Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Whats Up?

Though I did not create as many images on Wednesday morning as I had on Monday, the 3rd morning of the second DeSoto IPT was fantastic. The terns and skimmers were great right at sunrise but all the birds took flight and left without explanation. So we headed for the calmest pool to see what was up. We started with a gorgeous Marbled Godwit and its mirror image reflection. Next was a feeding spree with a half-dozen each of Snowy Egrets and Red-breasted Mergansers. We followed the birds along to stay on sun angle as much as possible. We had lots of great chances with the flying and landing snowies. As usual, Donna Bourdon opted to stay with a frantically dancing Reddish Egret. Shelley Lake and I worked some nice feeding Dunlins at ground level. All in all, it was a truly great morning. And when Shelley saw her images, she was astounded by their beauty and intimacy.

After our second delicious smoked salmon brunch in three days, we recorded a Camtasia video during which I edited a single folder with 2586 images from both sessions on 27 April. I wound up with 248 keepers after the first edit. It had been a very good morning. The video will be offered for sale soon for those who wish to learn to quickly pick their keepers from large files from the super-high frame rate bodies.

On Wednesday afternoon, we headed to a rookery in Brandon, FL. We arrived way too early to find the harsh light on a very warm — make that hot, afternoon. We found some good chow right nearby to kill some time. With tons of clutter, nests right next to each other, and too many branches everywhere, rookeries are difficult places to photograph. We hung in till the light was sweet and were rewarded when the two large chicks in the accessible Great Blue Blue Heron nest at the very top of the south colony island were fed. We were not headed back to Gulfport until 8:00pm. It was a long and rewarding day.

Today is Thursday 28 April, the last morning of the DeSoto IPT. The forecast for St. Pete is for test another perfect morning: clear and sunny with a southeast wind at 11mph. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you have a great day.

This blog post took about two hours to prepare and makes 126 consecutive days with a new one. Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head, for example, is available from B&H and/or Bedfords and is also available in the BAA Online Store, it would be great if you opt to purchase from us. We will match any price. Please remember also to use my B&H affiliate links or to save money 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.

Hard to Figure …

After more than 20 folks left insightful comments on the Whole Catfish blog post, it is hard to figure out why only a single person left a comment in yesterdays A Catch-up Learning Day on the BIRDS AS ART Blog post here when asked to pick their favorite of four very strong images.

I really did enjoy Steve’s quite clever comment:

April 28, 2021 at 8:23 pm · Reply · Edit

In image #3 above, the Osprey forms a spectacular hood ornament for the flying catfish.

Thanks for dputting a smile on my face Steve.

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.

Please Remember

With income from IPTs now at 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 also created on 26 April 2021, yet another from the great first morning of the second DeSoto IPT. Lying flat on my belly in the wet sand, I used the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 840mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 800. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/2500 sec. at f/9 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 8:17am on a clear, sunny morning. Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed to perfection. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #1: Sanderling running

The Series

This running Sanderling image was made while I was seated. It is one of a series of five, all nicely framed. Hand holding the 200-60, even with the 1.4X TC, is a dream. The first four were razor-sharp on the eye, the last one, todays featured image, showed some motion blur on the face so it needed some special post processing care. See the Topaz Sharpen AI item below. I chose to optimize this one because the bird had both feet off the ground.

The bird is pretty much getting close to breeding plumage. The upperparts may become more orange over the next few weeks, but this species — even in full breeding plumage — shows lots of variation in color.

Image #1B: Topaz Denoise AI on the Sanderling running image

Topaz Denoise AI

With images made in full sun, I will generally go with DeNoise on Auto, rarely changing any of the sliders. With higher ISO images made in low light, I will always go to the Comparison view and often find that either Low Light or AI Clear does a better job. In many cases, increasing the magnification to 200 or 400% makes it easier to see the differences in the three options. Note the complete elimination of background noise in this ISO 800 image. Remember that when the WHITEs are properly exposed, the middle tones are one stop too dark. Confused by that? See the section on Exposure Theory in the original (soft cover) The Art of Bird Photography.

Image #1B: Topaz Sharpen AI on the Sanderling running image

Topaz Sharpen AI

So why might the fifth image in the series showed more motion blur than the first four? That likely occurred because I did not pan as smoothly with the last image as I had with the first four; the bird was higher in the frame than it was in the four sharp frames. To me, that shows that I jerked the lens a bit at the end. Or not.

In any case, the ability of Sharpen AI to re-align pixels to correct motion blur is nothing short of remarkable. Click on the screen capture above to better see the remarkable difference in the before image on our right and the after image on our left.

You can see that I applied Sharpen AI to a rough selection of the birds head (on a layer). As I have a hard time telling if that layer is over sharpened, I run Sharpen AI at full strength, go back to Photoshop, magnify the image, and click the visibility eyeball on and off. If it looks too crispy I will simply reduce the Opacity to taste. With this image, I reduced the Opacity to 60%.

Typos

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

What’s Up?

The DeSoto IPT got off to an incredible start on Monday. The morning session was filled with pairs of copulating Royal Terns, a dancing Reddish Egret, two wonderfully cooperative Laughing Gulls in a perfect setting, and a nice variety of shorebirds, including and especially some fairly bright Sanderlings molting into breeding plumage. The sweet light and the east wind made bird photography a pleasure.

Jake Levin and Jim Miller arrived with brand new SONY Alpha a1 bodies that they had not set up. I suggested that I copy all of my settings to their bodies using the Save/Load Settings feature so that we would be on the exact same page. Both agreed. The process took less than a minute. Both were utterly astounded by the AF performance of the a1 as the AF system locked onto the bird’s eyes and never let it go. And with ISO on the rear wheel, getting the right exposure is a snap (as long as you have the correct Zebra settings as detailed in the Sony Camera User’s e-Guide). Note: everyone in the SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group receives a free copy of the Sony Camera User’s e-Guide if they do not already have a copy.

Though the east wind persisted in the afternoon, we enjoyed a second great session on Monday afternoon with lots of shorebirds including Dunlin, Short-billed Dowitcher, Semipalmated and Black-bellied Plovers, Least Sandpiper, Sanderling, and Willet. And one of the Willets was quite proficient at catching and eating small crabs.

I created 4023 images yesterday. I have not finished my first edit. I did make many fine images.

Thanks to the many who commented on yesterdays four Osprey images. I will be chiming in on that topic and catching up with some previous blog questions in tomorrows post.

Today is Tuesday 27 April 2021. The forecast for St. Pete this morning is again perfect: clear skies with a nice east wind. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you have a great day.

This blog post took about one hour to prepare and makes 125 consecutive days with a new one. Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head, for example, is available from B&H and/or Bedfords and is also available in the BAA Online Store, it would be great if you opt to purchase from us. We will match any price. Please remember also to use my B&H affiliate links or to save money 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.

Canon EF 800mm f/5.6 L USM Lens

IPT veteran Sandra Calderbank is offering a Canon EF 800mm f/5.6 L USM lens in excellent condition for $6798.00. The sale includes the rear lens cap, the lens trunk, the original tough front lens cover, the lens strap, the original Canon tripod foot, a Really Right Stuff replacement foot, a LensCoat cover and a 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 Sandra via e-mail or by phone at 1-828 412 1047 Eastern time zone.

I used this lens, often with a 1.4X TC, as my main super-telephoto lens for close to five years. It is a superb lens that offers lots of reach for those working with birds that are skittish. It is great from the car. I was astounded that about 15 of the 67 images in the San Diego exhibit (and in the 100 Best CD as well) were created with my 800. I missed it terribly for years. As the lens sells new at B&H for $12,999, Sandra’s lens — that will kill with an R5 — is a superb buy; grab it now and save a very sweet $6201.00! artie

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

IPT veteran Sandra Calderbank is offering a Canon EOS 7D Mark II in-near mint condition with 21,069 actuations for $649.00. The sale includes the strap, the original product box, one battery, the front cap, the software, manual, & cables, a Really Right Stuff plate, 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 Sandra via e-mail or by phone at 1-828 412 1047 Eastern time zone.

