. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H and everywhere else. The wait lists at the big stores can be a year or longer for the hard to get items. Steve will surely get you your gear long before that. For the past year, he has been helping BAA Blog folks get their hands on items like the SONY a9 ii, the SONY 200-600 G OSS lens, the Canon EOS R5, the Canon RF 100-500mm lens, and the Nikon 500mm PF. Steve is personable, helpful, and eager to please.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs (remember those?) and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BPN, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear, especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail

This image was created on 2 August 2021 on my first trip this season to Nickerson Beach. While seated on dry sand using the knee-pod technique, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 799mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 3200. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/800 sec. at f/9 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 7:04pm on a then-cloudy afternoon. Tracking: Wide AF-C/Bird-Eye/Face Detection AF was active at the moment of exposure and performed just about perfectly (as below) by grabbing and tracking the chick’s eye. Click on the image to view a larger version Image #1: Black Skimmer killing chick from another nest

Murder on the Beach, This Time for Real

Unlike the large Laughing Gull chick that survived a vicious attack by a Herring Gull (in the blog post here), this tiny skimmer chick was pretty much doomed a few moments after it was grabbed by an adult. It is common to see adult skimmers whack small chicks from other nests on fly-by attacks, possibly because they have intruded on their nesting territory, and possibly to eliminate competitors for the available food. This attack took that to the next step. The victim in this case might have wandered very near the nest of the attacking bird.

The entire episode lasted about six minutes; the adult bird grabbed, shook, dropped, and picked up the tiny skimmer repeatedly, most often simply holding the chick in its bill. The chick stopped struggling within half a minute. What happened next was even stranger. The adult walked back to its nest and offered the dead chick to its two chicks. Though its chicks were no more than ten days old (if that), one of them grabbed the tiny chick and attempted to swallow it for several minutes. We lost sight of that chick in the thick beach vegetation. Ten minutes later, an adult Laughing Gull swooped down and grabbed the dead chick. It happened so suddenly that none of the many photographers even had a chance to raise their lenses …

Glad That I Brought the 1.4X TC. Or Not?

When the attack occurred, I had been shooting flight with the bare 200-600. Alerted by the screams of several distraught women — sorry, I always root for the predators — I moved about five yards to my right to get into better position. I made the first hundred frames at 600mm. Then I decided to add the 1.4X TC to the mix and made an additional 700 images of the action. I kept only 13. As is usually the case, a single image from about 800 frames stood out as the cream of the crop.

So why not add the 1.4X teleconverter?

#1: By being too greedy, I clipped the tail of the adult skimmer on about 50 frames. Those included a few really good ones. The position of the chick and the head angles of the chick and the adult were important factors when it came to choosing keep or delete.

#2: In the relatively low light, working at f/9 (rather than at f/6.3) necessitated the use of either a higher ISO or a slower shutter speed. By being at 1/640 or 1/800 second rather than at 1/1250 or 1/1600 second, I lost quite a few excellent images to motion blur as the adult bird pecked at the chick or threw it up or down …

In the field when the action is hot, making the right decision — TC or no TC?, is often tough.

Click on the image to view a larger version. Image #1A: Topaz DeNoise on the Black Skimmer killing chick from another nest image

DeNoise at 400% at ISO 3200

Be sure to click on the image to see the fabulous job of noise reduction on Low Light. Understand that exposing properly for the whites leaves the blacks well under-exposed. Here, I cut the suggested Remove Noise value from 10 on Auto in half to 5. If you think that the blacks are detail-less after the NR, understand that what you are seeing in before image is noise, not detail. Blacks in soft light will never have a ton of detail at the higher ISOs.

As regular readers know, I run DeNoise on virtually every image that I process immediately after executing the crop with the Delete Cropped Pixels box checked. For images made in sunny conditions, I used Standard. For images made in low light, like this one, I use Low Light. You can check all four methods by using the Comparison View but I rarely do that any more as I am confident as noted above.

Great Topaz News!

Folks who use the BAA Topaz link to purchase Sharpen AI, DeNoise AI, or the Utility Bundle (or any other Topaz plug-ins), will receive a 15% discount by entering the ARTHUR15 code at checkout. If the stuff is on sale (as it usually is), you save 15% off of the sale price! To get the discount you must use my link and you must enter the discount code. Be sure to start with this link.

Those who purchase Sharpen AI, DeNoise AI, or any other Topaz plug-ins using my link and then entering the ARTHUR15 code at checkout can e-mail to request a short Getting Started with Topaz e-Guide. Please include a copy of your Topaz receipt that shows the discount. Aside from the basics, the guide explains how to install the plug-ins so that they appear in the Photoshop Filter Menu.

Click on the image to view a larger version. Image #1b: The RawDigger screen capture for the Black Skimmer killing chick from another nest image

Ho-Hum, Another Perfect Plus Exposure

Nothing has ever helped me learn to create perfect exposures to the degree that RawDigger has. I think that many folks are reluctant to learn that most of their images are underexposed by one or more full stops and that highlight warnings in Photoshop, Lightroom, Capture One, and your in-camera histogram are completely bogus as they are based on the embedded JPEGs. Only your raw files tell the truth all the time. Heck, I resisted RawDigger for several years … Once you get over that feeling, RawDigger can become your very best exposure friend no matter what system you are using. On the recent IPTs and In-the-Field sessions, we have demonstrated that fact. Convincingly.

The RawDigger (pink) Adapted Histogram

In the RawDigger e-Guide, you will learn exactly how to set up the Adapted “pink” RawDigger Histogram and how to use it to quickly and easily evaluate the exposure or raw file brightness of images from all digital cameras currently in use. RawDigger was especially helpful to me when I struggled with R5 exposures and when learned my new camera body, the Sony Alpha a1.

RawDigger e-Guide with Two Videos

The RawDigger e-Guide with Two Videos

by Arthur Morris with Patrick Sparkman

The RawDigger e-Guide was created only for serious photographers who wish to get the absolute most out of their raw files.

Patrick and I began work on the guide in July 2020. At first we struggled. We asked questions. We learned about Max-G values. We could not figure out why the Max G values varied by camera system. IPT veteran Bart Deamer asked lots of questions that we could not answer. We got help from RawDigger creator Iliah Borg. We learned. In December, Patrick came up with an Adapted Histogram that allows us to evaluate the exposures and raw file brightness for all images created with all digital camera bodies from the last two decades. What we learned each time prompted three complete beginning to end re-writes.

The point of the guide is to teach you to truly expose to the mega-Expose-to-the-Right so that you will minimize noise, maximize image quality, best utilize your camera’s dynamic range, and attain the highest possible level of shadow detail in your RAW files in every situation. In addition, your properly exposed RAW files will contain more tonal information and feature the smoothest possible transitions between tones. And your optimized images will feature rich, accurate color.

We teach you why the GREEN channel is almost always the first to over-expose. We save you money by advising you which version of RawDigger you need. We teach you how to interpret the Max G values for your Canon, Nikon, and SONY camera bodies. It is very likely that the Shock-your-World section will shock you. And lastly — thanks to the technical and practical brilliance of Patrick Sparkman — we teach you a simple way to quickly and easily evaluate your exposures and raw file brightness using an Adapted RawDigger histogram.

The flower video takes you through a session where artie edits a folder of images in Capture One while checking the exposures and Max-G values in RawDigger. The Adapted Histogram video examines a series of recent images with the pink histograms and covers lots of fine points including and especially how to deal with specular highlights. The directions for setting up the Adapted Histogram are in the text.

If we priced this guide based on how much effort we put into it, it would sell it for $999.00. But as this guide will be purchased only by a limited number of serious photographers, we have priced it at $51.00. You can order yours here in the BAA Online Store.

Beach Clean-up

Here are some clean-up tips based on today’s featured image. I used the Patch Tool for nearly every step in the process. I did not use Content-Aware or the Clone Stamp Tool once. For the tiny specks, I used the Spot Healing Brush.

Do you think that I should have left some of the beach crud?

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II). You can order your copy from the BAA Online Store here, by sending a PayPal for $40 here, or by calling Jim or Jennifer weekdays at 863-692-0906 with your credit card in hand. Be sure to specify Digital Basics II.

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II)

The Photoshop Tools used with all of my clean-up techniques along with dozens of other great Photoshop tips and techniques — along with all of my personalized Keyboard Shortcuts, are covered in detail in the BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II), an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. Learn more and check out the free excerpt in the blog post here. While the new e-Guide reflects my MacBook Pro/Photo Mechanic/DPP 4/Photoshop workflow, folks using a PC and/or BreezeBrowser will also benefit greatly by studying the material on DB II. Note: folks working on a PC and/or those who do not want to miss anything Photoshop may wish to purchase the original Digital Basics along with DB II while saving $15 by clicking here to buy the DB Bundle.

Folks who learn well by following along rather than by reading can check out the complete collection of MP 4 Photoshop Tutorial Videos by clicking here. Note: all of the videos are now priced at an amazingly low $5.00 each.

You can learn how and why I converted all of my Canon digital RAW files in DPP 4 in the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide here. More recently, I became proficient at converting my Nikon RAW (NEF) files in Adobe Camera Raw. About two years ago I began converting my Nikon and Sony RAW files in Capture One Pro 12 and continue to do so today.

You can learn advanced Quick Masking and advanced Layer Masking techniques in APTATS I & II. You can save $15 by purchasing the pair.

Typos

With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.

What’s Up?

With the unusually cool August weather here on Long Island I have been leading the league in relaxing, and sleeping nine to ten hours every night. I have been taking a nice walk and doing my bursts every day, and will be hitting the community pool at my sister Ilene’s home soon.

Today is Monday 2 August 2021. It has been clear and sunny every morning since I arrived on Long Island, with a northwest wind every morning as well. With yet another wind-against-sun morning forecast, I opted to stay in again today. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.

Remember that you can find some great photo accessories (and necessities!) on Amazon by clicking on the Stuff tab on the orange/yellow menu bar above. On a related note, it would be extremely helpful if blog-folks like me, who spend too much money on Amazon, would get in the habit of clicking on the Amazon logo link on the right side of each blog post when they shop online. As you might expect, doing so will not cost you a single penny, but would be appreciated tremendously by yours truly. And doing so works seamlessly with your Amazon Prime account.

This blog post took about two hours to prepare and makes 217 consecutive days with a new one. Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, and 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 save 3% at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And doing so always earns my great appreciation.

Homer Bald Eagles Winter 2022

The photography on this trip of a lifetime is beyond amazing. You can do the whole trip with either the Canon 100-500 or the SONY 200-600 along with any 70-200mm lens. Flight photography until you cannot raise your arms, creative set-ups, lots of snow we hope (earlier in the season is best for that), and lots of opportunities for point-blank head portraits and talon shots. All in a variety of spectacular settings. This is an expensive (but competitively priced) trip. If you are seriously interested in joining me for the world’s best Homer/Kachemak Bay Bald Eagle trip(s) — mid-FEB thru early MARCH 2022, please contact me immediately via e-mail for dates and details. I am looking for a roommate who will be doing all eleven days.

The East Pond

The East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens, NY was the place to observe and photograph North America’s southbound migrant shorebirds. It shined from 1975 through about 2010. Then, for reasons noted in the blog post here, the place pretty much went down the tubes due to high water levels. At present, it seems that the folks at Gateway have gotten their act together; conditions at the pond are reported to be excellent this season. I have a strong connection to the East Pond. I photographed my first shorebird — a Semipalmated Sandpiper, there in August of 1983. I’ve been visiting for 45 years and have spent thousands of hours on the pond.

If you would like to learn to identify more than a dozen species of shorebirds and photograph some of them on an In-the-Field Workshop in August, please shoot me an e-mail to learn the dates and details. The East Pond is best for photography for just three specific days in a calendar year … I will be there then. Here’s hoping that the East Pond will return to its former crown-jewel glory.

Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART

Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charged a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. They went out of business. And e-Bay fees are now up to 13%. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please scroll down here or shoot us an e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly — I offer pricing advice to those who agree to the terms — usually sells in no time flat. Over the past year, we have sold many dozens of items. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 100-400, the old 500mm, the EOS-7D and 7D Mark II and the original 400mm DO lens have been dropping steadily. Most recently the price of used Canon 600mm f/L IS II lenses have been dropping like a rock with the introduction of the 600 III. You can always see the current listings by clicking here or on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.

As used gear sales have slowed just a bit in recent months — especially with dSLR bodies, there are lots of great buys right now both below and on the Used Gear Page.

Canon EF 500m f/4L IS II USM Lens with lots of great extras!

Long-time-ago South Georgia shipmate Asta Tobiassen is offering a Canon EF 500m f/4 L IS II USM lens in excellent condition for a very low $4999.00. The sale includes both of the original shipping box, both of the original lens feet, the lens strap, the rear lens cap, the lens hood, the lens trunk, a LensCoat, a LensCoat TravelCoat, a LensCoat Hoodie, a LensCoat RainCoat Pro w/pouch, 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 Asta via e-mail

With the success of the Canon EOS R5 and R6 mirrorless bodies, the series II super-teles are in high demand. The 500 f/4 super-telephotos have long been the world’s most popular lenses for birds, nature, wildlife, and sports for many decades. Canon’s Series II version is light, fast, super-sharp, and produces amazing images with both the 1.4X and 2X III TCs. The 500 II is relatively small, easily hand-holdable for some folks, and is much easier to travel with, focuses closer than, and costs a lot less than the 600 II!. Lastly, and you might find this amazing, the magnification for the 500 II is the same as it is for the 600 II: .15X. How is that possible? Magnification is calculated at the minimum focusing distance of the lens — 12.14 feet (3.7 meters) for the 500 II and 14.77 feet (4.5 meters) for the 600 II. Simply put, the 500 II focuses more than two feet closer than the 600 II. This lens sells new right now for $8999.00; you can save $4000.00 by purchasing Asta’s lens (with lots of extras) now: if you are seriously interested, please do not tarry. artie

Canon EF 100-400m f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Zoom Lens

Long-time-ago South Georgia shipmate Asta Tobiassen is offering a Canon EF 100-400m f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM zoom lens in excellent condition for $1399.00. The sale includes the original box, the carrying case, the front and rear lens caps, the lens hood, a LensCoat, a LensCoat TravelCoat, a LensCoat Hoodie, 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 Asta via e-mail

This incredibly versatile zoom lens — with its amazing .98 meter close focus — was my favorite Canon telephoto zoom lens ever. By far. It is easy to hand hold, great for tight portraits, birds in flight, quasi-macro stuff, and lots more. For flight, it is even better with an R5! The lens sells new for $2399.00 so you can save some hard cash by grabbing Asta’s zoom lens now. artie

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV w/BG-E20 Battery Grip

Long-time-ago South Georgia shipmate Asta Tobiassen is offering a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with the BG-E20 Battery Grip, both in like-new condition, for just $1749.00. The sale includes the original box and everything that came in it, the battery grip (a $299.95 value), one extra battery, 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 Asta via e-mail

What can I say? The 5D IV was my favorite ever Canon digital dSLR. I owned and used three of them while my 1DX II sat on the shelf in my garage for the most part. A new 5D Mark IV, with its 30.4MP full-frame CMOS sensor, sell new for $2499.00. If you have been dreaming of a 5D IV (with the grip), grab Asta’s body right now with the grip and save just about $1,000.00! artie

Canon EOS 7D Mark II w/BG-E16 Battery Grip & L-Plate

Long-time-ago South Georgia shipmate Asta Tobiassen is offering a Canon EOS 7D Mark II in Very Good to Excellent condition with a like-new BG-E16 Battery Grip for $599.00. The sale includes the original box, the front cap, the strap, a RRS L-Plate, one extra battery, the charger, the BG-16 battery grip, 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 Asta via e-mail

Years ago, both Patrick Sparkman and I used and loved the 7D Mark II until we both committed to using full-frame Canon bodies. And we both made some truly great images with it. Two of my three 2016 Nature’s Best honored entries were created with the 7D II, one still, and one video. One thing is for sure: the 7D Mark II is the greatest value ever dSLR. artie

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Lens with the Canon Tripod Mount Ring B with extras

Long-time-ago South Georgia shipmate Asta Tobiassen is offering a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Lens with the Canon Tripod Mount Ring B (a $149.95 value) in near-mint condition for the very low price of $299.00. The sale includes the front and rear lens caps, the lens hood, the Canon Tripod Mount Ring B, a B+W circular polarizer, a B+W UV haze filter, 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 Asta via e-mail

This, the original non-IS version of this hugely popular, very sharp macro lens, was Denise Ippolito’s favorite for many years. It is great for flowers and bugs large and small. The tripod collar for this lens normally requires a separate purchase, but is included with this sale. Still in production, this lens sells new at B&H for $599.00 (though it is currently back-ordered). The IS L version II sells for $1299.00. artie

Canon EF 1.4X II Teleconverter

Long-time-ago South Georgia shipmate Asta Tobiassen is offering a Canon EF 1.4X II teleconverter for a very low $129.00. The sale includes the front and rear caps, the pouch, 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 Asta via e-mail

As regular readers know, I depended so much on TCs when I shot Canon that I always traveled with two spare 1.4X-s and one spare 2X TC. The Series II TCs perform perfectly with Series II or earlier lenses. he Series III TCs are better for series III lenses like the 600mm f4L IS III lens. artie

Canon EF 2X III Teleconverter

Long-time-ago South Georgia shipmate Asta Tobiassen is offering a Canon EF 2X III teleconverter for a very low $429.00. The sale includes the front and rear caps, the pouch, 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 Asta via e-mail

As regular readers know, I depended so much on TCs when I shot Canon that I always traveled with two spare 1.4X-s and one spare 2X TC. The Series III TCs perform well with all Canon EF lenses. This item sells new for $429.99. artie

This image was created on 16 July on the 2nd JAX IPT. I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 452mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 500. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/4000 sec. at f/7.1 (stopped down 1/3-stop) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that this was a perfect exposure. AWB at 6:12pm on a sunny afternoon Wide/AF-C Bird/Eye Detection AF was active at the moment exposure and performed well enough in a difficult situation by creating a sharp-on-the-eye image. Image #1: Royal Tern blacklit against the shadowed face of the tall dune

Discovering New Situations

One of the constant themes here on the blog is that when the wind is blowing hard right at the sun on clear days, bird photography will be very challenging at best. Unless you like butt shots. Decades ago Max and Nellie Larsen taught me that when you are birding, you should always look behind you. Not to see what’s gaining on you, just to see what is there. So I have long made it a habit of glancing behind me, especially when things are tough. With the sun at our backs, the wind direction was not quite right for banking flight shots. When I took a quick glance behind me, looking to the west, I saw a Royal Tern fly in to join a scattered group of adults on the beach. When it landed, it was in the sun, but as it approached and flared to land, it was briefly in the shadow of the tall dune; its white feathers were lit strikingly from behind. So, I walked up next to the colony rope, and photographed the bird flaring to land in Image #1. I call this a “blacklit situation; a brilliant bird set against a shadowed background. Birds with white feathers generally work quite well. See the Blacklit Map below.

Anyhoo, I checked the very few frames that I had made, including Image #1, and knew that I had struck gold. I called the rest of the group over to join me, explained what we were looking for, and talked about the difficult exposure. In fact, however, SONY’s Zebra technology made getting these perfect child’s play. The end result: everyone got some very nice images.

Learning to discover and see new and different situations is one of the huge advantages of joining an IPT or an In-the-Field Workshop. I take great satisfaction from discovering the best situations and sharing them with others.

This image was created on 16 July on the 2nd JAX IPT by Clemens Van der Werf. He used the hand held Canon 600mm f/4L IS II lens (that he has since replaced by the Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS III USM lens) and the highly vaunted Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Digital Camera Body. ISO 500: 1/4000 sec. at f/7.1 (stopped down 1 2/3-stops) in Manual mode. AWB at 6:26pm on a sunny afternoon.. Face Detection + Tracking/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #2: Royal Tern blacklit against the shadowed face of the tall dune Image Courtesy of and copyright 2021: Clemens Van der Werf

Listen to the Leader!

I am often amazed that at times, when I call out a fabulous, newly-discovered situation, some folks hesitate to join me. Here two members of the group came over, listened carefully as I explained what we were looking to do, went to work, and made some great images. As Clemens had not yet received his 600 III or an RF 100-500 (both are still hard to come by), he went with the hand held 600 II. As you can see above, he did quite well. I love the light coming through the tern’s orange bill in his image.

Image #3: Blacklit Situation Map

Blacklit Situation Map

The red ball is the sun in the western sky. We stood as close as possible to the colony rope to have the birds coming at us as much as possible. As dark backgrounds are a necessity when attempting blacklit shots, we ignored the birds that flew in too high with sky backgrounds. The trick was to anticipate which birds would fly against the shadowed dune while still backlit by the sun. Birds that flew in while completely in the shadow of the dune were not dramatically lit, and thus, were miles under-exposed.

Both Clemens and I used Viveza as the final step in our post-processing. It is superb at darkening the dark tones and brightening the WHITEs to taste. Thanks to Clemens both for letting me share his image with you here today and for his continued Viveza tutoring. I am just about ready to do a Viveza video.

Cover Image courtesy of and Copyright 2021 Brian Sump (Sump scores!) The BIRDS AS ART Canon EOS R5 Camera User’s e-Guide

The BIRDS AS ART Canon EOS R5 Camera User’s e-Guide: $75.00

The guide is 82 pages long: 21,458 words. More than 50 DPP 4 Autofocus-depicting screen captures. And a 31 minute 44 second educational video. This guide took three and a half months of hard work and a ton of help from at least seventeen very helpful and generous folks.

The guide covers — in great detail — all Menu Items that are relevant to bird, nature, and wildlife photography. It does not cover video. The section on AF methods and the AF Gallery has been expanded from the R5/R6 AF e-guide. It remains the one of the great strengths of this guide. I share my thoughts on what I am sure is the single best AF Method for photographing birds in flight. As most of you know, the guide includes a simple and easy way to change AF Methods that was introduced to me by Geoff Newhouse. In the AF Gallery you will see exactly how Face Detection plus Tracking AF works. In the Educational R5 Gallery video, I share my favorite R5 images along with dozens of bird photography tips and techniques.

In addition, I teach you how to get the best exposures with your R5. Detailed instructions on using the great In-camera HDR and Multiple Exposure features will be appreciated by creative folks who like to have fun. The three shutter modes are explained in detail as well. Bruce Dudek solved the can’t-get-to-Auto ISO problem that had stumped everyone at Canon. This information is of course shared in the guide. You will learn how to set up your EVF (Electronic Viewfinder) and Screen toggle options. Not to mention that the mysterious performance of the Q Button is revealed and simplified. Brian Sump’s images reveal how well you can do when using the R5 with EF lenses using one of the three Canon EF-EOS R Mount Adapters (as Donna did with Image #1 below). You will learn how I use Customize Dials to put either ISO or EC on the Thumb Dial and how to set up and save Custom Shooting Modes (C1-C3) that can remember both your Customize Dial and Customize Button settings! That is something that none of the SONY bodies do. 🙁 Near the end of the guide I share my all-important MY MENU items with you.

Like all BAA educational materials, the R5 guide is written in my informal, easy-to-follow style. I am quite proud of this guide and look forward to hearing your thoughts on our hard work.

