Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

What’s Up?

Friday morning down by the lake began clear and still. With no birds. No vultures. No cranes. No Cattle Egrets. No Red-shouldered Hawks. I scouted around a bit without any luck. Using the SONY 600 GM/1.4X TC/a9 ii set up on the tripod in the car with the Levered-clamp FlexShooter Pro of course, I took some bracketed images of a palm tree and another bracketed series of the top of the new perch. Just to learn more about fine-tuning my SONY exposures. What degree of Zebras will yield a perfect exposure in this light or that?

Just before quitting I decided to take one last peek at the Vulture Tree at the end of the South Field. A bird or two had flown in since my first visit, so I got out of the car and set up the Induro 404L with the SONY 600 GM as above at 840mm. I enjoyed virtually non-stop flight action — mostly with Black Vultures — as the wind picked up first from the south (good), before switching to west/southwest (bad). So I headed home for brunch.

With the warmer days this week, the pool was up to a very pleasant 82 degrees today. I love swimming without my wet suit top.

On Friday evening there was a clear sunset with the wind from the west; that is not good at all for the birds flying in to roost in the reeds. So I hung out by the three perches and had a ton of fun. After three weeks of zilch, an Osprey has fallen in love with the repaired perch. And the new large tall perch has some singing Boat-tailed Grackles. All in all it was not bad despite the less than ideal wind direction.

When I first found the new sunset location (since have named the Reed Roost), I knew that the possibility of making some really good images existed. I was right! 🙂 If you feel that one of today’s featured images is stronger than the other, please leave a comment letting us know which one and why you made your choice. You can also comment on any problems that you have with either image.

Today is Saturday 23 January 2021. The forecast is for partly cloudy and still with west/northwest winds developing as the day goes on. With a high of 77 degrees. 🙂 If it is not too foggy, I will be heading out early this morning.

This blog past makes thirty-four days in a row with a new blog post. This one took more than 3 hours to prepare. Please remember …

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 can always help out by clicking here if they see fit.

Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro

We have just one Induro GIT 404L/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro in stock. Two dozen are being shipped from Hungary this coming Tuesday. The ballhead that acts like a (but is much lighter than) a gimbal-head, and serves all purposes, is — as I predicted when I first used a FlexShooter — indeed taking the world of nature photography over by storm. And it’s all on the level too!

RawDigger e-Guide pre-publication version

RawDigger e-Guide and Video Advance Copy Still Available — but not for long …

Save $10 Now

The RawDigger e-Guide and Video is almost finished. It will sell for $51.00. If you are anxious to get started with RawDigger, learn to mega-Expose to the Right, and wind up with the highest quality image files, you can save $10.00 and have a chance to review a recently updated pre-publication version of the guide by sending a PayPal for $41.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net with the words RawDigger e-Guide and Video Pre-publication Copy cut and pasted into the Subject line. The recent delay is the result of my recent conversations with Iliah Borg, the brains behind RawDigger. It is very likely that the Shock-your-World section will shock you.

In the new guide, we teach you why the GREEN channel is almost always the first to over-expose. We teach you how to interpret the Max G values. And most recently, we teach you a simple way to evaluate your exposures using an adapted RawDigger histogram. And tons more, of course. I am planning on having the completed RawDigger e-Guide ready for sale by this coming Wednesday. Folks who saved $10.00 by pre-ordering will of course receive a link to the final PDF.

134 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.

Great Topaz News!

Folks who use the BAA Topaz link to purchase Sharpen AI, DeNoise AI, or the Utility Bundle (or any other Topaz plugins) will receive a 15% discount by entering the ARTHUR15 code at checkout. To get the discount you must use my link and you must enter the discount code. Be sure to start with this link.

Topaz Stuff

As I said just a while back and have said often many times before, I should have listened sooner. If you, like me, are new to the Topaz party, please use this link to purchase. Right now I can wholeheartedly recommend both Topaz Sharpen AI and Topaz DeNoise AI. Though I have not yet worked with JPEGtoRAW AI or Gigapixel AI, I have installed both of these plug-ins and look forward to trying them on some I-Phone 11 images fairly soon. If you are thinking like me, consider the Utility Bundle that includes all four plug-ins mentioned above at a money-saving price.

Again, those who purchase Sharpen AI or DeNoise AI using my link, can e-mail to request a short Getting Started with Topaz e-Guide. I had a bit of trouble getting the two plug-ins installed and having them appear in the Photoshop Filter Menu. In addition, I will explain how to best learn about the two plug-ins by applying them on a Layer (in Photoshop).

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 overnight 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.

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.

This image was created on 20 JAN 2021 down by the lake at ILE. I used the Induro GIT 404L/Induro GIT 404L/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter, and the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital camera body). AUTO ISO set 640. Multi-metering +1.7 stops: 1/2000 sec. at f/8 (wide open) in Shutter Priority (Tv or S) mode. AWB at 6:45pm right at sunset with some haze on the southwestern horizon. Bottom Center Zone AF-C got very lucky, in part by design … Click on the image to enjoy a larger version. Image #1: Little Blue Heron landing above reeds at evening roost

A New Approach to Sunrise/Sunset Exposures

As explained previously, if you are shooting sunrise or sunset silhouettes in Manual mode your exposure will be perfect only for a small section of the sky. Usually, that is the brightest part of the sky next to the muted sun but without the sun in the frame. As you point the lens away from the sun, your images will become more and more under-exposed. So I have switched from Manual mode to Shutter Priority (Tv or S) mode with Auto ISO and the Exposure Compensation (EC) set to +1.7. That approach turned out to be a very nice compromise. Keep reading to learn what I mean by a “very nice compromise.” I may experiment with +2 EC.

The camera set-up for working seamlessly in Shutter Priority mode is covered in detail in the SONY e-Guide and will also be detailed in the BAA EOS R5 Camera User’s e-Guide (currently in production).

Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #1A: the RawDigger screen capture for the Little Blue Heron landing above reeds at evening roost image

The RawDigger Screen Capture

There is a lot to learn here. With 564,000 over-exposed pixels, you might ask, What kind of good exposure is this? Actually, this is a perfect exposure. With the sun barely muted by thin clouds, the highlights in this type of image must be over-exposed. If you were able to expose for the highlights in the disk of the sun, the rest of the image would be black. You would not even seen a hint of the flying bird. So we give up the highlights in order to create a very pleasing image. Compare Image #1A with Image #1 and you will see that I added some canvas above the sun. I did that easily with the Crop Tool/Content-Aware Fill method that is detailed in ABP II (along with many dozens more great Photoshop tips).

Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #1B: the RawDigger histogram for the Little Blue Heron landing above reeds at evening roost image

The RawDigger Histogram

That all three channels are pegged against the 16000 line indicates the complete over-exposure (“toasting”) of the highlights in the disk of the sun as well as some lesser degree of over-exposure in the most brightly lit water.

This image was also created on 20 JAN 2021 down by the lake at ILE. Again, I used the Induro GIT 404L/Induro GIT 404L/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter, and the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital camera body). AUTO ISO set 1000. Multi-metering +1.7 stops: 1/1600 sec. at f/8 (wide open) in Shutter Priority (Tv or S) mode. AWB at 6:47pm right at sunset with some haze on the southwestern horizon. Bottom Center Zone AF-C got very lucky, in part by design … Click on the image to enjoy a larger version. Image #2: Cattle Egret landing above reeds at evening roost

Another Good One at 1200mm

Working the Reed Roost at 1200mm does not leave much room for error. The trick is to include a decent amount of reeds in the foreground and a decent amount of sky above the far shoreline to balance the composition. In addition, it is quite difficult to silhouette the incoming birds against a water-only background. If the bird or birds merge with the black of the far shoreline the image is simply not gonna work … And the same is true if the bird or birds get well down into the reeds!

So that I would have a better chance to include a decent-sized strip of sky above the far shoreline, I selected Bottom Center Zone rather than Center Zone. You can see how that worked out immediately below. You will see exactly how that worked out in item last below.

Do You Like the Subject on the Wrong Side of the Frame?

Why or why not?

Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #2A: the RawDigger screen capture for the Cattle Egret landing above reeds at evening roost image

The RawDigger Screen Capture

Serious folks who have read this far should look at the thirds lines in the last box, the 8000 to 16000 (one full stop) box, you can see that the data in the RED channel made it to the first thirds line. The ideal target is the second thirds line or beyond (without going over the actual retail value …) So this image is about 1/3 stop too dark. Such images will process beautifully with very low levels of noise. Note that I ran Topaz DeNoise AI on both of today’s featured images. In the RawDigger e-Guide you will likely learn that you have been under-exposing all of your sunrise/sunset silhouettes (without the sun in the frame) by from one to two stops.

While preparing this blog post I just realized why that occurs: the RED channel on the camera histograms is way too sensitive to the rich reds in a richly-colored sky.

From where I sit, the compromise of going to Shutter Priority +1 2/3 stops with Auto ISO worked out quite well. Note that in the image with the setting sun in the frame the ISO dropped to 640. In Image #2– much darker overall — it rose to 1000. Had I set the EC to +2 Image #2 would have been perfect and Image #1 would have been more than satisfactory.

SONY AF Points

Was Luck the Residue of Design?

In a perfect world, the AF system would grab and track the incoming bird as it is set against a water-only background. And that is what I was trying to do. It is obvious by looking at both screen captures above that I failed: the system grabbed the reeds. I did have lots of images where that happened where the bird was not on the same plane as the reeds and thus was not sharp. But with many of the images, the birds were on the exact same plane as the reeds and were rendered sharp. I had considered that possibility during the session. So while a bit of luck was involved in getting two great poses sharp with no merges, my thinking had been spot on.

Typos

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

What’s Up?

I did half-way decent with Cattle Egrets and vultures on a very still Wednesday morning. And yesterday evening was quite good. I spent most of the day selecting images for the second RawDigger video, this one on the Adapted Histogram that Patrick Sparkman came up with to make everyone’s life easier, no matter what camera body or system they are using.

