This is the first-ever five line blog post title. Why? There is so much I have to share and so, so much to learn. Interested? Keep reading. <\/p>\n
First off, thanks for the many complimentary comments at the last blog post, nearly all from folks who have attended a BIRDS AS ART IPT and learned from me. In today’s post, please leave a comment noting the two most extraordinary images along with the two that you think are most ordinary. <\/p>\n
Note: Copy editing, re-crafting, technical refinement, and formatting for this blog post were assisted by Gemini AI.<\/p>\n
Most everyone agreed that the work of the four student\/friends featured in the last blog post were quite excellent. Here — in no particular order — are my very favorites: <\/p>\n
1- David Pugsley’s tern sunrise silhouette with wave<\/em> for its dramatic lighting and image design. <\/p>\n 2- Raymond C. Murray’s Royal Tern with chick vertical for its cuteness factor. <\/p>\n 3- Alvin “Red” Stevens’ Royal Tern large checkerboard chick with foot raised staring because I loved the checkerboard chicks and the stare down the lens barrel. <\/p>\n 4- Jim Dolgin’s Laughing Gull pre-dawn red\/purple silhouette because I am envious. I was there and did not make anything similar \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n Carolyn Johnson brought some great weather luck to Long Island, and she is absolutely loving both her new Sony FE 100-400mm f\/4.5 GM OSS lens<\/a> and APS-C crop mode. Our first two mornings brought perfect conditions: sunny skies with a breeze out of the northeast. I will be sharing some of CJ’s best work with you here soon. <\/p>\n Thursday morning was forecasted to be sunny with a stiff southwest wind \u2014 a terrible combination \u2014 and that’s exactly how it looked at 6:30 AM. But a sky full of foggy clouds materialized out of nowhere and saved the morning. We also did well on Tuesday afternoon, particularly at sunset. With dark, threatening clouds building to the west on Wednesday, we opted for an early night after a fabulous thank-you dinner at Wild Ginger in Rockville Centre earlier that afternoon. We had a second long and wonderful dinner at Wild Ginger on Thursday and got lots of work done with Carolyn’s images in lieu of an early evening photo session. <\/p>\n Carolyn had signed up for four day of instruction, Tuesday through Friday. On Wednesday evening, she sent me this text: <\/p>\n Hey, I was able to change my flight to Friday so let\u2019s bag the Friday morning outing too. That works better for me and having you one-on-one for three days was absolutely worth the price!! See you at 5:30am.<\/em><\/p>\n My schedule is open from now through the end of the month. Though the skimmers did not have a great breeding year, I discovered more than a few very photographable nests with eggs on Thursday morning. In addition, the Common Terns have been fishing for Mole Crabs in the wash and providing lots of action. <\/p>\n Today is Friday 7 August, 2026. As I purchased my first telephoto lens — the Canon FD 400mm f\/4.5 on 7 August 1983. Today marks 43 years of bird photography for me. And guess what? I cannot wait to get out early and make some more wonderful images. I guess it took me 37 years to find my path \ud83d\ude42 With wind against sun forecast for this morning, I will be heading out with the 400-800 and the monopod after using only the Sony FE 100-400mm f\/4.5 GM OSS lens<\/a> for three straight days. <\/p>\n Whatever you opt to do, I hope that you choose to have fun and enjoy life. Please remember that happiness is a choice — Byron Katie – The Work.Com<\/a> <\/p>\n If an item \u2014 a Delkin flash card or reader<\/a>, a Levered-clamp FlexShooter Pro<\/a>, or a Wimberley lens plate <\/a> or low foot<\/a> — for example, that is available from B&H and\/or Bedfords, is also available in the BAA Online Store, it would be great, and greatly appreciated, if you would opt to purchase from us. We will match or beat any price. Please remember also to use my B&H affiliate links or to earn 3% cash back at Bedford by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout for your major gear purchases. Doing either often earns you free guides and\/or discounts. And always earns my great appreciation. <\/p>\n Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BirdPhotographer’s.Net<\/a>, are — out of ignorance — using the wrong gear, especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads. And the same is true in spades when ordering new camera bodies or lenses. My advice will often save you some serious money and may help you avoid making a seriously bad choice. Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.<\/a> If you are desperate, you can try me on my cell at 863-221-2372. Please leave a message and shoot me a text if I do not pick up.<\/p>\n This image was created on 10 July 2026 by yours truly on the 2026 BAA Jacksonville Friends IPT. Crouching a bit, I used the handheld Sony FE 100-400mm f\/4.5 GM OSS lens<\/a> with the Sony FE 2x Teleconverter<\/a> (at effective 1200mm) and The Latest Greatest Sony Flagship Body, the a-1 II Mirrorless Camera<\/a> (in APS-C crop mode). The exposure was determined by Zebras with Exposure Compensation (EC) on the Thumb Dial. Multi Metering +0.7 stops. AUTO ISO set ISO 2000: 1\/1600 sec. at f\/9. AWB at 7:43:10pm on sunny afternoon. <\/p>\n Tracking; Zone\/AF-C with Bird-Eye\/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the larger high-res version.<\/p>\nWhat’s Up?<\/h3>\n
Gear Questions and Advice<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\n \n \n \n Image #1: Royal Tern — golden chick swimming
\nImage Copyright 2026: Arthur Morris\/BIRDS AS ART