Both Patrick Sparkman and I used and loved the 7D Mark II until about four years ago when we both committed — at the time — to using full-frame Canon bodies. 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 in a digital camera body. artie

Please Remember

With income from IPTs now at 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. Those questions might deal with systems, camera bodies, accessories, and/or lens choices and decisions.

This image was created on 26 April 2021, first morning of the second DeSoto IPT. Lying flat on my belly in the wet sand, I used the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 840mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 800. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/1000 sec. at f/10 (stopped down 1/3 stop) in Manual mode. AWB at 9:15:50am on a clear, sunny morning. Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed to perfection. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #1: Dunlin ruffling

How Low Do You Go?

One of the main topics that we covered during both sessions dealt with how low to go and how to get there. We had folks lying or sitting on the wet sand and hand holding. Some used the tilted rear screen while sitting. Some sat behind their lowered tripods and some lay on the ground with the tripod legs splayed flat. During the afternoon session, I tried the Levered-clamp FlexShooter Pro atop a Skimmer II.

Being too high reveals shells and pebbles on the beach. Being too low loses the birds feet or the lower half of the female of a copulating pair. Note: some of the latter images worked surprisingly well! Other considerations when getting low are the effect of the breaking waves on an image as well as the placement of the horizon line.

As today’s two featured images were created on the edge of a pool, waves were not an issue. For me, the perspective is perfect with a fuzzy peek at the top of the bird’s feet, a killer background, and an intimate look at the life of a shorebird.

This image was created on 26 April 2021, first morning of the second DeSoto IPT. Lying flat on my belly in the wet sand, I used the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 840mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 800. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/1000 sec. at f/10 (stopped down 1/3 stop) in Manual mode. AWB at 9:15:50am on a clear, sunny morning. Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed to perfection. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #2: Dunlin ruffling

Best?

The a1’s thirty frames/second (only with the fast card while shooting compressed raw) gives you lots of poses to choose from. With this single ruffle, I had about 45 poses to choose from. These two images were chosen from my nine favorites. Your job is even harder: choose the better of these two images and leave a comment letting us know why you made your choice.

SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group

The SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group is going great guns as folks chime in with thoughtful questions and experience-based advice. We are now up to an astounding 35 folks. 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, they can call Jim weekday afternoons 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?

Donna Bourdon, Clemens Van der Werf, and I enjoyed a stellar, cloudy-bright Saturday morning on Lake Blue Cypress. We enjoyed another fine dinner on the pool deck: rib-eye steak done rare on the grill, barbecued Brussels sprouts, and some more fine wine. After we ate, I edited the 2287 image folder from that morning. Most were of Ospreys in flight. I kept 11 out of 370 blurs and 48 out of 436 of the landing-with-whole-catfish images. All in all I kept only 97 images of the original 2287. Deleted 2190. Perhaps 30 or 40 will survive the second edit …

Today is Sunday 25 April 2021. We are headed back to a local lake for more Snail Kite photography. The forecast is for partly cloudy turning cloudy with a gentle breeze from the southwest. Not great, not terrible. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you have a great day.

This blog post took less than an hour to prepare and makes 123 consecutive days with a new one. Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head, for example, is available from B&H and/or Bedfords and is also available in the BAA Online Store, it would be great if you opt to purchase from us. We will match any price. Please remember also to use my B&H affiliate links or to save money 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.

Stuck in Time

Via e-mail from Steve Schiff

Hi Artie —

I think your shutter counter is stuck again. From your recent blog posts:

4/21: This blog post took more than an hour to prepare and makes 119 consecutive days with a new one.
4/22: This blog post took more than an hour to prepare and makes 119 consecutive days with a new one.
4/23: This blog post took more than an hour to prepare and makes 119 consecutive days with a new one.
4/24: This blog post took more than an hour to prepare and makes 119 consecutive days with a new one.

Steve in NJ

Working too fast has its hazards! Thanks to Steve, I have corrected my errors and will probably refrain from making similar ones for at least a week or two.

Please Remember

With income from IPTs now at 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. Those questions might deal with systems, camera bodies, accessories, and/or lens choices and decisions.

This image was created along a canal at Lake Blue Cypress on 23 April 2021. I used the hand held (???) lens with the (???) teleconverter and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 1000. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/500 sec. at f/13 in Manual mode. AWB at 6:18pm on a sunny afternoon. Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and nailed the focus. Click on the image to see a larger version. Red-shouldered Hawk head portrait

Focal Length Quiz

This is the free and wild red-shoulder that we encountered on Friday afternoon when all seemed hopeless. It was beyond silly-tame, and more amazingly, it was sitting with its back to the wind so that its face was perfectly lit. The image as presented represents the full frame original capture.

After clicking on the image to see the larger version and checking out the 100% crop of the bird’s eyeball below, I’d love for you to guess (or figure out — there is a single clue …) the lens and TC that I used along with the focal length.

This image was created along a canal at Lake Blue Cypress on 23 April 2021. I used the hand held (???) lens with the (???) teleconverter and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 1000. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/500 sec. at f/13 in Manual mode. AWB at 6:18pm on a sunny afternoon. Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and nailed the focus. Click on the image to see a larger version. An unsharpened 100% crop of the eyeball of the Red-shouldered Hawk head portrait image

What an Eyeball!

Click on the image to enlarge the eye and you can see the three of us in Clemens’ flats boat. Clemens is the tall one in the back. The bird was so tame that I eventually stood on the bow platform without flushing the bird. Note the sharpness of the eyelashes in the front of the eye (to our right) and the reflection of the eyelashes at the back of the eye (to our left).

This image was created along a canal at Lake Blue Cypress on 23 April 2021. I used the hand held (???) lens with the (???) teleconverter and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 1000. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/500 sec. at f/13 in Manual mode. AWB at 6:18pm on a sunny afternoon. Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and nailed the focus. Click on the image to see a larger version. The active AF point for the Red-shouldered Hawk head portrait image

The Active AF Point

The performance of the SONY AF system at any focal length (when the a1 is set up properly as detailed in the in e-mails to the Sony Alpha a1 Info & Updates group), continues to amaze me. Early on, there was lots of discussion within the group with many preferring multiple back button approaches. For me a simple shutter button approach with the right AF settings that yield 99% sharp-on-the-eye images is best. By far. It is super-simple and mega-effective. Note: info on the program that I use to ascertain SONY AF point information is detailed in one of the SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group e-mails. I plan on making that information available here soon for all SONY camera users. You guessed it, I am working on a guide. 🙂

SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group

The SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group is going great guns as folks chime in with thoughtful questions and experience-based advice. We are now up to an astounding 35 folks. 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, they can call Jim weekday afternoons 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.

Whats Up?

Anita North and I visited Stick Marsh on Thursday morning and with a brisk north wind, we did not do very well. Jim picked up Donna Bourdon from the airport and Clemens Van der Werf showed up just in time for yet another grilled fresh tuna dinner on the pool deck. After said dinner, both Anita and Clemens shared images and everyone was in awe of what they saw.

After a bit too much wine we headed down to the lake for sunset and arrived about two minutes too late …

Today is Friday 23 April and we are headed somewhere to photograph from Clemens’ flats boat. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you have a great day.

This blog post took more than an hour to prepare and makes 121 consecutive days with a new one. Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, for example, is available from B&H and/or Bedfords and is also available in the BAA Online Store, that it would be great if you purchase from us. We will match any price. Please remember also to use my B&H affiliate links or to save money 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 at 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. Those questions might deal with systems, camera bodies, accessories, and/or lens choices and decisions.

Price Drop

Canon EOS-1DX Mark II Professional Digital Camera Body (with great extras!)

Price reduced $200.00 22 APR 2021

IPT veteran William Wingfield is offering a Canon EOS-1DX Mark II camera in near-mint condition with lots of extras for $2198.00 (was $2398.00). The sale includes the front lens cap, one extra battery, the battery charger, the original box, the manual, three CFast cards (two @ 128GB and 1@ 64GB), the CFast reader, One @ 64 GB CF card, 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 Bill via e-mail or by phone at 1-843-729-6670 (Eastern time zone).