I am headed into town in the dark to have my teeth cleaned. After that I am headed to Lakeland to check out the White Pelicans and friends. On the way home, I will stop in Lake Wales for an Active Release Therapy (ART) session with chiropractor and good friend, TJ McKeon.

I will be creating the Adapted Histogram video very soon. Today is Thursday 21 January 2021. The forecast for Lakeland this morning is for clear skies early with no wind. Not bad.

This blog past makes thirty-two days in a row with a new blog post. This one took about 2 hours to prepare. Please remember …

Please Remember

With income from IPTs approaching 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 can always help out by clicking here if they see fit.

RawDigger e-Guide pre-publication version

RawDigger e-Guide and Video Advance Copy Still Available — but not for long …

Save $10 Now

The RawDigger e-Guide and Video is almost finished. It will sell for $51.00. If you are anxious to get started with RawDigger, learn to mega-Expose to the Right, and wind up with the highest quality image files, you can save $10.00 and have a chance to review a recently updated pre-publication version of the guide by sending a PayPal for $41.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net with the words RawDigger e-Guide and Video Pre-publication Copy cut and pasted into the Subject line. The recent delay is the result of my recent conversations with Iliah Borg, the brains behind RawDigger. It is very likely that the Shock-your-World section will shock you.

In the new guide, we teach you why the GREEN channel is almost always the first to over-expose. We teach you how to interpret the Max G values. And most recently, we teach you a simple way to evaluate your exposures using an adapted RawDigger histogram. And tons more, of course. I am planning on having the completed RawDigger e-Guide ready for sale by this coming Wednesday. Folks who saved $10.00 by pre-ordering will of course receive a link to the final PDF.

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.

134 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.

Great Topaz News!

Folks who use the BAA Topaz link to purchase Sharpen AI, DeNoise AI, or the Utility Bundle (or any other Topaz plugins) will receive a 15% discount by entering the ARTHUR15 code at checkout. To get the discount you must use my link and you must enter the discount code. Be sure to start with this link.

Topaz Stuff

As I said just a while back and have said often many times before, I should have listened sooner. If you, like me, are new to the Topaz party, please use this link to purchase. Right now I can wholeheartedly recommend both Topaz Sharpen AI and Topaz DeNoise AI. Though I have not yet worked with JPEGtoRAW AI or Gigapixel AI, I have installed both of these plug-ins and look forward to trying them on some I-Phone 11 images fairly soon. If you are thinking like me, consider the Utility Bundle that includes all four plug-ins mentioned above at a money-saving price.

Again, those who purchase Sharpen AI or DeNoise AI using my link, can e-mail to request a short Getting Started with Topaz e-Guide. I had a bit of trouble getting the two plug-ins installed and having them appear in the Photoshop Filter Menu. In addition, I will explain how to best learn about the two plug-ins by applying them on a Layer (in Photoshop).

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 overnight 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 19 January 2021 at my new evening sunset spot. I used the Induro GIT 404L/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, Sony FE 1.4x teleconverter, and the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital Camera Body. ISO 1600: 1/1250 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 6:49pm a few minutes after sunset. Center Zone AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed to perfection. Click the image to see a larger version. Image #1: Photo Mechanic screen capture showing the original image

But Sometimes …

In yesterday’s blog post, I wrote, I headed back down to the lake at 5:40pm, right before sunset and was very glad that I did. I had some light clouds on the western horizon and the wind was from the northeast. Since I was shooting silhouettes, the wind against sun conditions were perfect. I worked some single birds and small groups coming in just over the reeds. Just as the sun disappeared below the horizon, all hell broke lose: about 80 roosting birds took flight at once, flushed by one of the local Bald Eagles they swirled around frantically in front of the still-richly-colored sky. Though I have not edited those images yet, I glanced at them and I did get a few very good frames. Some with the silhouetted eagle in the frame.

But sometimes in really exciting situations when you think that you did really well, it turns out that you did not … Such was the case when I took a closer look at Tuesday evening’s images. I kept 21 silhouetted images after the first edit. I will likely have less than five left after the second edit. The exposures are very tough when you work in manual mode as you need to avoid over-exposure when the bird or birds are set against the brightest areas of the sky, those right next to the setting sun. But as the birds get away from those brightly colored skies, away from the sun or the spot where it just set, you will wind up with too-dark raw files.

If you can think of a solution to this problem, please, please pretty please leave a comment. And please be specific. What exposure mode? What Exposure Compensation ?

Last night, I did get one family jewel at 1200mm using my newly-thought-out exposure methodology. For sure. I will share the solution and the image with you here soon.

The second problem even with the best images, was that there was no flow to the image design. The patterns made by the birds as they blasted off at the eagle’s approach had no flow to them, no balance; they were hodgepodge at best. As with Image #1 above. With the groups, there were too many merges. And many were too tight at 840mm. So I re-thought my approach. There was a decent sunset on Wednesday evening so I set up the 600 GM with the 2X TC and an a9 ii on the Induro 404L, and the 200-600 on my shoulder with the other a9 ii via a Black Rapid Curve Breathe Strap.As it turned out there were no heron/egret blast-offs and no big flocks of Boat-tailed Grackles in flight last night. But at least I was ready. As I set up in one spot I might try the TwinShooter so that I will not have to be concerned about keeping the horizon level with either the big lens or the zoom lens. Another thought is that I might drop down from the 200-600 to the 100-400 …

Image #1A: the RawDigger Adapted Histogram

The RawDigger Adapted Histogram

Note that the histogram in Image #1, the Photo Mechanic screen capture showing the original, indicates that the RED channel is totally over-exposed. Looking carefully at the RawDigger Adapted Histogram on the other hand, we see that the RED channel is actually very close to 1 2/3 stops too dark. In the guide we teach you how to set up the adapted histogram, and how to interpret the data. Here is a hint: from the 8000 line to the 16000 line is one full stop …

As noted yesterday, the illustrated text portion of the RawDigger e-Guide is pretty much complete. On Wednesday, I e-mailed the link to the last pre-publication copy of the RawDigger e-Guide for review. If you purchased an advance copy and did not receive your new link, please let me know via e-mail.

Image #1B: SONY AF Points

SONY AF Points!

As noted recently I learned of an amazing new program that shows the SONY AF points. Patrick and I have pretty much figured it out but we still have some work to do. I plan on e-mailing the creator of the program today and ask for help. The SONY EXIF does not make things easy … We will soon be sharing the link at no cost while offering an inexpensive e-guide.

As you can see above, Center Zone AF performed absolutely perfectly with today’s featured image.

This image was created on 19 January 2021 at my new evening sunset spot. I used the Induro GIT 404L/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, Sony FE 1.4x teleconverter, and the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital Camera Body. ISO 1600: 1/1250 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 6:49pm a few minutes after sunset. Center Zone AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed to perfection. Click the image to see a larger version. Image #2: Photo Illustration: Bald Eagle and Cattle Egrets at sunset

The Final Image: a Photo Illustration

In the original (under-exposed) image, there was too much empty space on the left side of the frame, no compositional balance at all, and no flow to the image. Two birds were cut off by the frame-edges. And the strip of vegetation at the bottom of the frame was too small. First I expanded canvas quickly and easily using the Crop-Tool method and Content-Aware Fill. (My bad: I had been too lazy to level the FlexShooter head.) Then, I leveled the image and cropped it to 3X2 while deleting the unwanted pixels. Topaz DeNoise AI on Auto took care of the noise.

Next, I eliminated the two clipped birds and the bird directly in front of the eagle using the Patch Tool, and at times, Content-Aware Fill. Then, using a single Quick Mask, I moved the group of three birds from the right side of the frame to the left side of the frame and then eliminated the upper bird in that group. I needed to do some fancy stepping to even out the tonality in the sky. Last, because I did not like the wing position of the front bird in the now-group of three, I grabbed the wing of another bird with a Quick Mask, transformed and re-shaped it so that it would not be recognizable, and then moved it into place on that front bird.

Yes. Dirty bumper pool. But I am pleased with the results; sometimes it is necessary to create a Photo Illustration in order to create something decent. As always, I left folks know what has been done to an image. Here is the caption: Bald Eagle silhouette w/wading birds PHOTO ILLUSTRATION _A9B6304 Indian Lake Estates — FL 1. I find that honesty is always the best policy.

Feel free to leave a comment revealing your thoughts on the image clean-up.

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

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

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

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

You can learn how and why I used to convert all of my Canon digital RAW files in DPP 4 in the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide here. More recently, I became proficient at converting my Nikon RAW (NEF) files in Adobe Camera Raw. About two years ago I began converting my Nikon and Sony RAW files in Capture One Pro 12 and continue to do so today (along with my R5 images).

To purchase Capture One, please use this link. Then you can learn more about Capture One in the Capture One Pro 12 Simplified MP4 Video here. The next step would be to get a copy of Arash Hazeghi’s “The Nikon Photographers’ Guide to Phase One Capture One Pro e-Guide” in the blog post here.

You can learn advanced Quick Masking and advanced Layer Masking techniques in APTATS I & II. You can save $15 by purchasing the pair. Folks can learn sophisticated sharpening and (NeatImage) Noise Reduction techniques in The Professional Post Processing Guide by Arash Hazeghi and edited by yours truly. Please use this link to purchase NeatImage.

Typos

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

What’s Up?

I enjoyed a modicum of success on Monday morning before the wind came up and switched to northwest. Working from the car with the SONY 600 GM/1.4X TC/a9 ii on the tripod from my SUV, I learned a lot photographing a Little Blue Heron standing on a cleat on a small boat dock. Then I made a few images of a Sandhill Crane in the marsh. Several are already acting a bit nesty. Recently, there have been many dozens of Killdeer in the fields down by the lake. Just before quitting yesterday, I finally got close to a single bird in a decent spot. I thought that I got one great one, but was not really thrilled with any of the five that I kept.

I am just about finished with the final text for the RawDigger e-Guide. I will send out a nearly-complete version either this afternoon or tomorrow to everyone who has purchased a pre-publication copy. Soon, I will do a second video detailing Patrick’s latest brilliant idea, the RawDigger adapted histogram. When I am finished with the RD guide, I will set up my new R5 and get back to work on the BAA EOS R5 Camera User’s e-Guide. In addition, I need to update the R5/R6 AF e-Guide.