You can purchase your copy of the BIRDS AS ART Canon EOS R5 Camera User’s e-Guide for $75.00 here in the BAA Online Store or by calling Jim in the office weekday afternoons at 863-692-0906 with your credit card in hand.

Typos

With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.

What’s Up?

I got to younger daughter Alissa’s home in Lake Ronkonkoma at about 9am and spent the day relaxing. Once the storm passed, it was a dry, beautiful, sunny, cool day, quite unusual for August on Long Island. At about 3:30pm, we headed to Cedar Beach for a nice swim in the Sound. Then Lissy made a great dinner of barbecued skirt steak and asparagus with killer-good sautéed mushrooms!

There are lots of Photoshop tips in today’s blog post. Be sure to scroll all the way down to read the new and improved Divide and Conquer tutorial and learn to remove unwanted branches. Today is Saturday 31 July and we are taking a ride up to New Hyde Park. It is an amazingly low 61 degrees this morning on Long Island! Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.

Remember that you can find some great photo accessories (and necessities!) on Amazon by clicking on the Stuff tab on the orange/yellow menu bar above. On a related note, it would be extremely helpful if blog-folks like me, who spend too much money on Amazon, would get in the habit of clicking on the Amazon logo link on the right side of each blog post. As you might expect, doing so will not cost you a single penny, but would be appreciated tremendously by yours truly. And it works seamlessly with your Amazon Prime account.

This blog post took about two hours to prepare and makes 215 consecutive days with a new one. Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, and 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 save 3% at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And doing so always earns my great appreciation.

Homer Bald Eagles Winter 2022

Yes, this is an expensive (but competitively priced) trip. The price of the boat and the price of the fish have risen astronomically since my last visit in 2020. The photography on this trip of a lifetime is beyond amazing. You can do the whole trip with either the Canon 100-500 or the SONY 200-600 along with any 70-200mm lens. Flight photography until you cannot raise your arms, creative set-ups, lots of snow we hope (earlier in the season is best for that), and lots of opportunities for point-blank head portraits and talon shots. All in a variety of spectacular settings. If you are seriously interested in joining me for the world’s best Homer/Kachemak Bay Bald Eagle trip(s) — mid-FEB thru early MARCH 2022, please contact me immediately via e-mail for dates and details. I am looking for a roommate who will be doing all eleven days.

The East Pond

The East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens, NY was the place to observe and photograph North America’s southbound migrant shorebirds. It shined from 1975 through about 2010. Then, for reasons noted in the blog post here, the place pretty much went down the tubes due to high water levels. At present, it seems that the folks at Gateway have gotten their act together; conditions at the pond are reported to be excellent this season. I have a strong connection to the East Pond. I photographed my first shorebird — a Semipalmated Sandpiper, there in August of 1983. I’ve been visiting for 45 years and have spent thousands of hours on the pond.

If you would like to learn to identify more than a dozen species of shorebirds and photograph some of them on an In-the-Field Workshop in August, please shoot me an e-mail to learn the dates and details. The East Pond is best for photography for just three specific days in a calendar year … I will be there then. Here’s hoping that the East Pond will return to its former crown-jewel glory. See some good news below.

Please Remember

With income from IPTs now close to zero, please, if you enjoy and learn from the blog, remember to use one of my two affiliate programs when purchasing new gear. Doing so just might make it possible for me to avoid having to try to get a job as a Walmart greeter and will not cost you a single penny more. And if you use Bedfords and remember to enter the BIRDSASART code at checkout, you will save 3% on every order and enjoy free second-day air shipping. In these crazy times — I am out at least forty to sixty thousand dollars so far due to COVID 19 (with lots more to come) — remembering to use my B&H link or to shop at Bedfords will help me out a ton and be greatly appreciated. Overseas folks who cannot order from the US because of import fees, duties, and taxes, are invited to help out by clicking here to leave a blog thank you gift if they see fit.

New and Better Bedfords Discount Policy!

You can now save 3% on all of your Bedfords photo gear purchases by entering the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout. Your discount will be applied to your pre-tax total. In addition, by using the code you will get 2nd day air shipping via Fed Ex.

Grab a Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III and save $14.99. Purchase a Canon EOS R5 and your discount will be $116.97. Purchase a Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and save a remarkable $389.94! Your Bedford’s purchase no longer needs to be greater than $1,000.00 for you to receive a discount. The more you spend, the more you save.

Money Saving Reminder

Many have learned that if you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H and would enjoy free second-day air shipping, your best bet is to click here, place an order with Bedfords, and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If an item is out of stock, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592 (Central time). Be sure to mention the BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order to save 3% and enjoy free 2nd-day air shipping. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H and everywhere else. The wait lists at the big stores can be a year or longer for the hard to get items. Steve will surely get you your gear long before that. For the past year, he has been helping BAA Blog folks get their hands on items like the SONY a9 ii, the SONY 200-600 G OSS lens, the Canon EOS R5, the Canon RF 100-500mm lens, and the Nikon 500mm PF. Steve is personable, helpful, and eager to please.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs (remember those?) and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BPN, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear, especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail

This image was created on 14 April 2021 on a Merritt Island IPT. While standing, I used the Induro GIT304L Grand Series 3 Stealth Carbon Fiber Tripod/ Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-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 (Body Only). ISO 2500. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/200 sec. at f/8 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 6:12pm on a partly cloudy afternoon. Tracking: Flexible Spot AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version. Image #1: Anhinga female perched on mangrove

The Best Available Subject

With hopes of a nice sunset, we set up with a clear view of the western sky. The color developed nicely, but few birds flew by our chosen location. What to do? A nice female Anhinga had been sitting behind us for about twenty minutes, so I put the 2X TC on the big lens and went to work, despite the very low light levels. I love the mottled green, brown, and grey background, especially to our right of the bird.

Image #1A: AF Point for the Anhinga female perched on mangrove image

SONY a1 AF at 1200mm

One of the many amazing things about the a1 is that the AF system performs incredibly well at 1200mm. The initial focusing acquisition is — of course — a bit slower (as that it a function of aperture) but it is still very fast; it detects the bird’s eye, acquires focus and locks on, and tracks as accurately as if you were using the bare lens alone. In short, it is astounding.

In addition, the OSS (Optical Stabilization System) on the 600 GM works incredibly well: 1/200 second here at 1200mm, and still super sharp. (OSS = IS with Canon and VR with Nikon). I’ve made some neat discoveries with regards to the OSS Mode settings on the lens and will be sharing that information with the SONY a1 Set-up and Info Group this weekend in e-mail #22.

SONY and artie

Switching to SONY, first with the a9 and the a9 II, and then with the remarkable a1, has enabled me (and others, like Mike De Rosa as seen recently in the blog post here), to create images of birds in flight and in action that I could not have even dreamed of when using Canon for 33 years and then Nikon for more than two. Most of the time I am using one of two AF methods that together, cover about 99% of the commonly-encountered bird photography situations. At present, I am experimenting beyond those … Learn more by joining the group!

From Long-ago IPT veteran Keith Kennedy via e-mail

Absolutely great information. I am calling Jim in a few minutes to order a couple of Delkin 128GB UHS-II cards. Your timely email has saved me a ton of money! Many thanks

In the same vein, via e-mail from John LeClair

Well, e-mail #21 alone was worth the price of admission!

From Pamela Viale, after receiving artie’s a1 settings along with detailed instructions on how to copy them to her SONY a1 via e-mail

This e-mail group has been an incredible boon to me! Thank you so much!

From Joe Barranco via e-Mail

Thanks for your great ideas on the A1 set up. I have been getting MANY more keepers doing things your way!

From Barbara White via e-Mail

Wow, I just gotta say – I learn so much from the SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info group! My camera is on my desk, and I’m always picking it up and changing something that I’ve read about in the e-mails.

Thanks, Barbara

From Janet Horton via e-Mail

Hi Artie, Mystery solved. Yes, I was able to replicate what you did. I forgot that you have to set self-timer using the upper dial. I am used to that being a MENU selection.

Thanks much, Janet

SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group

The SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group is going great guns as more and more folks chime in with thoughtful questions and experience-based answers. As the a1 is becoming more readily available, more and more folks are getting their hands on this amazing body. With two folks joining yesterday, we are now up to an astounding 67 lucky and blessed photographers! Early on, we discussed the myriad AF options. I gave my opinion as to the best one for flight and general bird photography. More recently, we have been in contact with folks at SONY sharing our thoughts, experiences, and frustrations with the EVF blackout problem.

All who purchased their Alpha a1 bodies via a BAA affiliate link will receive a free subscription to the Sony Alpha a1 Set-Up and Info Updates after shooting me their receipts via e-mail. (Note: it may take me several days to confirm B&H orders.) This same service may be purchased by anyone with an a1 body via a $150.00 PayPal sent to birdsasart@verizon.net indicating payment for Alpha a1 Info Updates. Alternatively, folks can call Jim weekdays at 1-863-692-0906 to pay via credit card. New members will receive composite e-mails that summarize all previous discussions.

The Leaf Removal

Why remove the leaves? Because out-of-focus elements in front of the subject are exceedingly distracting.

When I pushed the shutter button, I knew that the leaves in the lower right corner would have to go. To eliminate them, I used the Divide and Conquer technique, along with either the Patch Tool or Content-Aware Fill. That was followed by a Gaussian Blur on the whole image. Next, I used an Inverse Layer Mask to hide the blur that was then painted in with a large soft brush (Hardness = 10%) on the background. I’ve recently added a new trick to this procedure. After I have painted in the blur, I hit X, reduce the size of the brush, increase the hardness to 60%, and paint the edges of the bird to make sure that none of the Gaussian Blur had bled over to the edges of the bird. You can note the softening of the background by comparing the BEFORE and AFTER views in the Animated GIF above.

Background Question

What are your thoughts on the background? Feel free to leave a comment.

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II). You can order your copy from the BAA Online Store here, by sending a PayPal for $40 here, or by calling Jim or Jennifer weekdays at 863-692-0906 with your credit card in hand. Be sure to specify Digital Basics II.

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II)

The Photoshop Tools used with all of my clean-up techniques along with dozens of other great Photoshop tips and techniques — along with all of my personalized Keyboard Shortcuts, are covered in detail in the BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II), an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. Learn more and check out the free excerpt in the blog post here. While the new e-Guide reflects my MacBook Pro/Photo Mechanic/DPP 4/Photoshop workflow, folks using a PC and/or BreezeBrowser will also benefit greatly by studying the material on DB II. Note: folks working on a PC and/or those who do not want to miss anything Photoshop may wish to purchase the original Digital Basics along with DB II while saving $15 by clicking here to buy the DB Bundle.

Folks who learn well by following along rather than by reading can check out the complete collection of MP 4 Photoshop Tutorial Videos by clicking here. Note: all of the videos are now priced at an amazingly low $5.00 each.

You can learn how and why I converted all of my Canon digital RAW files in DPP 4 in the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide here. More recently, I became proficient at converting my Nikon RAW (NEF) files in Adobe Camera Raw. About two years ago I began converting my Nikon and Sony RAW files in Capture One Pro 12 and continue to do so today.

You can learn advanced Quick Masking and advanced Layer Masking techniques in APTATS I & II. You can save $15 by purchasing the pair.

Divide and Conquer Tutorial

I recently discovered that contrary to what I had thought for years, Divide and Conquer is not included in DB II, I am sharing this technique below, adapted from the last update to the original Digital Basics.