The 1DX Mark II is a rugged, blazingly fast Canon professional digital camera body. It features an amazing AF system and high quality image files with great dynamic range. When he used Canon, it was the first choice of Arash Hazeghi, one of the world’s premier birds-in-flight photographers. This body is still in production and currently sells new for $4,499.00. Save a very sweet $2301.00 by grabbing Bill’s dSLR ASAP. artie

This image created on the morning of 18 AUGUST 2020 at Indian Lake Estates. I used the Induro GIT 404L/FlexShooter Pro-mounted 61MP monster, the Sony Alpha a7R IV Mirrorless Digital camera body and the Sony FE 24-105mm f/4 lens (at 68mm). ISO 800: 1/100 sec. at f/16 in Aperture Priority mode. Manual focus (on the blossom) using the combination of Manual Focus Toggle and Focus Magnifier tips from the SONY e-guide. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version. Image #1: Tropical Royalblue Waterlily (Nymphaea elegans) (?)

Wildflower Identification

Identifying wildflowers is a tricky business. There are often dozens of different species with similar looking flowers that can only be identified by keying out — identifying a large array of characteristics of both the blossom and the plant itself. Tickseeds are a perfect example. While I love photographing wildflowers, I have neither the time nor the inclination to do the hard work necessary to positively identify a given flower. Some plant IDs seem fairly simple (and a very few actually are). That is to say that once you match the flower to the photo or drawing in one of the many ID guides, you actually know what the flower is. Or not.

The identification of the waterlily seen in both of today’s featured images seem straightforward to this beginner. Both the leaves and the flowers match their descriptions in Roger L. Hammer’s very excellent Complete Guide to Florida Wildflowers. (FYI: like pretty much all of the wildflower guides for a given state or region this one is far, far from being complete — there are just too many different species to cover in a single volume.)

Now, here is the strangest thing to me (as explained by my friend John Bradford). Once you think you have identified a given plant or flower, say Tropical Royalblue Waterlily (Nymphaea elegans), you need to check the ISB Atlas of Florida Plants and see if a specimen of that species has been collected (and certified?) for your county (in this case, Polk County). My understanding is that even if the species has been documented in surrounding counties, you cannot be sure of your ID or sure that the plant you are trying to identify positively is truly wild, in other words, that it did not spread to your county from a garden or a collection.

So I guess that I will have to go on photographing beautiful flowers without ever being sure of exactly what I am photographing.

This image created on the morning of 29 JULY 2020 at Indian Lake Estates. I used the Induro GIT 404L/FlexShooter Pro-mounted Venus Optics Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro APO Lens for Sony E and the 61MP monster, the Sony Alpha a7R IV Mirrorless Digital camera body ISO 400: 1/320 sec. at f/? (probably f/2.8) in Manual mode. The exposure was confirmed as perfect by RawDigger from a series of bracketed images. AWB at 10:20am in the shade. Manual focus using the combination of Manual Focus Toggle and Focus Magnifier tips from the SONY e-guide. Plamped in place to combat the breeze. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version. Image #2: Tropical Royalblue Waterlily (Nymphaea elegans) (?)

A Matter of Perspective

I love that both of today’s feature images are of the same subject (whatever it is). Image #1 is the small-in-the-frame shot, Image #2 is the clean, tight, and graphic view. I know which one I think is stronger. If you can think of a better title for this blog post, one that emphasizes the huge difference in perspective of the two images, please leave it in a comment.

The Laowa Tripod Collar

As detailed here previously, the tripod collar for the Venus Optics Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro APO Lens for Sony E is a complete joke as there is no place on the lens to firmly seat the collar. In order to make an image, you need to do quite a bit of jury-rigging. I use some tape to firm things up. After that, you have to be meticulously careful when setting up the shot lest you move the lens and throw off the focus. The big attraction of this lens is getting to two times life size. For all the difficulty of using it, the results can be spectacular.

You can learn more by doing a search for “Laowa” in the little white search box on the top right of each blog post page.

Typos

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

What’s Up?

Tuesday was dark, dingy, overcast, and gray; it rained softly most of the day. I never got down to the lake even once as I had to run lots of errands in town. I answered lots of e-mails and worked on a few images.

Today is Wednesday 21 April 2021. The forecast for this morning is for cloudy with a 10mph northwest wind. I will be heading down to the lake early to check on the three young Sandhill Cranes. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you have a great day.

This blog post took more than an hour to prepare and makes 119 consecutive days with a new one. Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, for example, is available from B&H and/or Bedfords and is also available in the BAA Online Store, that it would be great if you purchase from us. We will match any price. Please remember also to use my B&H affiliate links or to save money 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.

Sales Tax Update

In the blog post here, I covered the site-by-state tax situations with regards to Bedfords, B&H, and the B&H Payboo card. Please understand that all of the tax situations are subject to change at a moment’s notice. For example, the day after that blog post was published, Colorado sent Bedfords a notice that they now have NEXUS, so they had to add CO to their list of sales tax states.

Important Note: If a retailer does not charge sales tax, consumers are (generally) required to self-assess and pay the sales tax to their local state and or city. Individual tax compliance is, of course, a personal choice.

Please Remember

With income from IPTs now at 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. Those questions might deal with systems, camera bodies, accessories, and/or lens choices and decisions.

This image was created in Katchemak Bay, AK — across from Homer — on one of the two 2020 Bald Eagle IPTS. I used the hand held Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens (at 170mm) and the former AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital Camera Body. ISO 500. Exposure determined via t\Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel: 1/3200 sec. at f/3.2 (stopped down 1/3 stop)in Manual (M) mode. AWB at 3:08am on a cloudy afternoon. Center Zone AI Servo AF was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version. Bald Eagle perfect t-shot

Perfect Tee Shots Golf

Not many know that in my early twenties I was a pretty fair golfer. My home course was Marine Park in Brooklyn, built on a garbage dump near the Kings Plaza Mall. As a senior, I was captain of the Brooklyn College golf team. Though a four-handicap at my best, I always choked in the big tournaments. One year, I missed qualifying for the second round of the New York State Public Links Championship by one stroke. After starting with a triple bogey seven on a short par four (with three balls in the water on one hole!), I played the best seventeen holes of my life on a tough course to shoot 80. Ask me someday about the late Dom Ferrone, who — as a huge long-shot, won the MGA Intercollegiate Championship in 1968. He became the head teaching pro at Calloway Gardens for several decades, and like Luis Grunauer, died too young. He called me “Boom-boom.”

That brings us to the perfect tee shot. For me, that was a 300-yard fade right down the middle of the fairway. I was always long, but not always straight.

While searching the web for info on Dom, I came across this link to an interview article for SaviorLabs as an Edge of Innovation Podcast that I did more than three years ago with : Living the Dream as a Nature Photographer With Arthur Morris, by Paul Parisi. You can read it or listen. I just read the whole thing and found it quite interesting, especially the part about my sixth grade teacher, Mrs.McMenamin. It’s short and a great read. And Paul has a great voice.

In my early twenties, I had the great pleasure of playing many rounds with the late Charlie Owens, a Black paratrooper who played on the PGA and the Senior Tour, once winning two of three events on the latter. While checking him out as I worked on this blog post, I learned that he died in 2017 at age 85 while living in Winter Haven, FL, just 45 minutes from my home. I would have loved to have visited him.

Perfect T-Shots in Bird Photography

In bird photography a t-shot is an image of a bird in flight that is flying directly overhead. They usually work best when the bird is gliding with flat wings rather than when flapping. In a perfect world, the bird’s wings are symmetrical. Todays’ featured image checks all the boxes.

What Do Snow and White Sand Have in Common?

Both snow and light-toned sand can act as reflectors that light the underwings of birds in flight, even on cloudy days (as with today’s featured image). I schedule my Homer IPTs (2022 dates to be announced soon) very early, in hopes of photographing during a blizzard 🙂 and in hopes of having snow on the ground. Aside from acting as a reflector, fresh snow makes for clean, gorgeous, studio-like backgrounds.