I headed down to the lake yesterday afternoon, but with no clouds anywhere, there was not much sunset color. With the winds from the west, the silhouetted birds would be landing directly away from me so I headed home early.

It has been quite chilly here and getting in my daily swim has been somewhat of a challenge. The pool made it back up to 80 degrees yesterday; the big problem is getting out :). It looks as if things will be warming up over the next week.

Anyone who might be interested in COVID-Aware in-the-field instruction at the end of this week or the beginning of next week, is invited to shoot me an e-mail to learn the low rates and to arrange a schedule.

Today is Tuesday 19 January 2021. The forecast for this morning is clear with a gentle northwest breeze. Not terrible for photography. Not great. I will be headed down to see what’s around at about 7:30am. Have a great day!

This blog past makes thirty days in a row with a new blog post. This one took about 2 hours to prepare (including the time spent on the post-processing). Please remember …

Please Remember

With income from IPTs approaching 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 can always help out by clicking here if they see fit.

Canon R5/R6 AF e-Guide Info

So far, 70 folks have sent PayPals for their copy of the Canon R5/R6 AF e-Guide. And 28 who used my affiliate links to purchase their R5 have e-mailed for and received their free copy of the guide. If you e-mailed or sent a PayPal and did not receive your guide, please LMK immediately via e-mail.

Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive so far. Three folks wrote stating that they had a better way of setting up AF on their R5s. When I wrote back explaining why they were in error, two of them back-tracked. One stubborn guy is still doing it his way — less efficiently. Be sure to scroll down to read about my plans for a Canon R5/R6 User’s e-Guide. Understand that the info in the BAA Canon R5/R6 Autofocus e-Guide is so important that I opted to publish the AF guide immediately as the R5/R6 User’s Guide will take at least a month to finish.

BAA Canon R5/R6 Autofocus e-Guide

BAA Canon R5/R6 Autofocus e-Guide

Twenty-one pages. 3,452 words. 28-DPP4 screen captures showing the R5’s vaunted AF system in action. Note: the AF system of the R5 is identical to the AF system of the R6.

You will learn:

1- The two most useful AF Methods for general bird photography and for birds in flight.

2- How to set up your R5/R6 AF Menus.

3- What boxes to check (and un-check) under Limit AF Methods.

4- How to change the AF Method quickly, easily, and efficiently. Note: the default way of doing this is clunky, cumbersome, and inefficient at best. One person replied that this tip alone was worth the price of admission.

5- The only setting that should be used for Initial Servo AF pt for Face Detection + Tracking.

I you are currently using multiple back buttons either for general bird photography or for birds in flight, what you learn in this guide will change your life. For the better.

Here are the first three paragraphs of this e-Guide:

From the moment I learned about the new Canon mirrorless bodies, I read about using two or three back-buttons to focus using different AF methods. The word on the street said that the way to go for birds in flight was to use one button to acquire focus with Zone AF or with Large Zone: Horizontal AF and then switch to another button to activate Face Detection + Tracking AF and then use the shutter button to make an image. My immediate thought was, “This is insanity! There has got to be a better way.” In short, there is a far superior way to set up AF on your R5 or R6.

Remember that I got away from any form of back-button or rear focusing many years ago after finally realizing that it is always easier to do one thing (press the shutter button), than it is to do two things (press a back button and then press the shutter button).

The default method of switching AF Methods with the R5/R6 bodies is cumbersome at best. It involves first pressing the grid button (my name) on the upper right back of the camera and then pressing the hard-to-access M-Fn button to toggle through the AF Methods. This method is so bad that it will not be mentioned again in this guide.

The guide is free to all who have ordered an R5 or an R6 using my B&H affiliate link or from Steve Elkins/Bedfords using the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout. Please send your receipt to me via e-mail. It will take me a few days to a week to verify the B&H purchases. Bedfords folks should expect their free e-Guides fairly quickly.

To purchase your copy of the e-Guide, please click here or send a PayPal for $25.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net and be sure to include the words R5/R6 AF Guide in your PayPal e-mail.

Everyone who gets the guide will receive a free update no later than the first week in February.

Canon R5/R6 User’s e-Guide

As regular readers know, I am working on a complete Canon R5/R6 User’s e-Guide. This will require a lot of research, a lot of time, and a lot of effort. I am hoping to have it complete by mid- to late February. As always, folks who use the BAA affiliate links to purchase their Canon gear will receive a substantial discount.

Understand that the info in the BAA Canon R5/R6 Autofocus e-Guide is so important that I opted to publish the AF guide right off the bat to help folks get started with their new camera bodies. I may soon offer a pre-publication version of the User’s e-Guide … At a discount, of course.

RawDigger e-Guide pre-publication version

RawDigger e-Guide and Video Advance Copy Still Available — but not for long …

Save $10 Now

The RawDigger e-Guide and Video is almost finished. It will sell for $51.00. If you are anxious to get started with RawDigger, learn to mega-Expose to the Right, and wind up with the highest quality image files, you can save $10.00 and have a chance to review a recently updated pre-publication version of the guide by sending a PayPal for $41.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net with the words RawDigger e-Guide and Video Pre-publication Copy cut and pasted into the Subject line. The recent delay is the result of my recent conversations with Iliah Borg, the brains behind RawDigger. It is very likely that the Shock-your-World section will shock you.

In the new guide, we teach you why the GREEN channel is almost always the first to over-expose. We teach you how to interpret the Max G values. And most recently, we teach you a simple way to evaluate your exposures using an adapted RawDigger histogram. And tons more, of course. I am planning on having the completed RawDigger e-Guide ready for sale by this coming Wednesday. Folks who saved $10.00 by pre-ordering will of course receive a link to the final PDF.

Great Topaz News!

Folks who use the BAA Topaz link to purchase Sharpen AI, DeNoise AI, or the Utility Bundle (or any other Topaz plugins) will receive a 15% discount by entering the ARTHUR15 code at checkout. To get the discount you must use my link and you must enter the discount code. Be sure to start with this link.

Topaz Stuff

As I said just a while back and have said often many times before, I should have listened sooner. If you, like me, are new to the Topaz party, please use this link to purchase. Right now I can wholeheartedly recommend both Topaz Sharpen AI and Topaz DeNoise AI. Though I have not yet worked with JPEGtoRAW AI or Gigapixel AI, I have installed both of these plug-ins and look forward to trying them on some I-Phone 11 images fairly soon. If you are thinking like me, consider the Utility Bundle that includes all four plug-ins mentioned above at a money-saving price.

Again, those who purchase Sharpen AI or DeNoise AI using my link, can e-mail to request a short Getting Started with Topaz e-Guide. I had a bit of trouble getting the two plug-ins installed and having them appear in the Photoshop Filter Menu. In addition, I will explain how to best learn about the two plug-ins by applying them on a Layer (in Photoshop).

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 overnight 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 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 30 December 2020 at ILE. I used the handheld-Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM lens (at 500mm) and the highly touted 45MP Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Digital camera body. ISO 2500: 1/2500 sec. at f/7.1 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 9:18am on a cloudy morning. Large Zone: Horizontal AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed well. Image #1: Bald Eagle adult in flight

The Situation

At this time of year (at least), the two eagles hanging around down by the pier are not looking spiffy. They have dirty heads and very dirty tails. This bird flew over a road-kill-cafe set-up on a cloudy morning. I find it more difficult to get the color and contrast right with R5 low light images than I do with a9 ii or a7r iv images. I think that I need to process some low-light R5 images with Canon Digital Photo Professional (DPP 4) …

For me — having been to Homer, AK more than half a dozen times, there is nothing at all special about this image. It does, however, present lots of learning opportunities.

I am hoping that the eagle pair opts to nest in a somewhat accessible location on the lakefront …

Click on the image to better see the noise reduction. Image #1A: Topaz DeNoise AI screen capture

Topaz DeNoise AI on Bald Eagle adult in flight image

After converting the raw file in Capture One, I created a new layer and — after checking out all three options using the Comparison View, opted for Low Light on Auto. Click on the screen capture above to note the the superb noise reduction and the sharper, cleaner look of the After image on our right.

Click on the image to enlarge it so that you can read the fine print. Image #1B: DPP 4 screen capture

DPP 4 Screen Capture

I was using Large Zone AF: Horizontal in the centered position As noted in the R5/R6 AF e-Guide, you can move all of the Zone AFs around in the frame using the Joystick. AF did a decent (but not perfect) job of selecting to AF points just below the bird’s face. The raw file is sharp enough but definitely not laser/razor sharp. I have much more confidence in SONY’s Center Zone for flight than I do with any of the R5 Zone Methods. Now that I have my very own R5/RF 100-500 rig, I am hoping to do lots more flight photography somewhere. Sometime.

Click on the image to enlarge it so that you can read the fine print. Image #1C: RawDigger screen capture

RawDigger Screen Capture

The screen capture here depicts a dead-solid perfect exposure. You will learn a ton in the RawDigger e-Guide. Most importantly, you will learn how to set up and use an adapted histogram that will let you quickly and easily evaluate the exposure — or raw file brightness to be perfectly correct for high ISO images — of raw files from all current and nearly all older dSLR and mirrorless camera bodies. The fact is that almost everyone is creating underexposed raw files on a consistent basis.

Typos

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

What’s Up?

It is 8:30am on Sunday 17 January 2021. I am sitting in my SUV working on today’s blog post. Conditions are perfect for vulture flight: cloudy bright skies with the wind from the east. Both eagles flew over the fish heads and smoked salmon skins that I put out even before I got back to my vehicle. Since then, a few Ring-billed Gulls have flown by, but I have not seen a single vulture. Time will tell.

I spent 1 1/2 hours with Patrick Sparkman yesterday in a Zoom meeting; he kindly clarified a few important points that will enable me to finish the RawDigger e-Guide this week.

Be sure to read all the way down to learn of the free RawDigger screen capture offer.