Let’s say that you have a long branch in the background that needs to be removed. Best would be to use a Quick Mask, but in many instances there is simply not enough matching background material with which to cover the distracting branch. The Patch Tool is greatly preferred to the Clone Stamp as the Patch Tool blends texture while the Clone Stamp copies texture-less color. When it is impossible to patch a long branch in one fell swoop. If you try the Patch Tool on a small section of the branch, the result will be terrible smudging. What to do? Divide and Conquer. By cutting the offending branch into two or more parts as needed, you can create manageable sections. Loggers cut a big tree trunk into sections that can be much more easily handled than the entire trunk. To cut up your distracting branch, use the Clone Stamp at 20% Hardness. Note: if the tonality on one side of the branch is of a slightly different tonality or color than the other, be sure to work from both sides. Once you have cut the branch into manageable sections, you can use the Patch Tool (or Content-Aware Fill), to eliminate the remaining sections. My great preference is to use the former as the latter often leaves discernible edge-marks. The same technique can also be used if the offending branch covers part of the subject.

Typos

With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.

Your Fave?

Which of today’s three featured images is your favorite. Please leave a comment and let us know why you made your choice.

What’s Up?

I finished packing on Wednesday morning and left early, headed for the Auto Train station in Sanford, FL, figuring I could nap on the way down if need be. I spent an hour on the phone with Cliff Beittel and that really helped pass the time. I arrived way early, boarded the train at 2:30, and we pulled out right on time at 4pm.

I was glad to learn that two spots for the Homer trip have been filled, that several folks are interested in joining me at JBWR, and that several others are setting up dates for Nickerson Beach In-the-Field Instruction. Good friend Bill Schneider will be joining me for two private days on the beach there 10 & 11 August. He has recovered well from his fairly recent shoulder surgery.

Kudos to American swimmer Katie Ledecky for her Gold Medal in the first-ever Olympic swim of the woman’s 1500 meter freestyle. And love and support for world’s greatest-of-all-time woman gymnast, American Simone Biles for withdrawing from the the team and the individual all-around competitions citing stress and mental issues. She said that she felt lost in the air … No-one, probably including Simone, knows if she will compete in the Event finals that are scheduled to begin on Sunday night. Learn more about this situation and this amazing young woman here in the great Sports Illustrated article by Stephanie Apstein.

I met some fun folks last night and we spent two hours telling stories and laughing. Loudly! David, the barman, hung out with us as well. He is a delightful man who is often confused with Morgan Freeman. When I saw his long thin fingers I asked if he played piano. He does. Then I asked if he had ever dunked (a basketball). He said that the had but that his favorite sport was baseball. He was looking forward to playing at the University of Maryland but injured a knee working a construction job. He has a great smile.

I slept seven fitful hours — understandable as the Auto Train gets up to seventy mph. It is now 6:40 am and we passed by Richmond, VA at about 6:15. I had a nice chat with David the barman about Motown, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, and Hitsville, USA. We are — barring anything unforeseen — looking at an-ahead-of-schedule arrival in Lorton, VA no later than 8:30am. I will head toward Nickerson Beach despite the dire weather forecast. I have a hotel room in Rockville Center for tonight, will try to do some photography this afternoon and Friday morning, and then head to Alissa’s house in Ronkonkoma (on Long Island). Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.

Remember that you can find some great photo accessories (and necessities!) on Amazon by clicking on the Stuff tab on the orange/yellow menu bar above. On a related note, it would be extremely helpful if blog-folks like me, who spend too much money on Amazon, would get in the habit of clicking on the Amazon logo link on the right side of each blog post. As you might expect, doing so will not cost you a single penny, but would be appreciated tremendously by yours truly. And it works seamlessly with your Amazon Prime account.

This blog post took about 90 minutes to prepare and makes 213 consecutive days with a new one. Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, and 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 save 3% at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And doing so always earns my great appreciation.

Homer Bald Eagles Winter 2022

Yes, this is an expensive (but competitively priced) trip. The price of the boat and the price of the fish have risen astronomically since my last visit in 2020. But the photography is beyond amazing. You can do the whole trip with either the Canon 100-500 or the SONY 200-600 along with any 70-200mm lens. Flight photography until you cannot raise your arms, creative set-ups, lots of snow, we hope (earlier in the season is best for that), and lots of opportunities for point-blank head portraits and talon shots. All is a spectacular setting. If you are seriously interested in joining me for the world’s best Homer/Kachemak Bay Bald Eagle trip(s) — mid-FEB thru early MARCH 2022, please contact me immediately via e-mail for dates and details. I am looking for a roommate who will be doing all eleven days.

The East Pond

The East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens, NY was the place to observe and photograph North America’s southbound migrant shorebirds. It shined from 1975 through about 2010. Then, for reasons noted in the blog post here, the place pretty much went down the tubes due to high water levels. At present, it seems that the folks at Gateway have gotten their act together; conditions at the pond are reported to be excellent this season. I have a strong connection to the East Pond. I photographed my first shorebird — a Semipalmated Sandpiper, there in August of 1983. I’ve been visiting for 45 years and have spent thousands of hours on the pond.

If you would like to learn to identify and photograph more than a dozen species of shorebirds on an In-the-Field Workshop in August, please shoot me an e-mail to learn the dates and details. The East Pond is best for photography for just three specific days in a calendar year … I will be there then. Here’s hoping that the East Pond will return to its former crown-jewel glory.

SONY a9 II Mirrorless Digital Camera Body

Super-Low Price!/Canadian Sale Only

BAA-friend and many multiple IPT veteran Anita North is offering a a Sony a9 II in excellent condition for a BAA record-low price in USD. The sale includes one battery and the charger, and insured ground shipping to Canadian addresses only. For price, and to get in touch with Anita, please contact artie via e-mail. The sooner the better, as she is leaving for Africa in mid-August.

As things worked out, the a9, and then the a9 ii, turned out to be life-changers for me. From the moment I tracked that first incoming Brandt’s Cormorant at LaJolla, I knew that at that time, the SONY a9 series bodies featured the world’ best AF. I upgraded to the a9 ii as soon as it was released for the slightly larger body size. At one point I owned two a9 ii bodies. A new a9 ii sells for $4,498.00 so you can save a very nice $2004.00 by grabbing Anita’s a9 ii ASAP. Not to mention that the new Sony A1 sells for $6498.00 … artie

Please Remember

With income from IPTs now close to zero, please, if you enjoy and learn from the blog, remember to use one of my two affiliate programs when purchasing new gear. Doing so just might make it possible for me to avoid having to try to get a job as a Walmart greeter and will not cost you a single penny more. And if you use Bedfords and remember to enter the BIRDSASART code at checkout, you will save 3% on every order and enjoy free second-day air shipping. In these crazy times — I am out at least forty to sixty thousand dollars so far due to COVID 19 (with lots more to come) — remembering to use my B&H link or to shop at Bedfords will help me out a ton and be greatly appreciated. Overseas folks who cannot order from the US because of import fees, duties, and taxes, are invited to help out by clicking here to leave a blog thank you gift if they see fit.

New and Better Bedfords Discount Policy!

You can now save 3% on all of your Bedfords photo gear purchases by entering the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout. Your discount will be applied to your pre-tax total. In addition, by using the code you will get 2nd day air shipping via Fed Ex.

Grab a Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III and save $14.99. Purchase a Canon EOS R5 and your discount will be $116.97. Purchase a Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and save a remarkable $389.94! Your Bedford’s purchase no longer needs to be greater than $1,000.00 for you to receive a discount. The more you spend, the more you save.

Money Saving Reminder

Many have learned that if you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H and would enjoy free second-day air shipping, your best bet is to click here, place an order with Bedfords, and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If an item is out of stock, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592 (Central time). Be sure to mention the BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order to save 3% and enjoy free 2nd-day air shipping. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H and everywhere else. The wait lists at the big stores can be a year or longer for the hard to get items. Steve will surely get you your gear long before that. For the past year, he has been helping BAA Blog folks get their hands on items like the SONY a9 ii, the SONY 200-600 G OSS lens, the Canon EOS R5, the Canon RF 100-500mm lens, and the Nikon 500mm PF. Steve is personable, helpful, and eager to please.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs (remember those?) and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BPN, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear, especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail

This image was created on 28 May 2021 at a rookery in North Tampa. Standing, I used the hand held Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 1000. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/6400 sec. at f/5.6 (stopped down one-stop). AWB at 6:11pm on a cloudy bright afternoon. Wide AF-C performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version. Image #1: Little Blue Heron feeding fledged young

600mm Alone

I’d had only one chance to photograph young Little Blue Herons near their nests in 38 years, that at St. Augustine Alligator Farm on film with flash about 25 years ago. So not often. But there were several nesting pairs at rookery in North Tampa. This image was made on my second visit. The visible eye of the young bird is a huge plus.

And the Question Is …

The question is, why was I at such a high shutter speed with a correspondingly high ISO?

Note: RawDigger showed a dead-solid perfect exposure for Image #1, a near-perfect exposure for Image #2, and a perfect exposure for Image #3.

This image was created on 3 June 2021 at a rookery in North Tampa. I used the <Induro GIT304L Grand Series 3 Stealth 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 One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 640. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel: 1/800 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 5:26pm on a mostly cloudy afternoon. Wide AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Image #2: Little Blue Heron, fresh juvenile on rock

600mm and the 1.4X TC

I mentioned this rocky limestone point in the 800+ Images of the Same Bird … Right Down the Barrel. Practice Fishing. And the Rocky Point blog post here. I was thrilled when this bird, just a few days out of the nest, landed and posed. Working at a good distance, I made lots of verticals. This one, nicely framed and with a perfect head angle, was the best of the lot. One thing that I need to do on rainy days on Long Island is to do final edits on many, many files and lose many thousands of images …

Images #2 and #3 of the same bird were created on my third and last visit to this great rookery.

This image was created on 3 June 2021 at the rookery in North Tampa. While standing, I used the <Induro GIT304L Grand Series 3 Stealth Carbon Fiber Tripod/ Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-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 (Body Only). AUTO ISO 640. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/400 sec. at f/9 (stopped down 1/3 stop) in Manual mode. AWB at 5:34pm on a mostly cloudy afternoon. Wide AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version. Image #3:Little Blue Heron, fresh juvenile/head portrait

600mm and the 2X TC

With birds that I have lots of images of, I will usually go for head shots right off the bat. But I refrained from doing that until I was sure that I had a nice vertical portrait of this handsome youngster. That done, I added the 2X, approached very slowly, and made the kill. Here again, the dead solid perfect head angle made this image the pick of the litter.

Controlling the BKGR via Perspective Choice

Image #2 and Image #3 are of the very same bird on the very same rock. For Image #2 I went for a green background by moving a bit to my right and getting a bit lower by pulling out the front leg of the tripod. I saw the chance for a grey, matte background for image #3 so I moved left and got as tall as possible. The background for that image is simply still water reflecting the lead-grey sky.

Typos

With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.

The East Pond

The East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens, NY was the place to observe and photograph North America’s southbound migrant shorebirds from 1975 through about 2010. Then, for reasons noted below, the place pretty much went down the tubes due to high water levels. At present, it seems that the folks at Gateway have gotten their act together; conditions at the pond are reported to be excellent this season. As detailed below, I have a strong connection to the East Pond. I photographed my first shorebird — a Semipalmated Sandpiper, there in August of 1983. I’ve been visiting for 45 years and have spent thousands of hours on the pond.

If you would like to learn to identify and photograph more than a dozen species of shorebirds on an In-the-Field Workshop in August, please shoot me an e-mail to learn the dates and details. The East Pond is best for photography for just three specific days in a calendar year … I will be there then. Here’s hoping that the East Pond will return to its former crown-jewel glory.

Homer Bald Eagles Winter 2021

Yes, this is an expensive (but competitively priced) trip. The price of the boat and the price of the fish have risen astronomically since my last visit in 2020. But the photography is beyond amazing. Flight photography with any lens till you cannot raise your arms, creative set-ups, lots of snow, we hope (earlier in the season is best for that), and lots of opportunities for point-blank head portraits and talon shots. If you are seriously interested in joining me for the world’s best Homer/Kachemak Bay Bald Eagle trip(s) — mid-FEB thru early MARCH 2022, please contact me immediately via e-mail for dates and details.