Image Question

Should I have placed this bird a bit lower in the frame? Why or why not?

144 sold to rave reviews. The SONY e-Guide by Patrick Sparkman and Arthur Morris

The Sony Camera User’s e-Guide (and Videos)

Click here to purchase the guide with one Camera Set-up Video. Be sure to e-mail us by clicking here to specify your camera body so that we can send you a link for the correct video.

Click here to purchase the guide with two Camera Set-up Videos. Be sure to e-mail us by clicking here to specify your two camera bodies so that we can send you links for the correct videos.

Click here to learn more about the SONY e-Guide.

Folks who have used my B&H affiliate links or purchased their SONY gear are invited to e-mail for discount information.

Typos

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

IR Survey

However you feel about infrared (IR) photography — love it, hate it, or could care less, please leave a comment and let us know why. Those who like it, are invited to let us know their thoughts on which of today’s five featured images they feel is the strongest of the lot.

What’s Up?

On Sunday morning, I played around with a group of adult cranes with the 600 f/4G lens on the ground on a Skimmer II and re-learned an important lesson: sometimes low can be too low … I plan to be using the Skimmer at lot at DeSoto; they are currently out of stock so please e-mail if you would like us to get one for you.

I did two more second edits, JAN & FEB 2021. I deleted another 1501 images. (January must have been a third edit …) You can learn how I pick my first round keepers in the The Laughing Gull/Red Knot (and more) DeSoto Picking Your Keepers Video.

I’ve been swimming every day in a delightfully warm pool. A few weeks ago, I cut back from 64 to 44 lengths and my shoulders have appreciated that change a lot.

Today is Monday 19 April. The weatherman finally got it right. The scattered thunderstorms have been parked over and pounding away at ILE since 3am with no signs of abating any time soon. If they do, I will head down to the lakeshore to check out the puddles. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you have a great day.

This blog post took about an hour to prepare and makes 117 consecutive days with a new one. Please remember to use my B&H affiliate links or to save money at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout. Doing either often earns you free guides or discounts, and always earns my great appreciation.

The BAA Used Gear Page

The Used Gear page continues to be very active. The BAA Used Gear Page is the place to sell your used photographic equipment. We will help you to get your gear sold quickly for 20 to 60% or more than what the big guys are offering … Doubt me? Check out the Recent Sales list for the past eleven months at the bottom of the page.

IR Price Drop

Canon EOS 5D Mark III dSLR Converted to Infrared (with Extras)

Price reduced $100.00 8 MAR 2021
Price reduced $100.00 18 APR 2021

BIRDS AS ART friend and multiple-IPT veteran Morris Herstein is offering a Canon EOS 5D Mark III dSLR converted to infrared (830 nanometers) by Life Pixel in excellent plus condition with extras for $799.00 (was $999.00). The sale includes two Canon LP-E6N batteries, the charger, the front body cap, two Lexar 128GB 1066X flash cards, 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 Morris via e-mail.

When I shot Canon exclusively, I had a ton of fun making landscapes, tree-scapes, and cloud-scapes with a 5D Mark II that had been converted to infrared. The 5D III is a step up from that. These infrared-converted bodies pair well with the 24-105 and any of the 70-200s. artie

Re-Runs

Canon EOS-1DX Mark II Professional Digital Camera Body (with great extras!)

IPT veteran William Wingfield is offering a Canon EOS-1DX Mark II camera in near-mint condition with lots of extras for $2398.00. The sale includes the front lens cap, one extra battery, the battery charger, the original box, the manual, three CFast cards (two @ 128GB and 1@ 64GB), the CFast reader, One @ 64 GB CF card, 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 Bill via e-mail or by phone at 1-843-729-6670 (Eastern time zone).

The 1DX Mark II is a rugged, blazingly fast Canon professional digital camera body. It features an amazing AF system and high quality image files with great dynamic range. When he used Canon, it was the first choice of Arash Hazeghi, one of the world’s premier birds-in-flight photographers. This body is still in production and currently sells new for $4,499.00. Save a very sweet $2101.00 by grabbing Bill’s dSLR ASAP. artie

Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens

Sold 19 APR 2021

William Wingfield is offering a Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens in like-new condition for $1499.00. The sale includes the front and rear lens caps, the tough fabric lens case, the original box, 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 Bill via e-mail or by phone at 1-843-729-6670 (Eastern time zone).

This incredibly versatile zoom lens — with its amazing .98 meter close focus — was my favorite Canon telephoto zoom lens ever. By far. It is great for tight portraits, birds in flight, quasi-macro stuff, and lots more. It sells new for $2399.00 so you can save some hard cash by grabbing Bill’s pretty much new lens now. artie

Canon EOS R Mirrorless Digital Camera Body

Sold 19 APR 2021

Ted Keltz is offering a Canon EOS R Mirrorless Digital Camera body in like-new condition for a very low $1199.00. The sale includes the body, the body cap, the battery, the battery charger, the original camera strap, the original printed manual, and insured ground shipping via UPS to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Ted via e-mail.

A new EOS R5 costs $3899.00. A new EOS R goes for $1799.00. I have had several folks on IPT who used their EOS R bodies with great success using the Standard Canon Mount Adapter EF-EOS R with Canon EF super-telephoto lenses, with both TCs! Grabbing Ted’s practically new EOS R would be a great way to get started with Canon mirrorless while saving some handsome dollars. artie

This image was created on the second Palouse IPT with the hand held Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM lens (at 14mm) and an EOS-5D Mark II converted to Infrared at 720nm by Kolari Vision. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops: 1/500 sec. at f/11. Custom WB. Center AF point/One Shot/Shutter Button AF as framed. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #1: Modern Grain Elevators/Infrared Capture

This image was created on the first Palouse IPT with the hand held Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM lens (at 20mm) and an EOS-5D Mark II converted to Infrared at 720nm by Kolari Vision. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/1250 sec. at f/9. Custom WB. Center AF point/One Shot/Shutter Button AF on the branches and recompose while half-pressing the shutter button. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #2: Denise’s Tree/Infrared Capture/Image copyright 2015: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

This image was created on the second Palouse IPT with the hand held Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM lens (at 11mm) and an EOS-5D Mark II converted to Infrared at 720nm by Kolari Vision. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops: 1/200 sec. at f/8. Custom WB. Center AF point/One Shot/Shutter Button AF on the center of the bridge and recompose while half-pressing the shutter button. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #3: Old Railroad Bridge/Infrared Capture

This image was created on the first 2016 Palouse IPT with the hand held Canon 24-105mm zoom lens (at 82mm) and the EOS-5D Mark II converted to Infrared by Kolari vision. The old 24-104 is being replaced by the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM lens. ISO 400. Evaluative metering -1/3 stop: 1/250 sec. at f/8. Custom IR WB. Center AF point/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF on the house and re-compose. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #4: Prairie farmhouse/Infrared vertical

This image was on Thanksgiving Day at Bosque with the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (at 278mm) and my Kolari Vision-converted EOS-5D Mark II (now effectively replaced by the Canon EOS 5D Mark III.) ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2 stops: 1/800 sec. at f/5.6. Custom WB. All 9 AF points/AI Servo/Shutter Button AF was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding). Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #5: Red-winged Blackbird flock in front of mountains, Bosque del Apache NWR, NM/IR > B&W

Typos

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

Your Fave?

Of today’s two featured images, which one is stronger? Image #1, the habitat shot? Or Image #2, the head portrait? Leave a comment and let us know why you made your choice.

What’s Up?

Again, not much. Yesterday was the first day in months that I did not make a single image. I spent a good part of Friday working on and sending e-mail #9 to the ONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info group.

Today is Saturday 17 April 2021. I was glad to learn that DeSoto IPT regular Jim Miller will be joining Donna Bourdon and me on the second DeSoto IPT. I was also glad to learn that Bill Wingfield sold his Canon EOS 5DS along with both series III teleconverters. I will begin working on second edits of six-plus-months of consolidated image folders. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you have a great day.