This blog past makes twenty-eight days in a row with a new blog post. This one took about 2 1/2 hours to prepare (including the time spent on the post-processing and on assembling the two a7r iv composites). Please remember …

Please Remember

With income from IPTs approaching 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 can always help out by clicking here if they see fit.

Beauty is Obviously in the Eye of the Beholder

In yesterday’s ILE GBH-Scape: Color or Black and White? blog post here, I was astounded by the number (21) of folks who left a comment sharing their opinion of the two images, and even more astounded by folk’s reactions. In effect, those ranged from “delete both of them as soon as possible” to “one or both is a true work of art.” As I said in the post, while realizing that neither image is a family jewel, I sorta liked each version. If I had to choose, I’d go with the color image but as several did, I found the mood of the B&W to be quite interesting. In any case, it was amazing to see such huge differences of opinion; and I am glad that I kept the image and shared the two versions.

RawDigger e-Guide and Video Advance Copy Available

Save $10 Now

The RawDigger e-Guide and Video is almost finished. It will sell for $51.00. If you are anxious to get started with RawDigger, learn to mega-Expose to the Right, and wind up with the highest quality image files, you can save $10.00 and have a chance to review a pre-publication copy of the guide by sending a PayPal for $41.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net with the words RawDigger e-Guide and Video Pre-publication Copy cut and pasted into the Subject line. The recent delay is the result of my recent conversations with Iliah Borg, the brains behind RawDigger. It is very likely that the Shock-your-World section will shock you.

In the new guide, we teach you why the GREEN channel is almost always the first to over-expose. We teach you how to interpret the Max G values. And most recently, we teach you a simple way to evaluate your exposures using an adapted RawDigger histogram. And tons more, of course. I am planning on having the RawDigger guide ready for sale by next Monday. Folks who saved $10.00 by pre-ordering will of course receive a link to the final PDF.

Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version. SONY a7r iv Fort DeSoto Composite

SONY a7r iv (for sale below) Fort DeSoto Composite

All of the images in the composite above were created at Fort DeSoto Park with the SONY a7r iv. Contrary to popular opinion, the a7r iv is quite excellent for flight when used with all GM lenses including and especially the 600mm f/4 GM and the 400mm f/2.8 GM. It does not do well for flight with the SONY 200-600 GM (at least in my hands). With decent technique, competent users can create super-sharp images with either of the SONY super-telephoto lenses when used with either teleconverter.

If you are a landscape or macro shooter who uses SONY, the a7r iv was made for you.

DeSoto In-the-Field Instruction

Anyone who might be interested in COVID-Aware in-the-field instruction at the end of this week is invited to shoot me an e-mail to learn the low rates and to work out a schedule.

Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version. SONY a7r iv San Diego Composite

SONY a7r iv (for sale below) San Diego Composite

All of the images in the composite above were created at San Diego, CA. Of all the cancelled IPT destinations, I have missed going to San Diego the most. I had visited this great town every year since 1970. Back then I did not know what a bird or a camera was, but I was playing lots of golf. Younger daughter Jennifer was one when she first visited her grandma and grandpa in San Diego.

New Listing

Sony Alpha a7r IV Mirrorless Digital Camera Body

BAA Record-Low Price

Arthur Morris is offering a Sony a7r IV Mirrorless Digital camera body in excellent-plus condition for the BAA record-low price of $2498.00. Many might call this one near mint, but I like to be conservative when selling my own gear. The body has only 38,497 shutter actuations on it. The sale includes the original box and everything that came in it and insured UPS ground shipping to lower-48 US addresses. In addition, I will throw in a copy of The Sony Camera User’s e-Guide and One Camera Set-up Video (a $100.00 value). Your new camera will not ship until payment clears unless other arrangements are made. PayPal +4% will guarantee same day shipping.

Please contact artie via e-mail or by phone (or text) at 1-863-221-2372 (Eastern time zone).

For the past two years (and also below), you have seen the incredible detail in my a7r IV images made with a variety of SONY lenses and both teleconverters. I’ve typically used my 7r IV for about 50% of my bird photography and my a9 II in pure flight situations. As the 7r IV sells new right now for $3498.00, you can save a cool $1000.00 by grabbing this great SONY mirrorless body ASAP. artie

This image was created on 22 September 2020 at Fort DeSoto Park, Tierra Verde, FL. I used the Induro GIT 304l/Induro GIT 304L/FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter, and the 61-MP Monster, the Sony Alpha a7R IV Mirrorless Digital camera body. ISO: 400. Exposure determined by Zebras with exposure compensation on the rear wheel: 1/1000 sec. at f/9 in Manual mode. In bright sun, I went for just a smattering of Zebras. AWB at 8:31am on a clear sunny morning. Tracking Flexible Spot (M) AF-C worked to perfection. Click on the image to see a larger, sharper version. Roseate Spoonbill with water droplets falling off bill

A 1200mm Family Jewel

I loved this image from the minute I pushed the shutter button. I did that when I saw the water dripping off the bird’s bill. And I loved it even more when I saw it on the laptop for the first time. I just never got around to processing it and publishing it on the blog. I thought of it when I realized that I wanted to sell my SONY a7r iv. And don’t get excited, that has nothing to do with my recent purchase of the Canon EOS R5. Zero in fact.

Because this bird was just beginning to blink at the moment of exposure, I replaced the forward portion of the iris with the that from an adjacent frame. I used a small Quick Mask that was transformed and then refined with a Regular Layer Mask.

An unsharpened 100% crop from Roseate Spoonbill with water droplets falling off bill

SONY a7r iv Detail

Simply put, and as seen above, the incredible detail in sharp a7r iv image files is unparalleled when compared to sharp image files from any dSLR or mirrorless camera bodies.

Sometimes you have to ask yourself, “When was the last time I saw a bird’s ear?”

Image #2A: Topaz DeNoise AI screen capture

Topaz DeNoise AI on the Roseate Spoonbill with water droplets falling off bill image

After converting the raw file in Capture One, I created a new layer and — after checking out all three options using the Comparison View, opted for DeNoise AI on Auto. Be sure to click one the image to see the larger version and note the complete elimination of small-pixel noise on the background. Remember that as I properly exposed for the WHITEs, the middle-tones were about one full stop under-exposed. That despite this exposure being confirmed as dead-solid perfect by RawDigger There were 1,205 OvExp pixels out of 61,000,000. All of those were present only in various specular highlights. In the guide, we teach you to ignore the specular highlights so that you can come up with a perfect exposure (or with the perfect raw file brightness) for a given subject. If you would like to see a RawDigger screen capture that shows this, please click on this link.

Typos

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

What’s Up?

Thursday morning was same old same old. A few crane images and a few vulture images. I gotta get out of this place 🙂 Last night I went down to the lake to try for some more wading bird landing/reed images. There was some color but not much wind so I did not do too well. But I am learning more about where I need to be so I am sure that I will get a few more winners.

Today is Friday 15 JAN 2021. I peeked out the back door at 7:15am — it was very foggy. By 7:30, the sky in the east was mostly clear. I will be heading down soon.

I was glad to learn this morning of the sale of Mansoor Assadi’s SONY a9. If anyone is interested in purchasing a used SONY a7r iv, please get in touch via e-mail.

This blog past makes twenty-six days in a row with a new blog post. This one took about 2 hours to prepare. Please remember …

Please Remember

With income from IPTs approaching 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 can always help out by clicking here if they see fit.

RawDigger e-Guide and Video Advance Copy Available

Save $10 Now

The RawDigger e-Guide and Video is almost finished. It will sell for $51.00. If you are anxious to get started with RawDigger, learn to mega-Expose to the Right, and wind up with the highest quality image files, you can save $10.00 and have a chance to review a pre-publication copy of the guide by sending a PayPal for $41.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net with the words RawDigger e-Guide and Video Pre-publication Copy cut and pasted into the Subject line. The recent delay is the result of my recent conversations with Iliah Borg, the brains behind RawDigger. It is very likely that the Shock-your-World section will shock you.

In the new guide, we teach you why the GREEN channel is almost always the first to over-expose. We teach you how to interpret the Max G values. And most recently, we teach you a simple way to evaluate your exposures using an adapted RawDigger histogram. And tons more, of course. I am planning on having the RawDigger guide ready for sale by next Monday. Folks who saved $10.00 by pre-ordering will of course receive a link to the final PDF.

Canon R5/R6 AF e-Guide Info

So far, 70 folks have sent PayPals for their copy of the Canon R5/R6 AF e-Guide. And 28 who used my affiliate links to purchase their R5 have e-mailed for and received their free copy of the guide. If you e-mailed or sent a PayPal and did not receive your guide, please LMK immediately via e-mail.

Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive so far. Three folks wrote stating that they had a better way of setting up AF on their R5s. When I wrote back explaining why they were in error, two of them back-tracked. One stubborn guy is still doing it his way — less efficiently. Be sure to scroll down to read about my plans for a Canon R5/R6 User’s e-Guide. Understand that the info in the BAA Canon R5/R6 Autofocus e-Guide is so important that I opted to publish the AF guide immediately as the R5/R6 User’s Guide will take at least a month to finish.

BAA Canon R5/R6 Autofocus e-Guide

Twenty-one pages. 3,452 words. 28-DPP4 screen captures showing the R5’s vaunted AF system in action. Note: the AF system of the R5 is identical to the AF system of the R6.

You will learn:

1- The two most useful AF Methods for general bird photography and for birds in flight.

2- How to set up your R5/R6 AF Menus.

3- What boxes to check (and un-check) under Limit AF Methods.

4- How to change the AF Method quickly, easily, and efficiently. Note: the default way of doing this is clunky, cumbersome, and inefficient at best. One person replied that this tip alone was worth the price of admission.

5- The only setting that should be used for Initial Servo AF pt for Face Detection + Tracking.

I you are currently using multiple back buttons either for general bird photography or for birds in flight, what you learn in this guide will change your life. For the better.

Here are the first three paragraphs of this e-Guide:

From the moment I learned about the new Canon mirrorless bodies, I read about using two or three back-buttons to focus using different AF methods. The word on the street said that the way to go for birds in flight was to use one button to acquire focus with Zone AF or with Large Zone: Horizontal AF and then switch to another button to activate Face Detection + Tracking AF and then use the shutter button to make an image. My immediate thought was, “This is insanity! There has got to be a better way.” In short, there is a far superior way to set up AF on your R5 or R6.

