Jim and I made it early to the Circle Bar B Reserve in Lakeland. He carried the 600 f\/4, and I carried the 70-200 II and a tripod. I had three TCs along for the ride. We walked three miles. For the first mile plus, we saw no birds. Then on the western shore of Lake Hancock, we came upon a big feeding spree of herons and egrets. Lots of wood Storks flew by. I tried a few silhouettes at 840mm, but the birds were very skittish … We walked out on the gazebo pier to get the sun behind us; I had a few decent chances. The best of those led to the creation of the two versions of today’s featured image below. At about 8:15am, we headed back to the car via the circular path. For that last mile plus, we saw no birds. <\/p>\n
In the afternoon, I did some housework in preparation of giving away a ton of old cloths and enjoyed my 1\/2-mile slow swim. After dinner it was 20 minutes of rope flow practice. The ILE forecast for this morning is for partly cloudy with a gentle breeze from the south. That usually means clear and sunny. I will be heading down to the lake early hoping to work again with the new Sony 400mm f\/2.8 GM lens. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about an hour to prepare and makes seventy-three days in a row with a new one.<\/p>\n
Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links that are found on most blog pages and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT<\/a>. You will be amazed at how much you will learn!<\/p>\n Send a PayPal for $62.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net<\/a> or call Jim at 863-692-0906 and put $62.00 on your credit card. Pick one of your best images and upload the raw file using a large file sending service like Hightail or DropBox and then send me the link via e-mail.<\/a> I will download and save your raw file, evaluate the exposure and sharpness, and optimize the image as if it were my own after converting the raw file in Adobe Camera Raw. Best of all, I will make a screen recording of the entire process and send you a link to the video to download, save and study. <\/p>\nBIRDS AS ART Image Optimization Service (BAA IOS)<\/h3>\n
\n| \n | This image was also created on 26 May 2022 at Circle Bar B Reserve in Lakeland, FL. I used the no-longer available Induro GIT304L Stealth Carbon Fiber Tripod\/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro<\/a>-mounted-Sony FE 600mm f\/4 GM OSS lens<\/a>, the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter<\/a>, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera<\/a>). The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 1000. 1\/640 sec. at f\/8 (wide open) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger,<\/a> the raw file brightness was determined to be dead-solid perfect. AWB at 7:10:44am on sunny morning. <\/p>\n Tracking: Spot S AF-C with Bird Face\/Eye detection enabled performed to perfection. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. <\/p>\n |