This blog post took about an hour to prepare and makes 115 consecutive days with a new one. Please remember to use my B&H affiliate links or to save money at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout. Doing either often earns you free guides or discounts, and always earns my great appreciation.

All of the images were created at Fort DeSoto in April or early May. Click on the card to enjoy a larger version. Fort DeSoto IPT card A

Fort DeSoto Spring IPT #2

Fort DeSoto Spring IPT #2. 3 1/2 DAYS. MON 26 APR thru the morning session on THURS 29 APR 2021. $1499 includes three lunches. Limit: 6. Openings: 4.

Not only am I conversant in all three major camera systems used in the US — Nikon, Canon, and SONY (sorry Andy Rouse …), I have used all three within the past four years. Those include both SONY and Canon mirrorless. On both of these IPTs you will learn how to get the best exposure, how to get the most out of your AF system, and how to get close to free and wild birds. And tons more.

All of the images were created at Fort DeSoto in April or early May. Click on the card to enjoy a larger version. Fort DeSoto IPT card B

A $499 deposit is required to hold your spot for this IPT. You can send a check (made out to “BIRDS AS ART) to us here: BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855, or call Jim or Jennifer at the office with a credit card at 863-692-0906. Your balance, payable only by check, is due immediately after you sign up. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail. If you cancel due to COVID 19 concerns, all of your payments will be refunded.

All of the images were created at Fort DeSoto in April or early May. Click on the card to enjoy a larger version. Fort DeSoto IPT card C

Fort DeSoto Spring IPTs Expected Species

With any luck, we should get to photograph the following species: Laughing, Ring-billed, Herring, and Lesser Black-backed Gull; Royal, Sandwich, and Forster’s Tern: Great, Snowy, and white and dark morph Reddish Egret and Great Blue, Little Blue, and Tricolored Heron; Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Wood Stork, Roseate Spoonbill, and Brown Pelican. We will see and photograph lots of shorebirds including American Oystercatcher, Black-bellied, Wilson’s, Semipalmated, Snowy, and Piping Plover, Marbled Godwit, Willet, Dunlin, Red Knot, Sanderling, and Western and possibly White-rumped Sandpiper.

This image was created on 10 April 2021 on the first DeSoto IPT. I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 800. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/1000 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 7:4am on a sunny morning. Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and nailed the focus. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #1: Laughing Gull in full breeding plumage standing in the shallow Gulf

The Situation

With my #1 DeSoto morning location severely lacking birds on our first morning, we headed straight to my #2 spot on Day 2. And we killed. Parts of this very productive beach are in the shade for perhaps twenty minutes after sunrise. On 10 April there were about 80 Laughing Gulls on the beach. One of the tricks to creating successful images is to approach birds (or pairs) that are off by themselves. I was lucky that this gorgeous bird was both isolated and almost completely in the sun. I think that there is a faint shadow on the rear of the bird.

I began the morning with the hand held 200-600 with one of my two Alpha a1 bodies. Though four clicks slower than the 600 GM (f/6.3 as compared to f/4.0), the 2-6 is much smaller and lighter and thus easier to hand hold, and if far more versatile. In addition, it is easier to get up and down off the beach with the much more versatile 2-6.

Aside from the gorgeous gull and the sweet light, the breaking wave above the bird and the tiny wavelet in front of the bird, make this one a winner. You can learn a ton about managing and working with breaking waves in your images in the here. You will learn why some breaking waves are image killers while others are actually make an image stronger. The line, as they say, is a fine one. Both of today’s featured images were selected as keepers from the 2434 photos I created during the morning session at DeSoto on 10 April. You can learn about the video below.

Image #1A: Screen capture showing AF Point for the Laughing Gull in full breeding plumage standing in the shallow Gulf image

SONY Alpha a1 AF

Set up correctly, the subject detection, face tracking, and animal eye tracking AF system of the a1 is currently second to none. The results above are typical and can usually be obtained effortlessly.

Image #1B: RawDigger screen capture for the Laughing Gull in full breeding plumage standing in the shallow Gulf image

RawDigger

It would be impossible to over-state how much I have learned by studying RawDigger and how much better my exposures have become since I started with the program almost a year ago. The raw file brightness for Image #1 is dead solid perfect with the G channel just inside the 16000 line. The 29 OvExp pixels are all in the specular highlight in the gull’s eye. Those, out of 51,000,000. The brightness of the raw file for Image #2 is about /6 stop too dark. In other words, pretty much perfect.

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 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 as I have struggled with R5 exposures and 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 puzzled as to why the Max G values for different cameras were different. 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.

This image was created on 10 April 2021 on the first DeSoto IPT. For this one I used the Induro GIT 304L/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. ISO: 1000. The exposure was determined by Zebras with Exposure Compensation on the rear wheel: 1/1000 sec. at f/8 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 7:52am on a clear sunny morning. Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and again performed to perfection. Image #2: Laughing Gull in breeding plumage head portrait

Head Hunting

I couldn’t help myself. See so many drop dead gorgeous breeding plumage Laughing Gulls (along with several Royal and Sandwich Terns), I quickly made my way back to my SUV, grabbed my 600 GM, the 2X TC, and my second a1 body and headed back to the beach. The birds are amazingly tame so I sat in the sand and moved around on my butt to get on sun angle. To create Image #2, I pulled the legs of the tripod in a bit to raise the lens and include a strip of the green seaweed along the bottom of the frame.

I am pretty sure that the bird in Image #2 is the most beautiful Laughing Gull I have ever had the privilege to photograph. The good news is that there will be lots more just like this one when I return to Fort DeSoto for the second IPT at the end of this month.

The 159 keepers from 2434 images created during the morning session of the 1st Fort DeSoto IPT on 10 April 2021

How Do You Handle So Many Large Image Files at 30 frames per second?

Should I slow down my frame rate so I have fewer images to edit?

You should not slow down your frame rate for bird photography. Ever. The difference between a family jewel and an insta-delete can be miniscule. Things often change dramatically in a tiny fraction of a second. The more frames you have of an action or flight series, and even a seemingly static pose, the greater your chances of getting one that you like. Or love! The DeSoto Picking Your Keepers Video below can help you to dramatically improve your editing skills.

I have been suggesting for two decades that folks need to edit their folders in a timely fashion. That usually means getting the work done before they head out to the next session. If you get behind you will quickly be buried by thousand of 45 and 50MP files …

The Laughing Gull/Red Knot (and more) DeSoto Picking Your Keepers Video

$30.00 here in the BAA Online Store

On 12 April — a DeSoto IPT morning session — I wound up with 238 keepers out of 3729 images. I still have a 1756 image file from 7 April and an 1149 image folder from 6 April to edit. Both of those from Stick Marsh. I think that I will combine the spoonbill flight shots from those two and do a second picking your keepers video for blurs and flight shots.

With the popularity of the mega-high megapixel/blazingly fast frame rate camera bodies, you need to be able to pick your keepers quickly and efficiently to avoid being buried in tens of thousands of images and to keep from filling so many hard drives that you cannot find a single image. I have lots of friends in that situation … The Canon R5 (20 fps @ 45MP) and the Sony Alpha a1 (30 fps at 51MP) are the main culprits. I think that John Johnson created more than 7000 images during the morning session on 10 April. (Oh, what a morning that was!) But even 15 fps bodies @ 22 or 24 MP can swamp you quickly if your editing (picking your keepers) skills are sub-par. And though storage is cheap, it is easy to fill multiple HDs in todays’ world. The only solution to these problems is to learn to edit quickly and ruthlessly.

In the Laughing Gull/Red Knot DeSoto Picking Your Keepers Video, you will sit at my side as I blaze through the two thousand four hundred thirty four images in Capture One, tagging the keepers and then deleting the untagged rejects. Many folks have asked, Why not tag the rejects to be deleted rather than tag the keepers? A look at the stats above provide the answer: on average, I am deleting well more than 90% of the images I create. Tagging the keepers is a lot less work!