Remember that I got away from any form of back-button or rear focusing many years ago after finally realizing that it is always easier to do one thing (press the shutter button), than it is to do two things (press a back button and then press the shutter button).

The default method of switching AF Methods with the R5/R6 bodies is cumbersome at best. It involves first pressing the grid button (my name) on the upper right back of the camera and then pressing the hard-to-access M-Fn button to toggle through the AF Methods. This method is so bad that it will not be mentioned again in this guide.

The guide is free to all who have ordered an R5 or an R6 using my B&H affiliate link or from Steve Elkins/Bedfords using the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout. Please send your receipt to me via e-mail. It will take me a few days to a week to verify the B&H purchases. Bedfords folks should expect their free e-Guides fairly quickly.

To purchase your copy of the e-Guide, please send a PayPal for $25.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net and be sure to include the words R5/R6 AF Guide in your PayPal e-mail.

Everyone who gets the guide will receive a free update no later than the first week in January.

Canon R5/R6 User’s e-Guide

I am working on a complete Canon R5/R6 User’s e-Guide. This will require a lot of research, a lot of time, and a lot of effort. I am hoping to have it complete by mid- to late January. As always, folks who use the BAA affiliate links to purchase their Canon gear will receive a substantial discount.

Understand that the info in the BAA Canon R5/R6 Autofocus e-Guide is so important that I opted to publish the AF guide right off the bat to help folks get started with their new camera bodies.

Great Topaz News!

Folks who use the BAA Topaz link to purchase Sharpen AI, DeNoise AI, or the Utility Bundle (or any other Topaz plugins) will receive a 15% discount by entering the ARTHUR15 code at checkout. To get the discount you must use my link and you must enter the discount code. Be sure to start with this link.

Topaz Stuff

As I said just a while back and have said often many times before, I should have listened sooner. If you, like me, are new to the Topaz party, please use this link to purchase. Right now I can wholeheartedly recommend both Topaz Sharpen AI and Topaz DeNoise AI. Though I have not yet worked with JPEGtoRAW AI or Gigapixel AI, I have installed both of these plug-ins and look forward to trying them on some I-Phone 11 images fairly soon. If you are thinking like me, consider the Utility Bundle that includes all four plug-ins mentioned above at a money-saving price.

Again, those who purchase Sharpen AI or DeNoise AI using my link, can e-mail to request a short Getting Started with Topaz e-Guide. I had a bit of trouble getting the two plug-ins installed and having them appear in the Photoshop Filter Menu. In addition, I will explain how to best learn about the two plug-ins by applying them on a Layer (in Photoshop).

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 overnight 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 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 six-frame in-camera multiple exposure image was created on 2 January 2021 at ILE. I used the Induro GIT 304L/Levered-clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted-Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM lens (at 500mm) and the highly touted 45MP Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Digital camera body. ISO 2500: 1/200 sec. at f/9 in Manual mode. AWB at 8:22am on a cloudy morning. Manual focus with Focus Peaking. Image #1: Florida Tickseed six-frame twirl Multiple Exposure

In-camera Multiple Exposures

When I switched from Canon to Nikon four years ago and then from Nikon to Sony two years ago, the two things that I missed most were being able to create in-camera Multiple Exposure (MS) images and in-camera HDR (High Dynamic Range) images. Yes, you can create ME and HDR images after the fact with any camera, but doing so in post-processing requires a ton of work and often separate programs or Photoshop plug-ins. For lazy folks like me these two in-camera features are easy to use and a ton of fun.

Here I created a single raw file that was merged by the camera from six separate raw images. No fuss. No muss. No bother. No Layer Masks. Press the button six times and the camera does the rest. As the original had six stems, I opted to eliminate five of them by working large with a soft Clone Stamp Tool brush. After that, I ran a 65-pixel Gaussian Blur on a separate layer, added an Inverse (Black) Layer Mask and painted in the effect on both sides of the remaining stem to eliminate all traces of any tell-tale clone-stamp marks.

The techniques used to create a variety of Multiple Exposure images (both in-camera and after-the-fact) are covered in detail in The Art of Flower Photography by Denise Ippolito and yours truly. While skimming through the PDF to check on a few things for this blog post, I was stunned by the number and variety of outstanding, creative, artistic images (most but not all of those by Denise). If you are at all into photographing flowers, this e-Book is one to treasure and study.

BAA EOS R5 Camera User’s Guide (in progress)

Setting up an R5 for Multiple Exposure and HDR capture is tricky. The are multiple options for each. To succeed, you need to understand these options and know exactly how to set each sub-menu item so that you can achieve the results that you desire. In the upcoming BAA EOS R5 Camera User’s Guide, you will learn to do just that. Now that I am getting my very own Canon rig, I will be able to get back to work on the guide as soon as I complete the RawDigger e-Guide. At some point, I may offer a pre-publication version at a discount.

This two-frame in-camera multiple exposure image was also created on 2 January 2021 at ILE. I used the Induro GIT 304L/Levered-clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted-Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM lens (at 500mm) and the highly touted 45MP Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Digital camera body. ISO 2500: 1/200 sec. at f/9 in Manual mode. AWB at 8:17am on a cloudy morning. Manual focus with Focus Peaking. Image #2: Florida Tickseed two-frame Multiple Exposure sharp/soft blur

Soft/Sharp Blurs

Here I created a single raw file that was merged from two separate images by the camera. Again, no muss, no fuss, no bother. After converting the ME raw file, I converted the sharp raw file from the sequence. On the image, I painted a Quick Mask so that I could grab the sharp flower center and position it perfectly on the Soft/Sharp ME. Again, this technique is detailed in The Art of Flower Photography by Denise Ippolito and yours truly. You can even learn to create a soft/sharp blur from a single sharp image!

Focus Peaking with the R5

Focus Peaking with the EOS R5 is totally different from Focus Peaking with SONY mirrorless bodies. In the BAA EOS R5 Camera User’s Guide (in progress) you will learn how to set up Focus Peaking and how to use it.

Image #2A: Topaz DeNoise AI screen capture

Topaz DeNoise AI on the Florida Tickseed two-frame Multiple Exposure sharp/soft blur image

After converting both raw files in Capture One, I grabbed the sharp flower center and moved it onto the ME soft/sharp blur. Once that was done, I flattened the image, created a new layer, and brought that into DeNoise AI. The Comparison View showed that for this image DeNoise AI was best by far. Be sure to click on the screen capture to see the complete elimination of noise in the flower center.

The Art of Flower Photography, a 203 page eBook/a link to the PDF will be sent via e-mail: $29.00.

The Art of Flower Photography

In 2014, I wrote: Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris are proud to announce the publication of The Art of Flower Photography, a 203 page eBook with more than 140 images: $29.00. A link to the PDF will be sent via e-mail. Get yourself a copy today so that you can learn and be inspired by the tour de force of flower photography how-to books. Purchase by clicking here, by calling BIRDS AS ART at 863-692-0906, or by sending a Paypal to us via e-mail.

Notice for i-Pad Users

It is easy to save and access any and all PDF files including The Art of Flower Photography and The Art of Bird Photography II on an i-Pad. Here is a link to a short easily-followed how-to tutorial: i-Pad PDF Tutorial.

Dahlia, botanical print. Image copyright 2014: Denise Ippolito/A Creative Adventure. Simply put, Denise Ippolito is a talented artist.

A Tour de Force

tour de force (ˈto͝or də ˈfôrs/) noun: an impressive performance or achievement that has been accomplished or managed with great skill. “The Art of Flower Photography is a tour de force.”

Dahlia, tight portrait. Image copyright 2014: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART. Like his bird photographs, artie’s flowers images tend to be clean, tight, and graphic.

The Project

Conceived by Denise Ippolito, six months in the making, The Art of Flower Photography is a summital achievement, the results of many hundreds of hours of effort. Thanks to Carol Carson for her careful review of the manuscript.

The Index of The Art of Flower Photography.

What You Will Learn?

In short, you will–as a glance at the eBook’s index above shows, learn everything about flower photography that you wanted to know but were afraid to ask.

We cover lens, gear, and accessory selection, in-the-field techniques, image design and composition, understanding and using the light, getting the right exposure, aperture choice and depth-of-field, focusing techniques, and a variety of post processing and Photoshop techniques. Among others.

Part of the strength of this eBook is that though both denise and artie produce beautiful and inspiring images on a consistent basis, they often use different lenses and different techniques to achieve their visions. In The Art of Flower Photography you get to pick the brains of two very fine photographers.

Gerbera Daisy after warping and rotation, Topaz Simplify BuzSim applied. Image copyright 2014: Denise Ippolito/A Creative Adventure. Denise is as skilled and creative at the computer and in Photoshop as she is in a field of flowers.

Author Backgrounds

Denise Ippolito

Denise has been involved with flowers for much of her life. She is a fifth generation florist who owned and operated a successful flower shop. Subsequently, she then ran first one and then another garden center for the next ten years. Denise has since become a skilled flower photographer; and she has succeeded admirably. Her incredibly creative mind led her to experimenting with both in-the-field techniques and creative post processing effects using Photoshop and several plug-in applications to create the artistic flower renditions that are presented in this eBook.

Arthur Morris

Arthur is a world renowned photographer, and a member of Canon’s “Explorers of Light” program. Although Artie is perhaps best known for his superb bird photography, with thousands of his images gracing the pages of numerous books, magazines, and other publications, he has recently extended his subject matter by redirecting his lenses to capture images of flowers that emphasize their form, pattern, and texture.

Tulipa Renown. Image copyright 2014: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART. On average, artie works with longer focal length lenses than denise. In this new eBook, he shares the techniques that he has developed for using super-telephoto lenses for flower photography. This image was created with the Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM lens that denise owns but rarely uses as she much prefers the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM lens

The Team

The Art of Flower Photography combines the creative energy, the technical proficiency, and the artistic visions of Denise Ippolito and Arthur Morris. Together they form a dynamic teaching team that lectures and conducts seminars and workshops across the country and internationally. They are both multiple award winning photographers who specialize in making world class images of birds, flowers, wildlife, the natural world and Urbex subjects.