What’s Up?

I need to do a bit more laundry, charge camera batteries, and begin packing for Wednesday afternoon’s trip on the Auto Train. Next will be a seven hour drive to Ronkonkoma on Long Island where I will be staying with daughter Alissa and her husband, Ajiniyaz. I will probably stop for the night at a Staten Island chain hotel to avoid the BQE and the LIE during rush hour! I will be photographing often at Nickerson Beach and at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge.

Today is Tuesday 27 July 2021 and I have lots of work to do. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.

Remember that you can find some great photo accessories (and necessities!) on Amazon by clicking on the Stuff tab on the orange/yellow menu bar above. On a related note, it would be extremely helpful if blog-folks like me, who spend too much money on Amazon, would get in the habit of clicking on the Amazon logo link on the right side of each blog post. As you might expect, doing so will not cost you a single penny, but would be appreciated tremendously by yours truly. And it works seamlessly with your Amazon Prime account.

This blog post took about three hours to prepare and makes 211 consecutive days with a new one. Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, and 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 save 3% at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And doing so always earns my great appreciation.

Getting Started Birding at JBWR

In May of probably 1977, I went birding, really for the first time, with my then and now former wife Dana, and my two daughters, Jennifer and Alissa. I had along a copy of the Golden Field Guide, Guide to Birds of North America by Chandler S. Robbins and Bertel Bruun. I learned years later that it had been a wave day as dozens of Myrtle (now Yellow-rumped) Warblers in breeding plumage flitted about in the trees and shrubs. I can remember being thrilled when I was able to match the color and patterns of the tiny birds in the tall bushes with the painting in the book. I had a pair of lousy binoculars that my Dad had gotten sometime in WW II. They were terrible at best.

That August I visited the refuge on my own and checked the log. One of the entries listed American Kestrel, male in the log. I found the bird in my now trust companion, the Golden Guide. A blue and orange falcon in New York City? You gotta be kidding me. I walked around the West Pond, saw a male American Kestrel, and followed it blindly when it flew between two rows of tall trees halfway around the pond. I got a better look at the bird when I was startled by a horn honking. A ranger, who later became a good friend — Bob Cook, called me over and explained that I had gone past a Do Not Enter sign. I apologized and we chatted. He said to me, “If you want to get close to the birds, check out the East Pond across Cross Bay Boulevard. There are no restrictions there.”

The next morning I was on the pond early and spotted a large, cinnamon-colored shorebird, a Marbled Godwit. As I wrote in Shorebirds; Beautiful Beachcombers and elsewhere, I had no idea that seeing that single bird would change the course of the remainder of my adult life, but that is exactly what happened. I had been captivated by the godwit’s long, upturned bill with an alabaster pink base. Shorebirds would quickly become my favorite bird family and I wound up spending several thousand hours on the East Pond over the next two plus decades.

The late Thomas H. Davis Jr. and Suzanne Kleinbaum at a Guy Tudor Christmas party in 1974. Photo courtesy of Peter W. Post

My Shorebird Mentor, the late Tom Davis

As a beginning birder, Tom Davis was a mysterious, mythical figure to me. All 6 foot seven inches and 145 pounds of him. He was an extremely knowledgeable top-notch birder, and served as the voice of the New York Rare Bird Alert. For several years I walked by him on the shores of the drawn-down East Pond looking for and studying shorebirds. He never once glanced at me. Tom often had a huge Novoflex telephoto lens with him. It had two pistol-like handle grips that were used to focus. Anyhoo, one day, for no reason at all, I walked by him and he said, “Hey, Artie, how’s it going?” I almost fainted. Within minutes he was down in the mud drawing stick figures of Baird’s Sandpiper for me and giving me lots of birding tips. When we got back to the parking lot, he shared his baby picture album with me. His babies were the juvenile shorebirds that visit the pond beginning in mid-August each year.

High as a kite, I went home and excitedly told Dana that Tom Davis had talked to me. The next week when I saw him he walked by me without saying a word. Over time, we talked a lot and Tom taught me everything that I know about aging shorebirds, separating juveniles from adult and breeding and winter plumage. Sometime in early 1984, I believe, Tom suffered a crippling cerebral aneurism in a doctor’s office. He became hemiplegic, completely paralyzed on one side. I visited him often at his care facility in Far Rockaway. In 1985, I was blessed to find and identify New York State’s first Red-necked (then Rufous-necked) Stint on the East Pond in July of 1985. Several of Tom’s friends took him by stretcher to the East Pond to see the bird. On his first attempt, the bird could not be located. He returned soon afterwards and saw the bird.

I was in California during the summer of 1986. I called the Rare Bird Alert to make sure that I was not missing any rare birds at the East Pond. Birding friend Tom Burke had taken over the alert when Tom Davis was stricken. As soon as I heard Tom intone in a very sad voice, “This is the New York Rare Bird Alert for July 20 …’ I knew that Tom had died. The stint had been his last life bird.

artie in the mud at the East Pond, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens, NY Original film image (slide) courtesy of the late Max Larsen

The East Pond and artie

Inspired by Tom Davis’s baby shorebird images and moved to action when I attended a Tony Manzoni slide show at South Shore Audubon Society, I began photographing birds at the East Pond in the later summer of 1983. I had no clue. The late Max and Nellie Larsen were very kind to me when I was a beginning birder. Max was quite a handsome man with a shock of Roger-Tory-Peterson-like white hair. Max took this image of me at the East Pond and kindly shared the slide with me. I spoke to Nellie at least five years ago. Max had been gone for a few years and she was well into her nineties.

In the photo above I am using my first telephoto lens, the Canon 400mm f/4.5 FD manual focus lens. The only way to get close enough for a decent image was to crawl through the mud. Tom had been doing a shorebird survey at JBWR for about five years when he was stricken. The results were published each year in The Kingbird, the journal of the then Federation of New York State Bird Clubs (now the more prestigious New York State Ornithological Association). Here is a link to Tom’s 1983 article. I took over the survey, done for the then-Manomet Bird Observatory, in 1984. I did the survey each fall through the 1990 season, the last several years with help from good friend and now professional ornithologist David Mizrahi. By 1991, I was totally obsessed with bird photography and stepped away from the many hundreds of hours needed to do the survey. I needed more time for photography. For the curious, here is a link to the 1986 survey.

Beginning in 1983, I photographed regularly at the East Pond with friends Kevin Karlson, Rob Villani, the late Tom Vezo, and Johann Schumacher. Those, as they say, were the days. While you would never think of the NYC metropolitan area as a hotbed of nature photography, everyone above and yours truly went on to become noted, oft-published bird photographers. I would be remiss at this point to not give a shout-out to former refuge manager Don Riepe. So thanks for everything, Don! And the same could be said of the late Bob Elliot Kutner, founding member and past President of the South Shore Audobon Society. I just learned that Elliot was an heroic WWII veteran who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Bob led countless birding field trips with boundless and infectious enthusiasm. And he hooked countless folks — including me, on birding. He showed me my first Snowy Owl. At a desolate Jones Beach on winter days, I used to say that you could tell that Elliot was leading a bird walk when you felt the ground shake from the hundred or so folks that he had enticed into the field despite the frigid weather. The man had the most wonderful smile you could ever hope to encounter. Bob lived to 88. This from his obituary that I found this morning:

He was a special, kind, charitable, man deeply connected to his Jewish roots. He will be missed by the many lives he touched and loved in his 88 years. His enthusiasm for life was exceptional and contagious. Our lives will never be the same without him. I was blessed to know have known him.

Back to the subject of rare shorebirds at JBWR. In 1981 Tom Davis found New York State’s first Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, an adult, on the East Pond. Two summers later he sighted what he believed to be the same bird! In 1983, Tom found a strange sandpiper that was definitively identified by noted Avian artist John Yrizarry as New York State’s first Little Stint. There was confusion at the time as to whether the bird was a Rufous-necked Stint or a Little Stint. I was there when John spoke to Tom after reviewing study skins of the two species at the American Museum of Natural History. He said, in his heavy Eastern-European accent, “It’s a shtint, alright, but is a Little Shtint.” I saw that bird several time but never had a chance to photograph it.

By chance, I was visiting Long Island in the late summer of 1998 and was privileged to see and photograph a juvenile Broad-billed Sandpiper. The bird, a real North American rarity, was found on the East Pond by William Brenner. It was the first record of that species in the lower 48 states. Tom Davis used to say that if you lived long enough every migrant shorebird in the world would wind up being seen at the East Pond …

It was on a Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge IPT that I first met Patrick Sparkman, now a dear friend.

Over the past decade, I have visited the East Pond in August several times. But because of problems with the water control valve at the north end of the pond, combined with management indifference, the pond was almost always completely flooded; there was usually no place for any shorebirds to land. My understanding is that this year the valve has been repaired and conditions should be ideal for the entire southbound shorebird migration season.

While doing the research for this blog post I found a searchable archive for the Kingbird (1950-2018) here on the website of the New York State Ornithological Association. Each mouse-click brought back memories of old friends from my NYC birding days: Paul A. Buckley, Joe Di Costanzo, Thomas W. Burke, Manny Levine, Robert Villani, Kevin and Dale Karlson, Tom Hook, Georges Dremeaux, Rick Cech, Stephen B. Dempsey, Arthur Berland, Steve Walters, R. J. Kurtz, Tony Leukering, and too many more to list. It was a real trip down memory lane.

Scroll to What’s Up (above) if you would like to explore the possibility of joining me on the East Pond this August for some In-the-Field photographic and shorebirding instruction.

Typos

With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.

A Focus Stacking Question …

As far as I know, none of the SONY bodies feature auto focus-stacking. If I focus bracket manually — Focus Peaking would make that relatively easy, is there a program that will auto-assemble the focus-bracketed series? If yes, which one is easiest to use?

Homer Bald Eagles Winter 2021

This is an expensive trip. The price of the boat and the price of the fish have risen astronomically since my last visit in 2020. But the photography is beyond amazing. Flight photography with any lens till you cannot raise your arms, creative set-ups, lots of snow, we hope (earlier in the season is best for that), and lots of opportunities for point-blank head portraits and talon shots. If you are seriously interested in joining me for the world’s best Homer/Katchemak Bay Bald Eagle trip(s) — mid-FEB thru early MARCH 2022, please contact me immediately via e-mail for dates and details.

What’s Up?

As noted yesterday, we did not do too well with the Swallow-tailed Kites on Friday morning. Saturday was worse. Lots worse … It dawned totally foggy with a northwest wind. The sun broke through at about 8:30am and the wind dropped a bit. But with wind against sun conditions, every kite was flying away from us and from the light. The few birds that came down for a drink were flying directly away from us. So you would figure, not so bad, enjoying a peaceful morning in a beautiful canal lined with tropical vegetation and tall trees, many of which are topped by 20-50 roosting Swallow-tailed Kites. If but that had been true. As it was a weekend and there were about eight photo boats. The problem was that on the boats that were closest to us, there were several folks who would not shut up, jabbering away as loud as possible, mostly preaching ridiculous photography tenets. I did some cell phone videos of the kites circling upwards but good photo chances were close to zero … We did learn that Thursday had been the best day for photography in twenty years. 🙂 N.A.T.U.R.E photography: Not Always The Ultimate Recreational Experience …

Congrats to American Olympic swimmers Chase Kalisz (Gold) and Jay Litherland (Silver) for sweeping the Men’s 400 Meter Individual Medley in Tokyo last night (with GOAT Michael Phelps in the booth).

Today is Sunday 25 July 2021. I took my walk early to beat the heat and the afternoon thunderstorms. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, we hope that you too have a great day.