As regular readers know, I am forced to pick my keepers in Capture One because SONY does not embed a full sized JPEG into each raw file. Canon and Nikon both embed a full-sized JPEG in each raw file at the moment the image is created. Without a large embedded JPEG in all of my SONY image files, they cannot be enlarged to check the sharpness in either Photo Mechanic or BreezeBrowser. But the stuff you will learn on the video will help you with your editing regardless of the browsing program that you use. My methods will even work in PhotoShop Bridge or Lightroom.

In the video, I let you know why I chose to keep one or two images from a ten or fifteen frame sequence while deleting many similars. Two huge factors involved are head angle and the position of breaking waves or wavelets. Both are discussed at great length. The video is one hour, thirteen and one-third minutes long. Rest assured that had I not been yakking so much to teach y’all what to look for, it would have taken me just a fraction of that time to edit the 2434 images. In fact, when I picked my 12 April morning keepers from the 3729 captures, it took me exactly 21 minutes (on the clock!)

You will see how the bird’s nictitating membrane can ruin an image. You will learn that faulty compositions and clipped wingtips or feet result in insta-deletes. You will see that my single biggest problem is placing the bird too low in the frame … You will learn my shooting strategies — when and why I hold the shutter button down on occasion. You will see how a second bird intruding into the frame will usually but not always result in a deletion. There is also lots of natural history and ID info in the video, along with processing strategies and tips.

You can purchase your copy of the Laughing Gull/Red Knot (and more) DeSoto Picking Your Keepers Video here in the BAA Online Store. Or you can order by calling Jim at 863-221-2372 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 had a great Wednesday morning with the large crane colt and the two getting-bigger-by-the-day crane chicks that are now about three weeks old. And I made some truly great images at sunset last night by walking one hundred yards to line up a perched bird with the beautifully-muted setting sun.

Today is Thursday 15 April 2021. The forecast for this morning is for clear skies with a gentle breeze from the south. I was down at the lake for about 1 1/2 hours. As I have become obsessed with ground- and low-level shooting utilizing the tilted rear screen, I tried a new tilted-rear-screen (TRS) technique by working on the Induro GIT 404L with the Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro with the 600 GM/1.4X TC/A1 combo about eight inches off the ground. I learned a ton that I will be sharing with you here at some point. There are many great advantages … Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you have a great day.

This blog post took about two hours to prepare and makes 113 consecutive days with a new one. Please remember to use my B&H affiliate links or to save money at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout. Doing either often earns you free guides or discounts. And doing so always earns my great appreciation.

The BAA Used Gear Page

The Used Gear page continues to be very active. The BAA Used Gear Page is the place to sell your used photographic equipment. We will help you to get your gear sold quickly for 20 to 60% or more than what the big guys are offering … Doubt me? Check out the Recent Sales list for the past eleven months at the bottom of the page.

Canon EOS R Mirrorless Digital Camera Body

Ted Keltz is offering a Canon EOS R Mirrorless Digital Camera body in like-new condition for a very low $1199.00. The sale includes the body, the body cap, the battery, the battery charger, the original camera strap, the original printed manual, and insured ground shipping via UPS to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Ted via e-mail.

A new EOS R5 costs $3899.00. A new EOS R goes for $1799.00. I have had several folks on IPT who used their EOS R bodies with great success using the Standard Canon Mount Adapter EF-EOS R with Canon EF super-telephoto lenses, with both TCs! Grabbing Ted’s practically new EOS R would be a great way to get started with Canon mirrorless while saving some handsome dollars. artie

The 159 keepers from 2434 images created during the morning session of the 1st Fort DeSoto IPT on 10 April 2021

How Do You Handle So Many Large Image Files at 30 frames per second?

Should I slow down my frame rate so I have fewer images to edit?

You should not slow down your frame rate for bird photography. Ever. The difference between a family jewel and an insta-delete can be miniscule. Things often change dramatically in a tiny fraction of a second. The more frames you have of an action or flight series, and even a seemingly static pose, the greater your chances of getting one that you like. Or love! The DeSoto Picking Your Keepers Video below can help you to dramatically improve your editing skills.

I have been suggesting for two decades that folks need to edit their folders in a timely fashion. That usually means getting the work done before they head out to the next session. If you get behind you will quickly be buried by thousand of 45 and 50MP files …

The Laughing Gull/Red Knot (and more) DeSoto Picking Your Keepers Video

$30.00 here in the BAA Online Store

On 12 April — a DeSoto IPT morning session — I wound up with 238 keepers out of 3729 images. I still have a 1756 image file from 7 April and an 1149 image folder from 6 April to edit. Both of those from Stick Marsh. I think that I will combine the spoonbill flight shots from those two and do a second picking your keepers video for blurs and flight shots.

With the popularity of the mega-high megapixel/blazingly fast frame rate camera bodies, you need to be able to pick your keepers quickly and efficiently to avoid being buried in tens of thousands of images and to keep from filling so many hard drives that you cannot find a single image. I have lots of friends in that situation … The Canon R5 (20 fps @ 45MP) and the Sony Alpha a1 (30 fps at 51MP) are the main culprits. I think that John Johnson created more than 7000 images during the morning session on 10 April. (Oh, what a morning that was!) But even 15 fps bodies @ 22 or 24 MP can swamp you quickly if your editing (picking your keepers) skills are sub-par. And though storage is cheap, it is easy to fill multiple HDs in todays’ world. The only solution to these problems is to learn to edit quickly and ruthlessly.

In the Laughing Gull/Red Knot DeSoto Picking Your Keepers Video, you will sit at my side as I blaze through the two thousand four hundred thirty four images in Capture One, tagging the keepers and then deleting the untagged rejects. Many folks have asked, Why not tag the rejects to be deleted rather than tag the keepers? A look at the stats above provide the answer: on average, I am deleting well more than 90% of the images I create. Tagging the keepers is a lot less work!

As regular readers know, I am forced to pick my keepers in Capture One because SONY does not embed a full sized JPEG into each raw file. Canon and Nikon both embed a full-sized JPEG in each raw file at the moment the image is created. Without a large embedded JPEG in all of my SONY image files, they cannot be enlarged to check the sharpness in either Photo Mechanic or BreezeBrowser. But the stuff you will learn on the video will help you with your editing regardless of the browsing program that you use. My methods will even work in PhotoShop Bridge or Lightroom.

In the video, I let you know why I chose to keep one or two images from a ten or fifteen frame sequence while deleting many similars. Two huge factors involved are head angle and the position of breaking waves or wavelets. Both are discussed at great length. The video is one hour, thirteen and one-third minutes long. Rest assured that had I not been yakking so much to teach y’all what to look for, it would have taken me just a fraction of that time to edit the 2434 images. In fact, when I picked my 12 April morning keepers from the 3729 captures, it took me exactly 21 minutes (on the clock!)

You will see how the bird’s nictitating membrane can ruin an image. You will learn that faulty compositions and clipped wingtips or feet result in insta-deletes. You will see that my single biggest problem is placing the bird too low in the frame … You will learn my shooting strategies — when and why I hold the shutter button down on occasion. You will see how a second bird intruding into the frame will usually but not always result in a deletion. There is also lots of natural history and ID info in the video, along with processing strategies and tips.

You can purchase your copy of the Laughing Gull/Red Knot (and more) DeSoto Picking Your Keepers Video here in the BAA Online Store. Or you can order by calling Jim at 863-221-2372 with your credit card in hand.

My Capture One Editing Keyboard Shortcuts

Click to enlarge.

My Capture One Editing Keyboard Shortcuts

To set up your Capture One for editing the way that I do as described in the video, go to Edit > Edit Keyboard Shortcuts > Adjustments > Color Tag. I use T to tag my keepers (RED), A to untag, and B (BLUE) for “Best” to designate potential family-jewels type images, and G (GREEN) to tag images to be saved for educational purposes.

Please use this link to purchase Capture One.