The First Review

The first review is in. From Carol Carson via e-mail:

Inspiration and instruction from two experts with different shooting styles–how can you top that? Denise and Artie have produced a must-have addition to the flower photographer’s eLibrary.

Typos

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

What’s Up?

The birds on the pier railings are forever painting the floor boards with whitewash. As I walk, I see all sorts of Rorschach birds and animals in the patterns of the white poop. As it was cloudy-grey on Wednesday morning, I walked the pier with the SONY 100-400 and an a9 ii and photographed many of the whitewash creatures from directly above (thanks to the less-than-one meter MFD of the SONY 100-400 lens.). I will be sharing some of those imaginary creatures with you here soon.

The artie-the-ILE-eagle blog post will be delayed about a week as Patrick and I explore an amazing new program that will thrill SONY Users around the world. More on that soon. Promise.

Work on the RawDigger e-Guide is on temporary hold until I can get with Patrick to iron out a single sticking point. I am hoping that that will happen this coming weekend.

There was an excellent exchange of comments at yesterday’s Geoff Newhouse Short-eared Owl blog post here. Those included two by Geoff as he answered the “which is better SONY a9 ii or Canon R5?” questions.

All are invited to take the Multiple Choice/Fill-in Quiz below.

Today is Wednesday 13 January 2021. I peeked out the door at 7:15am to see that Polk County is currently covered by a huge, grey soft box sky. I will head down with my photo gear to see what’s what. Read on to see why I wish I had my Canon rig for this very cloudy morning. This blog past makes twenty-four days in a row with a new blog post. This one took about three hours to prepare. Please remember …

Please Remember

With income from IPTs approaching 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 can always help out by clicking here if they see fit.

Via e-Mail from Bill Dummitt

Hi Artie, Everything sold! Thank you for the help with pricing and selling all the lenses. It was invaluable. Some happy folks now own new lenses and I am almost 4K to the good. Bill

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.

RawDigger e-Guide and Video Advance Copy Available

Save $10 Now

The RawDigger e-Guide and Video is almost finished. It will sell for $51.00. If you are anxious to get started with RawDigger, learn to mega-Expose to the Right, and wind up with the highest quality image files, you can save $10.00 and have a chance to review a pre-publication copy of the guide by sending a PayPal for $41.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net with the words RawDigger e-Guide and Video Pre-publication Copy cut and pasted into the Subject line. The recent delay is the result of my recent conversations with Iliah Borg, the brains behind RawDigger. It is very likely that the Shock-your-World section will shock you.

In the new guide, we teach you why the GREEN channel is almost always the first to over-expose. We teach you how to interpret the Max G values. And most recently, we teach you a simple way to evaluate your exposures using an adapted RawDigger histogram. And tons more, of course. I am planning on having the RawDigger guide ready for sale by next Monday. Folks who saved $10.00 by pre-ordering will of course receive a link to the final PDF.

Canon R5/R6 AF e-Guide Info

So far, 71 folks have sent PayPals for their copy of the Canon R5/R6 AF e-Guide. And 28 who used my affiliate links to purchase their R5 have e-mailed for and received their free copy of the guide. If you e-mailed or sent a PayPal and did not receive your guide, please LMK immediately via e-mail.

Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive so far. Three folks wrote stating that they had a better way of setting up AF on their R5s. When I wrote back explaining why they were in error, two of them back-tracked. One stubborn guy is still doing it his way — less efficiently. Be sure to scroll down to read about my plans for a Canon R5/R6 User’s e-Guide. Understand that the info in the BAA Canon R5/R6 Autofocus e-Guide is so important that I opted to publish the AF guide immediately as the R5/R6 User’s Guide will take at least a month to finish.

BAA Canon R5/R6 Autofocus e-Guide

Twenty-one pages. 3,452 words. 28-DPP4 screen captures showing the R5’s vaunted AF system in action. Note: the AF system of the R5 is identical to the AF system of the R6.

You will learn:

1- The two most useful AF Methods for general bird photography and for birds in flight.

2- How to set up your R5/R6 AF Menus.

3- What boxes to check (and un-check) under Limit AF Methods.

4- How to change the AF Method quickly, easily, and efficiently. Note: the default way of doing this is clunky, cumbersome, and inefficient at best. One person replied that this tip alone was worth the price of admission.

5- The only setting that should be used for Initial Servo AF pt for Face Detection + Tracking.

I you are currently using multiple back buttons either for general bird photography or for birds in flight, what you learn in this guide will change your life. For the better.

Here are the first three paragraphs of this e-Guide:

From the moment I learned about the new Canon mirrorless bodies, I read about using two or three back-buttons to focus using different AF methods. The word on the street said that the way to go for birds in flight was to use one button to acquire focus with Zone AF or with Large Zone: Horizontal AF and then switch to another button to activate Face Detection + Tracking AF and then use the shutter button to make an image. My immediate thought was, “This is insanity! There has got to be a better way.” In short, there is a far superior way to set up AF on your R5 or R6.

Remember that I got away from any form of back-button or rear focusing many years ago after finally realizing that it is always easier to do one thing (press the shutter button), than it is to do two things (press a back button and then press the shutter button).

The default method of switching AF Methods with the R5/R6 bodies is cumbersome at best. It involves first pressing the grid button (my name) on the upper right back of the camera and then pressing the hard-to-access M-Fn button to toggle through the AF Methods. This method is so bad that it will not be mentioned again in this guide.

The guide is free to all who have ordered an R5 or an R6 using my B&H affiliate link or from Steve Elkins/Bedfords using the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout. Please send your receipt to me via e-mail. It will take me a few days to a week to verify the B&H purchases. Bedfords folks should expect their free e-Guides fairly quickly.

To purchase your copy of the e-Guide, please send a PayPal for $25.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net and be sure to include the words R5/R6 AF Guide in your PayPal e-mail.

Everyone who gets the guide will receive a free update no later than the first week in January.

Canon R5/R6 User’s e-Guide

I am working on a complete Canon R5/R6 User’s e-Guide. This will require a lot of research, a lot of time, and a lot of effort. I am hoping to have it complete by mid- to late January. As always, folks who use the BAA affiliate links to purchase their Canon gear will receive a substantial discount.

Understand that the info in the BAA Canon R5/R6 Autofocus e-Guide is so important that I opted to publish the AF guide right off the bat to help folks get started with their new camera bodies.

Great Topaz News!

Folks who use the BAA Topaz link to purchase Sharpen AI, DeNoise AI, or the Utility Bundle (or any other Topaz plugins) will receive a 15% discount by entering the ARTHUR15 code at checkout. To get the discount you must use my link and you must enter the discount code. Be sure to start with this link.

Topaz Stuff

As I said just a while back and have said often many times before, I should have listened sooner. If you, like me, are new to the Topaz party, please use this link to purchase. Right now I can wholeheartedly recommend both Topaz Sharpen AI and Topaz DeNoise AI. Though I have not yet worked with JPEGtoRAW AI or Gigapixel AI, I have installed both of these plug-ins and look forward to trying them on some I-Phone 11 images fairly soon. If you are thinking like me, consider the Utility Bundle that includes all four plug-ins mentioned above at a money-saving price.

Again, those who purchase Sharpen AI or DeNoise AI using my link, can e-mail to request a short Getting Started with Topaz e-Guide. I had a bit of trouble getting the two plug-ins installed and having them appear in the Photoshop Filter Menu. In addition, I will explain how to best learn about the two plug-ins by applying them on a Layer (in Photoshop).

132 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.

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 overnight 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.

Screen Capture courtesy of Steve Elkins Image #1: Bedfords Receipt for my very own Canon Rig

The Deed is Done; Thanks Steve!

I returned my Canon loaner gear, the EOS R5/RF 100-500/RF 1.4X teleconverter rig, on 4 January 2021. It took less than 10 days for Steve Elkins at Bedford Camera and Video to get a Canon rig for me. Thanks as always, Steve!

Notice that I did not order the vertical battery grip. I’d rather keep one extra battery in my fanny pack than sacrifice any of the weight advantage. I did order an extra battery (out of necessity), but they are back-ordered. I’ve run a Canon battery down while working on the guide without every releasing the shutter!

This image was created on 3 January 2021 on the pier at ILE. I used the handheld Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM lens (at 500mm) and the highly touted 45MP Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Digital camera body. ISO 3200: 1/500 sec. at f/8 in Shutter-Priority AE mode. At 8:01am on a cloudy morning. Image #2: Double-crested Cormorant funky flight

Why?

So why did I purchase the Canon gear above?

• 1- I need it in order to finish the BAA EOS R5/R6 Camera Users Guide.
• 2- The rig is relatively small, is light in weight, and is a breeze to handhold.
• 3- The under 4-foot MFD offers 0.33x magnification at 500mm and makes the lens great for quasi-macro work.
• 4- The Face Detection + Tracking AF is — though less than perfect — an amazing and intriguing technology that I need to explore further.
• 5- I did not have many chances to do flight. Oh, how I’d love to head to San Diego right now …
• 6- The in-camera Multiple Exposure (ME) and HDR (High Dynamic Range) features are a ton of fun and are great for lazy folks like me. Yes, you can assemble your own ME and HDR images after the fact, but that takes a ton of time and effort. The latter approach is not for me.
• 7- I want to be able to try to create more (and even better) funky flight images on cloudy days.

This image was created on 2 January 2021 on the pier at ILE. I used the handheld Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM lens (at 500mm) and the highly touted 45MP Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Digital camera body. ISO 10000: 1/500 sec. at f/7.1 in Shutter-Priority AE mode. At 5:43pm on a very cloudy afternoon. Image #3: Cattle Egret flock funky flight

Funky Flight Photos

While neither of today’s feature images is a contest winner, I think that some potential exists. Each of today’s two featured image was a one-off — I had just a single chance at success. And each is a single image as it appeared right out or the camera. I love this technique on cloudy days as an option to creating some pleasingly blurred images. If you’d like to guess which R5 feature I used for today’s images, feel free to leave a comment. I will refrain from responding. I will of course, describe the technique in complete detail in the BAA EOS R5/R6 Camera User’s Guide (in progress).