Remember that you can find some great photo accessories (and necessities!) on Amazon by clicking on the Stuff tab on the orange/yellow menu bar above. On a related note, it would be extremely helpful if blog-folks like me, who spend too much money on Amazon, would get in the habit of clicking on the Amazon logo link on the right side of each blog post. As you might expect, doing so will not cost you a single penny, but would be appreciated tremendously by yours truly. And it works seamlessly with your Amazon Prime account.

This blog post took about two hours to prepare and makes 209 consecutive days with a new one. Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, and 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 save 3% at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And doing so always earns my great appreciation.

Please Remember

With income from IPTs now close to zero, please, if you enjoy and learn from the blog, remember to use one of my two affiliate programs when purchasing new gear. Doing so just might make it possible for me to avoid having to try to get a job as a Walmart greeter and will not cost you a single penny more. And if you use Bedfords and remember to enter the BIRDSASART code at checkout, you will save 3% on every order and enjoy free second-day air shipping. In these crazy times — I am out at least forty to sixty thousand dollars so far due to COVID 19 (with lots more to come) — remembering to use my B&H link or to shop at Bedfords will help me out a ton and be greatly appreciated. Overseas folks who cannot order from the US because of import fees, duties, and taxes, are invited to help out by clicking here to leave a blog thank you gift if they see fit.

New and Better Bedfords Discount Policy!

You can now save 3% on all of your Bedfords photo gear purchases by entering the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout. Your discount will be applied to your pre-tax total. In addition, by using the code you will get 2nd day air shipping via Fed Ex.

Grab a Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III and save $14.99. Purchase a Canon EOS R5 and your discount will be $116.97. Purchase a Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and save a remarkable $389.94! Your Bedford’s purchase no longer needs to be greater than $1,000.00 for you to receive a discount. The more you spend, the more you save.

Money Saving Reminder

Many have learned that if you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H and would enjoy free second-day air shipping, your best bet is to click here, place an order with Bedfords, and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If an item is out of stock, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592 (Central time). Be sure to mention the BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order to save 3% and enjoy free 2nd-day air shipping. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H and everywhere else. The wait lists at the big stores can be a year or longer for the hard to get items. Steve will surely get you your gear long before that. For the past year, he has been helping BAA Blog folks get their hands on items like the SONY a9 ii, the SONY 200-600 G OSS lens, the Canon EOS R5, the Canon RF 100-500mm lens, and the Nikon 500mm PF. Steve is personable, helpful, and eager to please.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs (remember those?) and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BPN, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear, especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail

This image was created on 23 July 2021 aboard Clemens Van der Werf’s flats boat on Lake Woodruff in Deland, FL. While seated on a deck chair, I used the hand held Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 2000. Exposure determined (poorly) via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/1000 sec. at f/4 (wide open). AWB at 7:40am on a still, then cloudy morning. Tracking: Flexible Spot AF-C performed perfectly by nailing the gator’s eye. Image #1: American Alligator floating on calm morning

The Swallow-tailed Kite Photo Story

From what I understand — and saw for two mornings, hundreds of Swallow-tailed Kites roost in the tall trees lining one very popular canal adjoining Lake Woodruff. At about 8 or 8:30am, they take flight in number. Many circle overhead on thermals as things warm up. A few swoop down to the water to drink. A wind from the southeast would be perfect. Despite a southwest wind on Friday morning, we had a very few chances to photograph the drinking kites. With early fog and a northwest wind, we had zero chances on Saturday morning.

In any case, today’s featured image was my favorite from our two morning adventure.

This image was created on 23 July 2021 aboard Clemens Van der Werf’s flats boat on Lake Woodruff in Deland, FL. I used the hand held Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 2000. Exposure determined (poorly) via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/1000 sec. at f/4 (wide open). AWB at 7:40am on a still, then cloudy morning. Tracking: Flexible Spot AF-C performed perfectly by nailing the gator’s eye. Image #1A: Topaz DeNoise on the American Alligator floating on calm morning image

Under-Exposures Yield More Noise

Click on the image to enlarge it and see the unusually high levels of noise for an ISO 2000 a1 original. RawDigger showed that in the very low light levels, the raw file was almost one stop too dark. Now note the after image on our right and see how beautifully Topaz DeNoise Low Light on Auto cleaned up the noise without any destructive posterization and without effecting the edges while actually improving the sharpness.

Topaz DeNoise

Be sure to click on the screen capture to see the complete elimination of noise in the after image on our right. And note that if anything, the fine details are sharper than in the original.

As regular readers know, I run DeNoise on virtually every image that I process immediately after executing the crop with the Delete Cropped Pixels box checked. For images made in sunny conditions, I used Standard. For images made in low light, I use Low Light. You can check all four methods by using the Comparison View but I rarely do that any more as I am confident as noted above.

Great Topaz News!

Folks who use the BAA Topaz link to purchase Sharpen AI, DeNoise AI, or the Utility Bundle (or any other Topaz plug-ins), will receive a 15% discount by entering the ARTHUR15 code at checkout. If the stuff is on sale (as it usually is), you save 15% off of the sale price! To get the discount you must use my link and you must enter the discount code. Be sure to start with this link.

Those who purchase Sharpen AI, DeNoise AI, or any other Topaz plug-ins using my link and then entering the ARTHUR15 code at checkout can e-mail to request a short Getting Started with Topaz e-Guide. Please include a copy of your Topaz receipt that shows the discount. Aside from the basics, the guide explains how to install the plug-ins so that they appear in the Photoshop Filter Menu.

RawDigger e-Mail Conversation with Saul Furstein

am: Hi Saul,

Re:

SF: I have read your The RawDigger E-Guide and have watched the two accompanying videos. I understand the value of getting the correct exposure in camera.

am: Or not 🙂

SF: I am confused. There was no mention of adjusting exposure in post-proocessing using software. Is there a reason that adjusting exposure with software is to be avoided?

am: Not at all. Exposing properly to the right gives you files with minimal noise and the most information. Doing so also yields cleaner, more natural color. I am pretty sure that it mentions that your raw files will often and usually should look washed out. So yes, we adjust the tonality of the image during post processing. Setting the Black (and white) points brings the images to life. And the Highlight Slider can be used to restore detail in the whites and highlights in properly exposed images.

Please LMK if you have any more questions.

Thanks with love, artie

RawDigger — not for the faint of heart …

Nothing has ever helped me learn to create perfect exposures to the degree that RawDigger has. I think that many folks are reluctant to learn that most of their images are underexposed by one or more full stops and that highlight warnings in Photoshop, Lightroom, Capture One, and your in-camera histogram are completely bogus as they are based on the embedded JPEGs. Only your raw files tell the truth all the time. Heck, I resisted RawDigger for several years … Once you get over that feeling, RawDigger can become your very best exposure friend no matter what system you are using. On the recent IPTs and In-the-Field sessions, we have demonstrated that fact. Convincingly.

The RawDigger (pink) Adapted Histogram

In the RawDigger e-Guide, you will learn exactly how to set up the Adapted “pink” RawDigger Histogram and how to use it to quickly and easily evaluate the exposure or raw file brightness of images from all digital cameras currently in use. RawDigger was especially helpful to me when I struggled with R5 exposures and when learned my new camera body, the Sony Alpha a1.

RawDigger e-Guide with Two Videos

The RawDigger e-Guide with Two Videos

by Arthur Morris with Patrick Sparkman

The RawDigger e-Guide was created only for serious photographers who wish to get the absolute most out of their raw files.

Patrick and I began work on the guide in July 2020. At first we struggled. We asked questions. We learned about Max-G values. We could not figure out why the Max G values varied by camera system. IPT veteran Bart Deamer asked lots of questions that we could not answer. We got help from RawDigger creator Iliah Borg. We learned. In December, Patrick came up with an Adapted Histogram that allows us to evaluate the exposures and raw file brightness for all images created with all digital camera bodies from the last two decades. What we learned each time prompted three complete beginning to end re-writes.

The point of the guide is to teach you to truly expose to the mega-Expose-to-the-Right so that you will minimize noise, maximize image quality, best utilize your camera’s dynamic range, and attain the highest possible level of shadow detail in your RAW files in every situation. In addition, your properly exposed RAW files will contain more tonal information and feature the smoothest possible transitions between tones. And your optimized images will feature rich, accurate color.

We teach you why the GREEN channel is almost always the first to over-expose. We save you money by advising you which version of RawDigger you need. We teach you how to interpret the Max G values for your Canon, Nikon, and SONY camera bodies. It is very likely that the Shock-your-World section will shock you. And lastly — thanks to the technical and practical brilliance of Patrick Sparkman — we teach you a simple way to quickly and easily evaluate your exposures and raw file brightness using an Adapted RawDigger histogram.

The flower video takes you through a session where artie edits a folder of images in Capture One while checking the exposures and Max-G values in RawDigger. The Adapted Histogram video examines a series of recent images with the pink histograms and covers lots of fine points including and especially how to deal with specular highlights. The directions for setting up the Adapted Histogram are in the text.

If we priced this guide based on how much effort we put into it, it would sell it for $999.00. But as this guide will be purchased only by a limited number of serious photographers, we have priced it at $51.00. You can order yours here in the BAA Online Store.

Typos

With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.

Your Call

After clicking on each image to enlarge it, please leave a comment and let us know which one you like the best and why you made your choice. Image #1 was made at the wide open aperture, Image #2 was made at f/8, and Image #3 was created at f/16.

What’s Up?

It is 5:35am and Clemens and I are headed up to Lake Woodruff in Volusia County in search of large numbers of Swallow-tailed Kites gathering before they head to South America for the winter. Wish us luck. For the most part it will be a big challenge for me as I will be hand holding the SONY 600mm f/4 GM with the 1.4X TC and the a1 body.

Today is Friday 23 July 2021. The weather for Deland is looking less than ideal … Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.

Thanks for all the comments on yesterday’s images. I will be sharing my thoughts on those with you here soon.

Remember that you can find some great photo accessories (and necessities!) on Amazon by clicking on the Stuff tab on the orange/yellow menu bar above. On a related note, it would be extremely helpful if blog-folks like me, who spend too much money on Amazon, would get in the habit of clicking on the Amazon logo link on the right side of each blog post. As you might expect, doing so will not cost you a single penny, but would be appreciated tremendously by yours truly. And it works seamlessly with your Amazon Prime account.

This blog post took well more than two hours to prepare and makes 208 consecutive days with a new one. Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, and 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 save 3% at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And doing so always earns my great appreciation.

Please Remember

With income from IPTs now close to zero, please, if you enjoy and learn from the blog, remember to use one of my two affiliate programs when purchasing new gear. Doing so just might make it possible for me to avoid having to try to get a job as a Walmart greeter and will not cost you a single penny more. And if you use Bedfords and remember to enter the BIRDSASART code at checkout, you will save 3% on every order and enjoy free second-day air shipping. In these crazy times — I am out at least forty to sixty thousand dollars so far due to COVID 19 (with lots more to come) — remembering to use my B&H link or to shop at Bedfords will help me out a ton and be greatly appreciated. Overseas folks who cannot order from the US because of import fees, duties, and taxes, are invited to help out by clicking here to leave a blog thank you gift if they see fit.

New and Better Bedfords Discount Policy!

You can now save 3% on all of your Bedfords photo gear purchases by entering the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout. Your discount will be applied to your pre-tax total. In addition, by using the code you will get 2nd day air shipping via Fed Ex.

Grab a Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III and save $14.99. Purchase a Canon EOS R5 and your discount will be $116.97. Purchase a Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and save a remarkable $389.94! Your Bedford’s purchase no longer needs to be greater than $1,000.00 for you to receive a discount. The more you spend, the more you save.