This image was created on 10 April 2021 on the first Fort DeSoto IPT. I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 800. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/2500 sec. at f/7.1 (stopped down 1/3-stop) in Manual mode. AWB at 9:02am on a sunny morning. Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and nailed the focus. Click on the image to see a larger version. Red Knot — worn first winter foraging

A Good One!

Though this knot is not in breeding plumage, the sharpness and pose are perfect and I loved the small, foamy breaking wave in just the right spot. I will be sharing a few more of my favorites from that great morning with you hear soon.

Note: Getting close enough to the Red Knots at DeSoto to make nice images with the hand held 200-600 requires some good fieldcraft. Learn how to do it by joining me on the second DeSoto IPT.

Typos

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

Click on the image to see a larger version. Wednesday morning all with the hand held 200-600 G and the Sony Alpha a1

This Just In!

I enjoyed a great session down by the lake this morning. First, I found the single surviving colt feeding in tickseed blossoms along the lakeshore, and then I found the two now-large and still silly-tame chicks. The weather is looking good for the next few days especially Friday. If you would like to join me for a morning session with the cranes, please get in touch via e-mail or by phone or message to 863-221-2372 to discuss rates (inexpensive) and set up a schedule.

What’s Up?

Monte Brown and John Johnson and I went to Stick Marsh early on Tuesday. It was good but not great; the winds, out of the northwest, were a bit stronger than had been forecast. That said, Monte and John did have some great chances with incoming spoonbills as is par for the course at this location. John headed home to Naples and Monte came back to ILE with me for a smoked salmon brunch and to pick up his truck.

After checking out the 10-day weather forecast for Bismarck, ND I cancelled my Prairie Chicken trip. I usually do not shy away from photographing in bad weather but these tidbits caught my attention: temps in the low 20s with strong winds from the northwest. My pool is very warm right now … And inviting.

I headed down to the lake at sunset. The wind was perfect but there were no birds (other than a fly-by Boat-tailed Grackle or two.)

Thanks to the many who commented on the Marbled Godwit swimming in heaven images featured in yesterday’s blog post. My goal as always was to get folks seeing and thinking. I will share my thoughts tomorrow.

Today is Wednesday 14 April. The forecast is for clear skies with gentle winds from the east. Now that I do not have to pack for a cold weather trip today, I will be heading down to the lake early. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you have a great day.

This blog post took about ninety minutes to prepare and makes 112 consecutive days with a new one. Please remember to use my B&H affiliate links or to save money at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout. Doing either often earns you free guides or discounts. And doing so always earns my great appreciation.

Sony Alpha a1 AF Magic …

The AF system of the a1 — set up as detailed in e-mails to the Sony Alpha a1 Info & Updates group, continues to amaze me. Early on, there was lots of discussion within the group with many preferring multiple back button approaches. For me a simple shutter button approach with the right AF settings that yield 99% sharp-on-the-eye images is best. By far. It is super-simple and mega-effective. Note: info on the program that I use to ascertain SONY AF point information is detailed in one of the SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group e-mails. I plan on making that information available here soon for all SONY camera users. You guessed it; I am working on a guide. 🙂

SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group

The SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group is going great guns as folks chime in with thoughtful questions and experience-based advice. We are now up to an astounding 35 folks. 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. 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, they can call Jim weekday afternoons at 1-863-692-0906 to pay via credit card. New members will receive composite e-mails that summarize all previous discussions.

The BAA Used Gear Page

The Used Gear page continues to be very active. The BAA Used Gear Page is the place to sell your used photographic equipment. We will help you to get your gear sold quickly for 20 to 60% or more than what the big guys are offering … Doubt me? Check out the Recent Sales list for the past eleven months at the bottom of the page.

Canon EOS-1DX Mark II Professional Digital Camera Body (with great extras!)

IPT veteran William Wingfield is offering a Canon EOS-1DX Mark II camera in near-mint condition with lots of extras for $2398.00. The sale includes the front lens cap, one extra battery, the battery charger, the original box, the manual, three CFast cards (two @ 128GB and 1@ 64GB), the CFast reader, One @ 64 GB CF card, 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 Bill via e-mail or by phone at 1-843-729-6670 (Eastern time zone).

The 1DX Mark II is a rugged, blazingly fast Canon professional digital camera body. It features an amazing AF system and high quality image files with great dynamic range. When he used Canon, it was the first choice of Arash Hazeghi, one of the world’s premier birds-in-flight photographers. This body is still in production and currently sells new for $4,499.00. Save a very sweet $2101.00 by grabbing Bill’s dSLR ASAP. artie

Canon EOS-5DS R dSLR (with extras)

Sold first day of listing

William Wingfield is offering a Canon EOS-5DSR camera in near-mint condition for $799.00.The sale includes the front lens cap, one extra battery, the charger, the original box, the manual, 3 Compact Flash cards (32GB, 64GB, 128GB), 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 Bill via e-mail or by phone at 1-843-729-6670 (Eastern time zone).

Though it is well-noted as a superb camera for landscapes and macro, I used this fine, 50.3 MP body to make lots of great bird photographs when I shot Canon. The 5DS R currently sells new for $1499.00 and is back-ordered in most places. Grab Bill’s 5DS R and save a very handsome $700.00. artie

Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens

William Wingfield is offering a Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens in like-new condition for $1499.00. The sale includes the front and rear lens caps, the tough fabric lens case, the original box, 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 Bill via e-mail or by phone at 1-843-729-6670 (Eastern time zone).

This incredibly versatile zoom lens — with its amazing .98 meter close focus — was my favorite Canon telephoto zoom lens ever. By far. It is great for tight portraits, birds in flight, quasi-macro stuff, and lots more. It sells new for $2399.00 so you can save some hard cash by grabbing Bill’s pretty much new lens now. artie

Canon EF Extender 1.4X III (teleconverter)

Sold first day of listing

William Wingfield is offering a Canon EF Extender 1.4X III (teleconverter) in like-new condition for $249.00. The sale includes the front and rear caps, the lens pouch, a LensCoat, 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 Bill via e-mail or by phone at 1-843-729-6670 (Eastern time zone).

As regular readers know, teleconverters are so important to what I do with my bird photography that I always travel with two back-up 1.4X TC and one extra 2X TC. This sells new for $429 without the LensCoat! artie

Canon EF Extender 2X III (teleconverter)

Sold first day of listing

William Wingfield is offering a Canon EF Extender 2X III (teleconverter) in like-new condition for $249.00. The sale includes the front and rear caps, the lens pouch, a LensCoat, 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 Bill via e-mail or by phone at 1-843-729-6670 (Eastern time zone).

As regular readers know, teleconverters are so important to what I do with my bird photography that I always travel with two back-up 1.4X TC and one extra 2X TC. This sells new for $429 without the LensCoat! artie

This image was created on 13 April 2021 at Stick Marsh. I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 2500. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/3200 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 7:50am on a sunny morning. Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and nailed the focus. Click on the image to see a larger version. Roseate Spoonbill with stick for nest

Sometimes You Just Have to Stick With It …

Trying for something different, I had walked over to Spot L (as per the annotated Stick Marsh Site Guide map). Creating images of spoonbills carrying nesting material is always difficult at Stick Marsh because 99% of the birds are angling away from you as they return to the rookery.

This bird doubly surprised me:

• 1- it was flying much closer to the shore (and to me!) than all of the other birds.
• 2- it was flying parallel to my position (rather than angling away).

The lens had been zoomed to 600mm while working (and expecting) more distant subjects, when I spotted this bird out of the corner of my left eye on an unexpectedly good flight path. I quickly raised the lens and fired off about ten frames knowing that I should have zoomed out. But my brain had not been set up for zooming out … A quick glance at the images revealed a few poor wing positions, lots of clipped wings, and the bottom end of the stick clipped. In retrospect, I knew that I had not panned very smoothly. But I had kept firing.

As I was editing the series, I had tagged two images to keep thinking that I might be able piece together a single good image from those. I was quite happy when I came across today’s featured image. I used the Divide and Conquer Technique to trim the branch. And I did some neat Eye Doctor work as well.