Lose Which One?

I almost removed one of the birds in Image #3. Which one? And why?

Multiple Choice/Fill-in Quiz

a) I like both images and find them interesting and creative.

b) I like Image #2 best because _____________.

c) I like Image #3 best because _____________.

d) I think that both of these are insta-deletes and that you should not be wasting your time trying to create more lousy images like these.

Image #3A: Topaz DeNoise screen capture for Cattle Egret flock funky flight

DeNoise with ISO 10000

Again, using the Comparison View has paid huge dividends. I continue to be surprised that at times, either Low Light or AI Clear proves to be more effective than DeNoise. With this ISO 10000 image, AI Clear was obviously the best choice.

Typos

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

A Different Opinion

I liked the Armada Best (gasp!)

It was unanimous: eight out of eight folks who left a comment on the Cackling Goose flocks in low light images in yesterday’s blog post preferred Image #1, the Flotilla. I like them both, but liked the Armada — Image #2, best. I love the more intricate pattern formed by the birds. I love the compositional balance. I love the two birds swimming out of the frame on the left. And perhaps, the greater number of birds implies more strength. Please remember that if you liked Image #1 best you were just as right as me 🙂

To get more detail in the water, I could have moved the Highlight slider in Capture One more to the left as I did with Image #1.

What’s Up?

Sunday morning — as predicted — was not very good. I keep one crane image and four head and neck shots of a silly-tame Cattle Egret; the bird kept walking so close to my car that I could not focus with the 6000 GM! Sunday evening was also pretty much of a bust. There was some nice color early. Without birds. Then the gray took over, so I was home early to watch the end of the Ravens/Titans game. I was glad for Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson who won his first playoff game after two previous losses. His 48-yard touchdown run just before half-time put his team back in the game.

As I type on Monday morning, I am watching the formerly hapless Cleveland Browns kick the butt of the formerly invincible Pittsburg Steelers. Right now the score is 28-0 in the first quarter! I am hoping that the Browns do not collapse like the Colts did two weeks ago …

It has been so cold here — 38 degrees yesterday morning, that I skipped both of my weekend swims. I did my walks and my bursts both days.

Today is Monday 11 January 2021. The forecast for this morning is not bad: 50 degrees at 8am; mostly sunny with light east/northeast winds. I will be headed down to the lake at about 7:45am.

This blog past makes twenty-two days in a row with a new blog post. This one took about an hour to prepare. Please remember …

Please Remember

With income from IPTs approaching 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 can always help out by clicking here if they see fit.

Great Topaz News!

Folks who use the BAA Topaz link to purchase Sharpen AI, DeNoise AI, or the Utility Bundle (or any other Topaz plugins) will receive a 15% discount by entering the ARTHUR15 code at checkout. To get the discount you must use my link and you must enter the discount code. Be sure to start with this link.

Topaz Stuff

As I said just a while back and have said often many times before, I should have listened sooner. If you, like me, are new to the Topaz party, please use this link to purchase. Right now I can wholeheartedly recommend both Topaz Sharpen AI and Topaz DeNoise AI. Though I have not yet worked with JPEGtoRAW AI or Gigapixel AI, I have installed both of these plug-ins and look forward to trying them on some I-Phone 11 images fairly soon. If you are thinking like me, consider the Utility Bundle that includes all four plug-ins mentioned above at a money-saving price.

Again, those who purchase Sharpen AI or DeNoise AI using my link, can e-mail to request a short Getting Started with Topaz e-Guide. I had a bit of trouble getting the two plug-ins installed and having them appear in the Photoshop Filter Menu. In addition, I will explain how to best learn about the two plug-ins by applying them on a Layer (in Photoshop).

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 overnight 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 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 4 January 2021 at Indian Lake Estates. I used the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital camera body. ISO 2000. Exposure determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/2500 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. AWB at 6:40pm just after sunset. Left Zone AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed to perfection. Click the image to see a larger version. Image #1: Cattle Egret returning to roost just after sunset

Which was the best image?

In the Discovering what was there all along … blog post here, may folks left excellent comments when asked Which of today’s featured images do you feel is the stronger? Most preferred Image #2 below (for its complexity). Several preferred Image #1 above (for its simplicity). I feel that both were very strong images, but that Image #2 was a bit stronger. Why? Because we can see the lake. Because for me, the clouds and the various tones in the sky are more interesting than the smooth background in Image #1. In addition, the wing position in Image #2 — the complete downstroke, is powerful than the semi-braking wing position in the first image.

The best part is that whether you liked #1 or #2, you were right. Nobody was wrong. Everything above is just someone else’s opinion.

This image was created on 6 January 2021 at Indian Lake Estates. I used the Induro GIT 304L/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 1.4xteleconverter, and the 61-MP Sony Alpha a7R IV Mirrorless Digital Camera Body. ISO 2000. Exposure determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/2000 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode was confirmed as perfect by RawDigger. AWB at 6:41pm just after sunset. Center Zone AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed to perfection. Click the image to see a larger version. Image #2: Little Blue Heron returning to roost just after sunset

With no merges … Or not?

In that same blog post here, long-ago multiple IPT veteran, good friend, and talented photographer Cliff Beittel left this comment:

#1: fine two-dimensional image
#2: layering of foreground, middle ground, and background gives feeling of three dimensions, the “depth” that two previous comments mentioned (ironically, one for #1, one for #2). More complex, more atmospheric, more photo.

Both shots have amazing positioning of the bird amid the grass stems, with no intersections.

The emphasis is mine. Cliff realized that getting the bird in each image completely separated from the reeds with no merges was important to the artistic success of each photo.

However …

Image #1A: a 100% crop from the original for Image #1

The Merge in Image #1

As you can see immediately above, a single thin reed did merge with the bird’s right foot in Image #1. Working large, mostly using the Clone Stamp Tool at varying levels of Hardness, I carefully removed the entirety of the offending reed. Then I painted a Quick Mask off the second toe of the bird’s left foot, put that on its own layer, flipped it, moved it into position on the right foot, and refined the toe layer with Regular Layer mask.

Be sure to click on Image #1 and compare the area around the feet to Image #1A.

One merge down, one to go.

Image #2A: a 100% crop from the original for Image #2

The Merge in Image #2

Here again we see that there was a merge in the original Image #2. Again, working very large and very carefully, I used the Clone Stamp Tool at varying levels of Hardness, to carefully removed the offending reed completely (from the top to the bottom).

Be sure to click on Image #2 and compare the area around the feet to Image #2A.

The lesson is that even very small merges can be problematic to the artistic success of an image.

Topaz DeNoise Low Light on Auto

Topaz DeNoise Low Light on Auto

I began with the Comparison View and saw clearly that with this image, Low Light was clearly best. The almost complete elimination of the nasty noise in the original on the left is quite remarkable. In addition Topaz DeNoise brightened and sharpened the image.

Note the mosquitoes 🙂

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

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

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

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

You can learn how and why I used to convert all of my Canon digital RAW files in DPP 4 in the DPP 4 RAW Conversion Guide here. More recently, I became proficient at converting my Nikon RAW (NEF) files in Adobe Camera Raw. About two years ago I began converting my Nikon and Sony RAW files in Capture One Pro 12 and continue to do so today (along with my R5 images).

To purchase Capture One, please use this link. Then you can learn more about Capture One in the Capture One Pro 12 Simplified MP4 Video here. The next step would be to get a copy of Arash Hazeghi’s “The Nikon Photographers’ Guide to Phase One Capture One Pro e-Guide” in the blog post here.

You can learn advanced Quick Masking and advanced Layer Masking techniques in APTATS I & II. You can save $15 by purchasing the pair. Folks can learn sophisticated sharpening and (NeatImage) Noise Reduction techniques in The Professional Post Processing Guide by Arash Hazeghi and edited by yours truly. Please use this link to purchase NeatImage.

To introduce folks to our MP.4 videos and the basics involved in applying more NeatImage noise reduction to the background and less on the subject, I’d be glad to send you a free copy of the Free Noise Reduction Basics MP.4 Video. Simply click to shoot me an e-mail to get your free copy.

Typos

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

What’s Up?

Friday morning turned out to be a lot better than expected. With the wind first from the south and then switching to the southwest, I created 325 images including lots of vulture flight shots. I got a few good ones. I never realized that at this time of year, with the sun rising in the southeast, that a southwest wind in the morning was not the kiss of death. If you purchased a pre-publciation copy of the RawDigger e-Guide and did not receive the link to the update that I sent out early on Thursday evening, please let me know via e-mail.

I found it curious that nobody gave a rat’s ass about expressing their option on the Butt-View image in yesterday’s blog post here where I wrote, Like this one or hate it, I’d love to hear from you. As always, feel free to share your thoughts on why. Either way.

I got more work done on the RawDigger e-Guide, did a morning walk, did my bursts, and swam my slow half-mile plus. The water was a relatively warm 83 degrees, but with a brisk wind in the late afternoon, I was shivering when I got out.

Today is Saturday 9 January 2021. The forecast is for cloudy turning sunny with northwest winds. I peeked out the backdoor at 7:15am, and found that it was dead clear. I will give it a go, but will not expect it to be very good. I looked out the back again at 7:30 only to see a huge black cloud in the eastern sky! Go figure.

This blog past makes twenty-one days in a row with a new blog post. This one took about 2 hours to prepare. Please remember …

Please Remember

With income from IPTs approaching 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 can always help out by clicking here if they see fit.

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.

RawDigger e-Guide and Video Advance Copy Available

Save $10 Now

The RawDigger e-Guide and Video is almost finished. It will sell for $51.00. If you are anxious to get started with RawDigger, learn to mega-Expose to the Right, and wind up with the highest quality image files, you can save $10.00 and have a chance to review a pre-publication copy of the guide by sending a PayPal for $41.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net with the words RawDigger e-Guide and Video Pre-publication Copy cut and pasted into the Subject line. The recent delay is the result of my recent conversations with Iliah Borg, the brains behind RawDigger. It is veryikely that the Shock-your-World section will shock you.