Money Saving Reminder

Many have learned that if you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H and would enjoy free second-day air shipping, your best bet is to click here, place an order with Bedfords, and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If an item is out of stock, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592 (Central time). Be sure to mention the BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order to save 3% and enjoy free 2nd-day air shipping. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H and everywhere else. The wait lists at the big stores can be a year or longer for the hard to get items. Steve will surely get you your gear long before that. For the past year, he has been helping BAA Blog folks get their hands on items like the SONY a9 ii, the SONY 200-600 G OSS lens, the Canon EOS R5, the Canon RF 100-500mm lens, and the Nikon 500mm PF. Steve is personable, helpful, and eager to please.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs (remember those?) and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BPN, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear, especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail

This image was created on 23 July 2021 in my front yard. Standing at full height, with the blossom picked and Plamped in place, I used the Induro GIT304L Grand Series 3 Stealth Carbon Fiber Tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Mini-mounted Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM lens with the Metabones Canon EF/EF-S Lens to Sony E Mount T Smart Adapter (Fifth Generation) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital camera body. ISO 400. The exposure was in part determined by Zebras with Exposure Compensation on the rear wheel, and then selected as best from a bracketed series of exposures after evaluation in RawDigger. Multi-metering +1.3 stops: 1/100 sec. at f/3.5 (wide open) in Manual mode. Manual Focus, Focus Magnifier, Focus Peaking, and the 2-second self-timer, all as detailed in the SONY Alpha a1 Info and Updates group e-mails. AWB at 8:24:46am in the shade on a sunny morning. Be sure to click on the image to view a larger version. Image #1: Sunshine or Powderpuff Mimosa — Mimosa strigillosa blossom

The Situation

We have a nice patch of Sunshine Mimosa growing in a small patch of dirt right next to the pool machinery. I’ve seen spent blossoms before. I checked for flowers on Wednesday morning but there were none, and no buds as well, at least that I saw. After my Thursday morning walk, I walked out onto the pool deck to put my boots in the sun to dry and decided to take a peek at the low-growing mimosas that had multiplied over the past three years. I was surprised to see two blossoms. One was a bit ragged and the other one was perfect. I picked the beautiful blossom and set up for a green background in the front yard. As it was rather late and a breeze was developing, I moved my setup into the lee of the big oak tree in front of my house. The good news in those situation is that the breeze comes and goes.

Note that working wide open with the Metabones Adapter resulted in severe vignetting that could not be completely eliminated via the Vignettting slider during the raw conversion in ACR; I had to use a very soft clone stamp to make the corners perfect.

This image was created on 23 July 2021 in my front yard. Standing at full height, with the blossom picked and Plamped in place, I used the Induro GIT304L Grand Series 3 Stealth Carbon Fiber Tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Mini-mounted Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM lens with the Metabones Canon EF/EF-S Lens to Sony E Mount T Smart Adapter (Fifth Generation) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital camera body. ISO 800. The exposure was in part determined by Zebras with Exposure Compensation on the rear wheel, and then selected as best from a bracketed series of exposures after evaluation in RawDigger. Multi-metering +1.3 stops: 1/40 sec. at f/8 (stopped down 2 1/3 stops) in Manual mode. Manual Focus, Focus Magnifier, Focus Peaking, and the 2-second self-timer, all as detailed in the SONY Alpha a1 Info and Updates group e-mails. AWB at 8:23:57am in the shade on a sunny morning. Be sure to click on the image to view a larger version. Image #2: Sunshine or Powderpuff Mimosa — Mimosa strigillosa blossom

Sensitive Brier

Sensitive Brier (Mimosa nuttallii), with its smaller prettier blossoms, is more common at ILE than Sunshine Mimosa. It is sometimes called Catclaw Sensitive Briar because of the multitude of tiny barbs on the stems. You can see a decent image of this mimosa in the the blog post here.

This image was created on 23 July 2021 in my front yard. Standing at full height, with the blossom picked and Plamped in place, I used the Induro GIT304L Grand Series 3 Stealth Carbon Fiber Tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Mini-mounted Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM lens with the Metabones Canon EF/EF-S Lens to Sony E Mount T Smart Adapter (Fifth Generation) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital camera body. ISO 800. The exposure was in part determined by Zebras with Exposure Compensation on the rear wheel, and then selected as best from a bracketed series of exposures after evaluation in RawDigger. Multi-metering +1.3 stops: 1/13sec. at f/16 (stopped down 4 1/3 stops) in Aperture Priority mode. Manual Focus, Focus Magnifier, Focus Peaking, and the 2-second self-timer, all as detailed in the SONY Alpha a1 Info and Updates group e-mails. AWB at 8:23:24am in the shade on a sunny morning. Be sure to click on the image to view a larger version. Image #3: Sunshine or Powderpuff Mimosa — Mimosa strigillosa blossom

Variety is the Spice of Flower Photography

Once I have my gear set up on a still flower in calm conditions, and have focused sharply exactly where I want, the process becomes quite automated. For this flower, I started at f/8 and shot exposures from +.7 stops to + 2 stops. I guessed that +1.0 would have been best. Those were acceptable but when I evaluated the images in RawDigger it showed that +1.3 stops was best. Working in Av mode with Exposure Compensation enables me to work very quickly and to learn more about exposure once the images are downloaded by evaluating them in RawDigger. Then it is a simple matter of varying the aperture and shooting series of five images at different exposures. If you wish to change the size of the image in the frame or try a different image design, rinse and repeat.

Note that in Image #1 there were no dust spots. In Image #2 there were two. In Image #3, where I stopped down to f/16, I had to use the Spot Healing Brush to eliminate about 20 dust spots, many of them nasty. Note also in Image #3 that some background detail was brought up even though it was a good twenty feet to the grass background.

SONY and artie

Switching to SONY, first with the a9 and the a9 II, and then with the remarkable a1, has enabled me (and others, like Mike De Rosa as seen recently in the blog post here), to create images of birds in flight and in action that I could not have even dreamed of when using Canon for 33 years and then Nikon for more than two. Most of the time I am using one of two AF methods that together, cover about 99% of the commonly-encountered bird photography situations. Learn more by joining the group!

From Long-ago IPT veteran Keith Kennedy via e-mail

Absolutely great information. I am calling Jim in a few minutes to order a couple of Delkin 128GB UHS-II cards. Your timely email has saved me a ton of money! Many thanks

In the same vein, via e-mail from John LeClair

Well, e-mail #21 alone was worth the price of admission!

From Pamela Viale, after receiving my a1 settings along with detailed instructions on how to copy them to her SONY a1 via e-mail

This e-mail group has been an incredible boon to me! Thank you so much!

From Joe Barranco via e-Mail

Thanks for your great ideas on the A1 set up. I have been getting MANY more keepers doing things your way!

From Barbara White via e-Mail

Wow, I just gotta say – I learn so much from the SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info group! My camera is on my desk, and I’m always picking it up and changing something that I’ve read about in the e-mails.

Thanks, Barbara

From Janet Horton via e-Mail

Hi Artie, Mystery solved. Yes, I was able to replicate what you did. I forgot that you have to set self-timer using the upper dial. I am used to that being a MENU selection.

Thanks much, Janet

SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group

The SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group is going great guns as more and more folks chime in with thoughtful questions and experience-based answers. As the a1 is becoming more readily available, more and more folks are getting their hands on this amazing body. We are now up to an astounding 69 lucky and blessed photographers! Early on, we discussed the myriad AF options. I gave my opinion as to the best one for flight and general bird photography.

All who purchased their Alpha a1 bodies via a BAA affiliate link will receive a free subscription to the Sony Alpha a1 Set-Up and Info Updates after shooting me their receipts via e-mail. (Note: it may take me several days to confirm B&H orders.) This same service may be purchased by anyone with an a1 body via a $150.00 PayPal sent to birdsasart@verizon.net indicating payment for Alpha a1 Info Updates. Alternatively, folks can call Jim weekdays at 1-863-692-0906 to pay via credit card. New members will receive composite e-mails that summarize all previous discussions.

Typos

With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.

What’s Up?

Most of the time, I know a day or two in advance what the subject of an upcoming blog will be. I woke this morning with no clue. So I decided to look at my ILE July 2020 file. I was surprised to see flowers, flowers, and more flowers. Along with a very few butterflies and cranes. Right now the fields are too soft and too wet to drive on safely, so no cranes. And there are just not many flowers around.

Anyhoo, I found today’s featured image, processed it, and prepared this blog post. Today is Wednesday 21 July. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.

Thanks for all the comments on yesterday’s images. I will be sharing my thoughts on those with you here tomorrow.

Remember that you can find some great photo accessories (and necessities!) on Amazon by clicking on the Stuff tab on the orange/yellow menu bar above. On a related note, it would be extremely helpful if blog-folks like me, who spend too much money on Amazon, would get in the habit of clicking on the Amazon logo link on the right side of each blog post. As you might expect, doing so will not cost you a single penny, but would be appreciated tremendously by yours truly. And it works seamlessly with your Amazon Prime account.

This blog post took about one hour to prepare and makes 206 consecutive days with a new one. Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, and 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 save 3% at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And doing so always earns my great appreciation.

Please Remember

With income from IPTs now close to zero, please, if you enjoy and learn from the blog, remember to use one of my two affiliate programs when purchasing new gear. Doing so just might make it possible for me to avoid having to try to get a job as a Walmart greeter and will not cost you a single penny more. And if you use Bedfords and remember to enter the BIRDSASART code at checkout, you will save 3% on every order and enjoy free second-day air shipping. In these crazy times — I am out at least forty to sixty thousand dollars so far due to COVID 19 (with lots more to come) — remembering to use my B&H link or to shop at Bedfords will help me out a ton and be greatly appreciated. Overseas folks who cannot order from the US because of import fees, duties, and taxes, are invited to help out by clicking here to leave a blog thank you gift if they see fit.

New and Better Bedfords Discount Policy!

You can now save 3% on all of your Bedfords photo gear purchases by entering the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout. Your discount will be applied to your pre-tax total. In addition, by using the code you will get 2nd day air shipping via Fed Ex.

Grab a Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III and save $14.99. Purchase a Canon EOS R5 and your discount will be $116.97. Purchase a Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and save a remarkable $389.94! Your Bedford’s purchase no longer needs to be greater than $1,000.00 for you to receive a discount. The more you spend, the more you save.

Money Saving Reminder

Many have learned that if you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H and would enjoy free second-day air shipping, your best bet is to click here, place an order with Bedfords, and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If an item is out of stock, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592 (Central time). Be sure to mention the BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order to save 3% and enjoy free 2nd-day air shipping. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H and everywhere else. The wait lists at the big stores can be a year or longer for the hard to get items. Steve will surely get you your gear long before that. For the past year, he has been helping BAA Blog folks get their hands on items like the SONY a9 ii, the SONY 200-600 G OSS lens, the Canon EOS R5, the Canon RF 100-500mm lens, and the Nikon 500mm PF. Steve is personable, helpful, and eager to please.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs (remember those?) and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BPN, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear, especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail

This image was created on 15 July 2020 a few blocks from my home at ILE. I used the hand held Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 560mm) and the 61-MP Sony Alpha a7R IV Mirrorless Digital Camera Body. ISO 800. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/1000 sec. at f/9 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed this exposure to be dead-solid perfect (as seen in the screen capture below). AWB at 8:44am on a clear, sunny morning. I screwed up the focus (by choosing the wrong AF Method) … Click on the image to view a larger version. Image #1: Zebra Swallowtail on Carolina Red Root blossom

Your Thoughts?

Zebra Swallowtail is my favorite butterfly. This is a beautiful specimen. They are uncommon and skittish so getting a great image is a huge challenge.

Enlarge the image and examine it critically and ask yourself, what do I like about it? Then ask yourself, what don’t I like about it. Then share your thoughts by leaving a comment. Where do you think the focus was? What one thing could the butterfly have done that would have resulted in a perfect image?