At Stick Marsh, I have been seeing this seemingly awkward flight pose often when the birds are carrying either very large sticks or sticks that are too heavy for them. As seen above, they raise their heads and rotate them, apparently to facilitate carrying the big sticks. As for me, I am glad that I stuck with it.

The Stick Marsh Site Guide Subscription Service

The Site Guide Subscription Service is a new concept. I e-mailed the first issue last week: Stick Marsh Site Guide e-Mail #1: The Basics. The Basics e-mail includes specific directions to the site, and a map of the rookery area with specific instructions and wind, weather, and where-to-be advice. I e-mailed the second installment recently. In it, I shared several new shooting locations and strategies. I will be sending e-mail #3 on Monday with lots more to come.

To sign up for the Stick Marsh Site Guide Subscription Service, call Jim in the office weekday afternoons at 863-692-0906 with your credit card in hand or send a PayPal for the $100.00 to us at birdsasart@verizon.net. Please be sure to include the words Stick Marsh with your PayPal. At some point, we will get this item in the BAA Online Store.

I fully understand that you can go to Google Maps, find the Stick Marsh, visit, and likely make some good or great images. You might think, I can do fine just without artie’s advice. But you will do a whole lot better with it. The annotated map alone is worth the price of admission.

Typos

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

What’s Up?

Thanks to the very few folks who commented on their favorites in the last two blog posts. They included Michael Shaw, Elinor Osborne, James Saxon, David Policansky, and Paul Campbell. And not a single person commented on the Willet video. You gotta love it!

The forecast for Sunday morning was dire; there was a 76% chance of severe thunderstorms in St. Pete. John Johnson and I headed to Desoto under clear skies. With the wind from the southwest and the sun rising in the southeast and then moving to the south, we had the birds 90 degrees to the light. That is very good for bird photography, unlike clear skies and NW winds in the morning … We enjoyed 90 minutes of lovely light until some thin clouds moved in. The cloudy-bright conditions were fabulous. All in all we had our second straight great morning session.

Then Armageddon arrived. With a vengeance. The house shook, lightning struck, and the streets flooded. As did the campground at Fort DeSoto; good friend Monte Brown — visiting from Indiana — was unable to get his fifth-wheel trailer into his spot for several hours.

With pouring rain all afternoon and 5G internet in our AirBnB, I got a ton of work done. I sent out a link to the SONY Camera User’s e-guide to all who earned or purchased it. And I sent out the final version of the BAA R5 Camera User’s e-guide, again, to all who earned or purchased it. Jim will be sending out the last of the R5 guides on Monday. If you should have received a link to your updated Camera User’s Guide and did not, please let me know via e-mail.

John and I stayed in and napped and worked on images.

Today is Monday 12 April 2021. I just finished sending out the eighth SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group e-mail and the fourth Stick Marsh Site Guide e-mail. The forecast for the morning is for partly-cloudy skies with drizzle early then clearing with a light wind from the northwest. It will likely be a challenging morning. But I have a plan. Monte will be joining us. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you have a great day.

This blog post took more than an hour to prepare and makes 110 consecutive days with a new one. Please remember to use my B&H affiliate links or to save money at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout. Doing either often earns you free guides or discounts. And doing so always earns my great appreciation.

Please Remember

With income from IPTs now at 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. Those questions might deal with systems, camera bodies, accessories, and/or lens choices and decisions.

This image was created on 11 April on the Fort DeSoto #1 IPT. I used the Induro GIT 304L/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. ISO 800. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/1250 sec. at f/9 (stopped down 1/3-stop) in Manual mode. AWB at 9:54am on a cloudy-bright morning. Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed pretty close to perfection (see below) by tracking the bird’s eye. Image #1: Adult Laughing Gull in breeding plumage preening a neck feather

An Aqua Square

The background color here is an accurate representation of the color of the water in the Gulf of Mexico on a cloudy- bright day. I raised the tripod a bit while seated as the near-shore water appears more aqua than it does in the distance. This one is another example of my new-acceptance of perfect square crops as perfect for some images. Photoshop tip: select 1:1 (Square) from the dropdown Crop menu.

Image #1A: AF Points for the Adult Laughing Gull in breeding plumage preening a neck feather image

Close Enough to Perfect!

With your Sony Alpha a1 set up correctly, the AF system is science-fiction-like, even at 1200mm. As always, no matter how amazing the AF performance, it is up to the operator to correctly frame the image …

Sony Alpha a1 AF Magic …

The AF system of the a1 — set up as detailed in e-mails to the Sony Alpha a1 Info & Updates group, continues to amaze me. Early on, there was lots of discussion within the group with many preferring multiple back button approaches. For me a simple shutter button approach with the right AF settings that yield 99% sharp-on-the-eye images is best. By far. It is super-simple and mega-effective. Note: info on the program that I use to ascertain SONY AF point information is detailed in one of the SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group e-mails. I plan on making that information available here soon for all SONY camera users. You guessed it, I am working on a guide. 🙂

SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group

The SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group is going great guns as folks chime in with thoughtful questions and experience-based advice. We are now up to an astounding 35 folks. 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, they can call Jim weekday afternoons at 1-863-692-0906 to pay via credit card. New members will receive composite e-mails that summarize all previous discussions.

Image #1B: RawDigger screen capture for the Adult Laughing Gull in breeding plumage preening a neck feather image

RawDigger and Specular Highlights

When you see clipping in all three channels (at the 16000 line), most would assume that this image is hopelessly and irrecoverably over-exposed. Not so fast … Though there are a total of 2078 over-exposed pixels, those are out of 51,000,000 and thus account for 0% OvExp pixels. Furthermore, a look at the enlarged image of the bill we see that all of the OvExp pixels are in the specular highlights on the bird’s (wet) bill. If you tried to eliminate those, the image would be mega-under-exposed. In short, the exposure for today’s featured image is 100% der solid perfect. All of the above is detailed at length in the RawDigger guide and in the included Adapted Histogram video.

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 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.

All of the images were created at Fort DeSoto in April or early May. Click on the card to enjoy a larger version. Fort DeSoto IPT card A

Fort DeSoto Spring IPT #2

Fort DeSoto Spring IPT #2. 3 1/2 DAYS. MON 26 APR thru the morning session on THURS 29 APR 2021. $1499 includes three lunches. Limit: 6. Openings: 5.

Not only am I conversant in all three major camera systems used in the US — Nikon, Canon, and SONY (sorry Andy Rouse …), I have used all three within the past four years. Those include both SONY and Canon mirrorless. On both of these IPTs you will learn how to get the best exposure, how to get the most out of your AF system, and how to get close to free and wild birds. And tons more.

All of the images were created at Fort DeSoto in April or early May. Click on the card to enjoy a larger version. Fort DeSoto IPT card B

A $499 deposit is required to hold your spot for this IPT. You can send a check (made out to “BIRDS AS ART) to us here: BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855, or call Jim or Jennifer at the office with a credit card at 863-692-0906. Your balance, payable only by check, is due immediately after you sign up. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail. If you cancel due to COVID 19 concerns, all of your payments will be refunded.

All of the images were created at Fort DeSoto in April or early May. Click on the card to enjoy a larger version. Fort DeSoto IPT card C

Fort DeSoto Spring IPTs Expected Species

With any luck, we should get to photograph the following species: Laughing, Ring-billed, Herring, and Lesser Black-backed Gull; Royal, Sandwich, and Forster’s Tern: Great, Snowy, and white and dark morph Reddish Egret and Great Blue, Little Blue, and Tricolored Heron; Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Wood Stork, Roseate Spoonbill, and Brown Pelican. We will see and photograph lots of shorebirds including American Oystercatcher, Black-bellied, Wilson’s, Semipalmated, Snowy, and Piping Plover, Marbled Godwit, Willet, Dunlin, Red Knot, Sanderling, and Western and possibly White-rumped Sandpiper.

Typos

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