Image #1A: RawDigger screen capture for the Zebra Swallowtail on Carolina Red Root blossom image

Dead-Solid Perfect!

Images where the G channel gets 2/3rds of the way from the 8000 to the 16000 line are perfect exposures. Images where the G channel gets right up to the line are dead-solid perfect. With 195 OvExp pixels out of 51,000,000 this is a dead-solid perfect exposure.

RawDigger — not for the faint of heart …

Nothing has ever helped me learn to create perfect exposures to the degree that RawDigger has. I think that many folks are reluctant to learn that most of their images are underexposed by one or more full stops and that highlight warnings in Photoshop, Lightroom, Capture One, and your in-camera histogram are completely bogus as they are based on the embedded JPEGs. Only your raw files tell the truth all the time. Heck, I resisted RawDigger for several years … Once you get over that feeling, RawDigger can become your very best exposure friend no matter what system you are using. On the recent IPTs and In-the-Field sessions, we have demonstrated that fact. Convincingly.

The RawDigger (pink) Adapted Histogram

In the RawDigger e-Guide, you will learn exactly how to set up the Adapted “pink” RawDigger Histogram and how to use it to quickly and easily evaluate the exposure or raw file brightness of images from all digital cameras currently in use. RawDigger was especially helpful to me when I struggled with R5 exposures and when learned my new camera body, the Sony Alpha a1.

RawDigger e-Guide with Two Videos

The RawDigger e-Guide with Two Videos

by Arthur Morris with Patrick Sparkman

The RawDigger e-Guide was created only for serious photographers who wish to get the absolute most out of their raw files.

Patrick and I began work on the guide in July 2020. At first we struggled. We asked questions. We learned about Max-G values. We could not figure out why the Max G values varied by camera system. IPT veteran Bart Deamer asked lots of questions that we could not answer. We got help from RawDigger creator Iliah Borg. We learned. In December, Patrick came up with an Adapted Histogram that allows us to evaluate the exposures and raw file brightness for all images created with all digital camera bodies from the last two decades. What we learned each time prompted three complete beginning to end re-writes.

The point of the guide is to teach you to truly expose to the mega-Expose-to-the-Right so that you will minimize noise, maximize image quality, best utilize your camera’s dynamic range, and attain the highest possible level of shadow detail in your RAW files in every situation. In addition, your properly exposed RAW files will contain more tonal information and feature the smoothest possible transitions between tones. And your optimized images will feature rich, accurate color.

We teach you why the GREEN channel is almost always the first to over-expose. We save you money by advising you which version of RawDigger you need. We teach you how to interpret the Max G values for your Canon, Nikon, and SONY camera bodies. It is very likely that the Shock-your-World section will shock you. And lastly — thanks to the technical and practical brilliance of Patrick Sparkman — we teach you a simple way to quickly and easily evaluate your exposures and raw file brightness using an Adapted RawDigger histogram.

The flower video takes you through a session where artie edits a folder of images in Capture One while checking the exposures and Max-G values in RawDigger. The Adapted Histogram video examines a series of recent images with the pink histograms and covers lots of fine points including and especially how to deal with specular highlights. The directions for setting up the Adapted Histogram are in the text.

If we priced this guide based on how much effort we put into it, it would sell it for $999.00. But as this guide will be purchased only by a limited number of serious photographers, we have priced it at $51.00. You can order yours here in the BAA Online Store.

Typos

With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.

What’s Up?

The last morning of the 2nd JAX IPT was more of the same, more of an early southwest breeze and more wind against sun condition. None-the-less, we had a great morning. Donna Bourdon did chicks on the face of the dune early and wrong-way flight after that. Then she joined Lou Newman and Maida at the wash-over pool. Clemens and I started atop the ladders with the crazy-tall tripods working tern chicks on top of the dune at 1200mm. A few on the edge of a nearby ridge were really gorgeous. After a while, I headed down the beach for chicks and Clemens did flight. With wind against sun conditions, the trick to flight photography is to find birds flying the wrong way, or those turning or banking. Finally I joined Donna, Lou, and Maida at the pool where we all got some great stuff on handsome young Laughing Gulls. Lou had two great chances on a Royal Tern feeding sequence.

We were back at the AirBnB for brunch by ten and on the road by 11:40am. Donna flying JAX to ATL to Chattanooga while Lou and Maida headed to Sarasota. After dropping me off at ILE, Clemens will grab his car and continue on to Fort Lauderdale.

All in all it was a great trip despite the often challenging conditions. And the All-Wheel Drive (AWD) on my BMW X5 did great on the soft sand. We never even came close to getting stuck 🙂 Today is Monday 18 July 2021. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.

Remember that you can find some great photo accessories (and necessities!) on Amazon by clicking on the Stuff tab on the orange/yellow menu bar above. On a related note, it would be extremely helpful if blog-folks like me, who spend too much money on Amazon, would get in the habit of clicking on the Amazon logo link on the right side of each blog post. As you might expect, doing so will not cost you a single penny, but would be appreciated tremendously by yours truly. And it works seamlessly with your Amazon Prime account.

This blog post took about two hours to prepare and makes 204 consecutive days with a new one. Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, and 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 save 3% at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And doing so always earns my great appreciation.

SONY a9 II Mirrorless Digital Camera Body

Wally Barkley is offering a Sony a9 II in near-mint condition for a BAA record-low $2694.00. The sale includes the original box and everything that came in it including one battery and the charger, strap. Insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addresses only is also included. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Wally via e-mail or by phone at 1-231-675-6546 Eastern time zone.

As things worked out, the a9, and then the a9 ii, turned out to be life-changers for me. From the moment I tracked that first incoming Brandt’s Cormorant at LaJolla, I knew that at that time, the SONY a9 series bodies featured the world’ best AF. I upgraded to the a9 ii as soon as it was released for the slightly larger body size. At one point I owned two a9 ii bodies. A new a9 ii sells for $4,498.00 so you can save a very nice $1804.00 by grabbing Wally’s a9 ii ASAP. Not to mention that the new Sony A1 sells for $6498.00 … artie

This image was created on 17 July 2021 on the last afternoon of the second JAX IPT. While seated on dry sand using the knee-pod technique, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 734mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 800. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/2000 sec. at f/10 (stopped down one-stop) in Manual mode. AWB at 6:09pm on a sunny afternoon. Wide AF-C/Bird-Eye/Face Detection AF was active at the moment of exposure and performed just about perfectly (as below). Click on the image to view a larger version Image #1: Royal Tern chick begging

The Best Option …

Before we headed out to the beach on Saturday afternoon, I said to the group, “With wind against sun, a good option is to get close to some chicks by the wash-over pool and wait for a parent bird to return with a fish. There is at least a chance that the chick will turn away from the wind to face the parent that will be landing into the wind. If you get lucky, you can get something decent with the chick facing you.” I got very lucky. Image #1 was my favorite from a nine frame burst created within the same second.

I scootched to my right to get squarely on sun angle with this chick. I had planned to get the camera on the ground and work off the rear screen. Lucky for me, I did not have time to do that. As the chick reacted to an adult flying by overhead at close range I acquired focus almost instantly and fired away. This chick went hungry for at least a while longer.

Image #1A: AF point for the Royal Tern chick begging image

Bird Eye/Face Detection Improved

Firmware update V1.10 completely eliminated the electronic viewfinder (EVF) problem that plagued a1 shooters from Day One. In addition, the performance of the already-amazing Bird Eye/Face Detection AF was significantly improved with the recent firmware update.

Note the small, proportionate crop from the right and from below. Tip: select Original Ratio from the Crop Tool drop-down menu.

SONY and artie

Switching to SONY, first with the a9 and the a9 II, and then with the remarkable a1, has enabled me (and others, like Mike De Rosa as seen recently in the blog post here), to create images of birds in flight and in action that I could not have even dreamed of when using Canon for 33 years and then Nikon for more than two. Most of the time I am using one of two AF methods that together, cover about 99% of the commonly-encountered bird photography situations. Learn more by joining the group!

From Long-ago IPT veteran Keith Kennedy via e-mail

Absolutely great information. I am calling Jim in a few minutes to order a couple of Delkin 128GB UHS-II cards. Your timely email has saved me a ton of money! Many thanks

In the same vein, via e-mail from John LeClair

Well, e-mail #21 alone was worth the price of admission!

From Pamela Viale, after receiving my a1 settings along with detailed instructions on how to copy them to her SONY a1 via e-mail

This e-mail group has been an incredible boon to me! Thank you so much!

From Joe Barranco via e-Mail

Thanks for your great ideas on the A1 set up. I have been getting MANY more keepers doing things your way!

From Barbara White via e-Mail

Wow, I just gotta say – I learn so much from the SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info group! My camera is on my desk, and I’m always picking it up and changing something that I’ve read about in the e-mails.

Thanks, Barbara

From Janet Horton via e-Mail

Hi Artie, Mystery solved. Yes, I was able to replicate what you did. I forgot that you have to set self-timer using the upper dial. I am used to that being a MENU selection.

Thanks much, Janet

SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group

The SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group is going great guns as more and more folks chime in with thoughtful questions and experience-based answers. As the a1 is becoming more readily available, more and more folks are getting their hands on this amazing body. With two folks joining yesterday, we are now up to an astounding 67 lucky and blessed photographers! Early on, we discussed the myriad AF options. I gave my opinion as to the best one for flight and general bird photography. More recently, we have been in contact with folks at SONY sharing our thoughts, experiences, and frustrations with the EVF blackout problem.

All who purchased their Alpha a1 bodies via a BAA affiliate link will receive a free subscription to the Sony Alpha a1 Set-Up and Info Updates after shooting me their receipts via e-mail. (Note: it may take me several days to confirm B&H orders.) This same service may be purchased by anyone with an a1 body via a $150.00 PayPal sent to birdsasart@verizon.net indicating payment for Alpha a1 Info Updates. Alternatively, folks can call Jim weekdays at 1-863-692-0906 to pay via credit card. New members will receive composite e-mails that summarize all previous discussions.

Beach Clean-Up

Most of the beach clean-up here was done with the Patch Tool. I used a bit of Content-Aware Fill. I did not use the Clone Stamp Tool at all. The clean-up job alone took about 25 minutes. I know that there will be a few out there who prefer the messy original version with the bits of shell and tiny feathers. I do not 🙂

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II). You can order your copy from the BAA Online Store here, by sending a PayPal for $40 here, or by calling Jim or Jennifer weekdays at 863-692-0906 with your credit card in hand. Be sure to specify Digital Basics II.

The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II)

The Photoshop Tools used with all of my clean-up techniques along with dozens of other great Photoshop tips and techniques — along with all of my personalized Keyboard Shortcuts, are covered in detail in the BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II), an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. Learn more and check out the free excerpt in the blog post here. While the new e-Guide reflects my MacBook Pro/Photo Mechanic/DPP 4/Photoshop workflow, folks using a PC and/or BreezeBrowser will also benefit greatly by studying the material on DB II. Note: folks working on a PC and/or those who do not want to miss anything Photoshop may wish to purchase the original Digital Basics along with DB II while saving $15 by clicking here to buy the DB Bundle.

Folks who learn well by following along rather than by reading can check out the complete collection of MP 4 Photoshop Tutorial Videos by clicking here. Note: all of the videos are now priced at an amazingly low $5.00 each.

You can learn how and why I converted all of my Canon digital RAW files in DPP 4 in the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide here. More recently, I became proficient at converting my Nikon RAW (NEF) files in Adobe Camera Raw. About two years ago I began converting my Nikon and Sony RAW files in Capture One Pro 12 and continue to do so today.

You can learn advanced Quick Masking and advanced Layer Masking techniques in APTATS I & II. You can save $15 by purchasing the pair.

Typos

With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.