In the new guide, we teach you why the GREEN channel is almost always the first to over-expose. We teach you how to interpret the Max G values. And most recently, we teach you a simple way to evaluate your exposures using an adapted RawDigger histogram. And tons more, of course. I am planning on having the RawDigger guide ready for sale by next Monday. Folks who saved $10.00 by pre-ordering will of course receive a link to the final PDF.

Canon R5/R6 AF e-Guide Info

So far, 70 folks have sent PayPals for their copy of the Canon R5/R6 AF e-Guide. And 28 who used my affiliate links to purchase their R5 have e-mailed for and received their free copy of the guide. If you e-mailed or sent a PayPal and did not receive your guide, please LMK immediately via e-mail.

Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive so far. Three folks wrote stating that they had a better way of setting up AF on their R5s. When I wrote back explaining why they were in error, two of them back-tracked. One stubborn guy is still doing it his way — less efficiently. Be sure to scroll down to read about my plans for a Canon R5/R6 User’s e-Guide. Understand that the info in the BAA Canon R5/R6 Autofocus e-Guide is so important that I opted to publish the AF guide immediately as the R5/R6 User’s Guide will take at least a month to finish.

BAA Canon R5/R6 Autofocus e-Guide

Twenty-one pages. 3,452 words. 28-DPP4 screen captures showing the R5’s vaunted AF system in action. Note: the AF system of the R5 is identical to the AF system of the R6.

You will learn:

1- The two most useful AF Methods for general bird photography and for birds in flight.

2- How to set up your R5/R6 AF Menus.

3- What boxes to check (and un-check) under Limit AF Methods.

4- How to change the AF Method quickly, easily, and efficiently. Note: the default way of doing this is clunky, cumbersome, and inefficient at best. One person replied that this tip alone was worth the price of admission.

5- The only setting that should be used for Initial Servo AF pt for Face Detection + Tracking.

I you are currently using multiple back buttons either for general bird photography or for birds in flight, what you learn in this guide will change your life. For the better.

Here are the first three paragraphs of this e-Guide:

From the moment I learned about the new Canon mirrorless bodies, I read about using two or three back-buttons to focus using different AF methods. The word on the street said that the way to go for birds in flight was to use one button to acquire focus with Zone AF or with Large Zone: Horizontal AF and then switch to another button to activate Face Detection + Tracking AF and then use the shutter button to make an image. My immediate thought was, “This is insanity! There has got to be a better way.” In short, there is a far superior way to set up AF on your R5 or R6.

Remember that I got away from any form of back-button or rear focusing many years ago after finally realizing that it is always easier to do one thing (press the shutter button), than it is to do two things (press a back button and then press the shutter button).

The default method of switching AF Methods with the R5/R6 bodies is cumbersome at best. It involves first pressing the grid button (my name) on the upper right back of the camera and then pressing the hard-to-access M-Fn button to toggle through the AF Methods. This method is so bad that it will not be mentioned again in this guide.

The guide is free to all who have ordered an R5 or an R6 using my B&H affiliate link or from Steve Elkins/Bedfords using the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout. Please send your receipt to me via e-mail. It will take me a few days to a week to verify the B&H purchases. Bedfords folks should expect their free e-Guides fairly quickly.

To purchase your copy of the e-Guide, please send a PayPal for $25.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net and be sure to include the words R5/R6 AF Guide in your PayPal e-mail.

Everyone who gets the guide will receive a free update no later than the first week in January.

Canon R5/R6 User’s e-Guide

I am working on a complete Canon R5/R6 User’s e-Guide. This will require a lot of research, a lot of time, and a lot of effort. I am hoping to have it complete by mid- to late January. As always, folks who use the BAA affiliate links to purchase their Canon gear will receive a substantial discount.

Understand that the info in the BAA Canon R5/R6 Autofocus e-Guide is so important that I opted to publish the AF guide right off the bat to help folks get started with their new camera bodies.

Great Topaz News!

Folks who use the BAA Topaz link to purchase Sharpen AI, DeNoise AI, or the Utility Bundle (or any other Topaz plugins) will receive a 15% discount by entering the ARTHUR15 code at checkout. To get the discount you must use my link and you must enter the discount code. Be sure to start with this link.

Topaz Stuff

As I said just a while back and have said often many times before, I should have listened sooner. If you, like me, are new to the Topaz party, please use this link to purchase. Right now I can wholeheartedly recommend both Topaz Sharpen AI and Topaz DeNoise AI. Though I have not yet worked with JPEGtoRAW AI or Gigapixel AI, I have installed both of these plug-ins and look forward to trying them on some I-Phone 11 images fairly soon. If you are thinking like me, consider the Utility Bundle that includes all four plug-ins mentioned above at a money-saving price.

Again, those who purchase Sharpen AI or DeNoise AI using my link, can e-mail to request a short Getting Started with Topaz e-Guide. I had a bit of trouble getting the two plug-ins installed and having them appear in the Photoshop Filter Menu. In addition, I will explain how to best learn about the two plug-ins by applying them on a Layer (in Photoshop).

131 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.

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 overnight 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 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 4 January 2021 at Indian Lake Estates. I used the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital camera body. ISO 2000. Exposure determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/2500 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. AWB at 6:40pm just after sunset. Left Zone AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed to perfection. Click the image to see a larger version. Image #1: Cattle Egret returning to roost just after sunset

A Newly Discovered Sunset Situation

A few days ago, I wrote, I recently discovered a really good evening silhouette opportunity down by the lake. I have already created a few decent images that I will share here soon. But the potential of this new location is huge. Unless it is totally cloudy, I will be there every day from fifteen minutes before sunset until ten minutes after the sun dips below the Western horizon. It is nice to see the sun finally moving back to the north.

The funny part is that this situation has been there forever. Since zero birds have been landing on the two newly-erected perches, I drove around a bit to explore and found the new spot. The spot and the situation that has been there for the two decades plus that I have lived here …

Image #1 was the first keeper from my recent discovery. I will be back there often.

Topaz DeNoise AI Comparison View

I continue to be amazed by what I learn using the Comparison View in DeNoise. (Thanks again, Adam!) I’d always assumed that DeNoise AI was best. But with today’s Image #2, AI Clear was clearly best. And at times I’ve gone with Low Light. Life is full of surprises.

RawDigger

Raw Digger showed that Image #1 was about a stop too dark, while Image #2 –with the small patches of very bright sky — was perfect. Using RawDigger has shown me that the great majority of silhouettes could have used at least a stop more light …

This image was created on 6 January 2021 at Indian Lake Estates. I used the Induro GIT 304L/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 1.4xteleconverter, and the 61-MP Sony Alpha a7R IV Mirrorless Digital Camera Body. ISO 2000. Exposure determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/2000 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode was confirmed as perfect by RawDigger. AWB at 6:41pm just after sunset. Center Zone AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed to perfection. Click the image to see a larger version. Image #2: Little Blue Heron returning to roost just after sunset

Two Nights Later

Two nights later there was a very nice sunset. I graduated from the handheld 200-600 to the 600 GM with the 1.4X and the 7r iv. The 61-MP 7r iv does fine with flight with the 600 GM. With the 200-600? Not so much. In any case, I started by photographing groups of Boat-tailed Grackles flying through the color. Once they settled, I tried picking off a return heron or egret.

I identified each bird based on shape. Cattle Egret is stockier than LBH and has a shorter, thicker bill. To make sure that the bird in Image #2 was actually a little blue, I went back into Capture One and raised the exposure to +4 and was able to see the slate-blue feathers that confirmed the ID.

I Hate to Ask …

Which of today’s featured images do you feel is the stronger? Why did you make your choice? I have a clear favorite. For two reasons.

Typos

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

What’s Up?

With wind against sun conditions, Wednesday morning was not very productive. I did manage a few nice tight vulture images at 840mm using my vehicle as a blind. But that was it. I got home early and got a tremendous amount of work done on the RawDigger Guide. As some folks are having trouble opening the huge Word file, I will do my best to create a PDF of the nearly-finished current version and send the link out this afternoon.

I recently discovered a really good evening silhouette opportunity down by the lake. I have already created a few decent images that I will share here soon. But the potential of this new location is huge. Unless it is totally cloudy, I will be there every day from fifteen minutes before sunset until ten minutes after the sun dips below the Western horizon. It is nice to see the sun finally moving back to the north.

Today is Thursday 7 January and it is likely that I will be setting up the road-kill cafe this morning.

This blog past makes twenty-one days in a row with a new blog post. This one took about 1 1/2 hours to prepare. Please remember …

Please Remember

With income from IPTs approaching 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 can always help out by clicking here if they see fit.

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.

RawDigger e-Guide and Video Advance Copy Available

Save $10 Now

The RawDigger e-Guide and Video is almost finished. It will sell for $51.00. If you are anxious to get started with RawDigger, learn to mega-Expose to the Right, and wind up with the highest quality image files, you can save $10.00 and have a chance to review a pre-publication copy of the guide by sending a PayPal for $41.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net with the words RawDigger e-Guide and Video Pre-publication Copy cut and pasted into the Subject line. The recent delay is the result of my recent conversations with Iliah Borg, the brains behind RawDigger. It is veryikely that the Shock-your-World section will shock you.

In the new guide, we teach you why the GREEN channel is almost always the first to over-expose. We teach you how to interpret the Max G values. And most recently, we teach you a simple way to evaluate your exposures using an adapted RawDigger histogram. And tons more, of course. I am planning on having the RawDigger guide ready for sale by next Monday. Folks who saved $10.00 by pre-ordering will of course receive a link to the final PDF.

Canon R5/R6 AF e-Guide Info

So far, 68 folks have sent PayPals for their copy of the Canon R5/R6 AF e-Guide. And 27 who used my affiliate links to purchase their R5 have e-mailed for and received their free copy of the guide. If you e-mailed or sent a PayPal and did not receive your guide, please LMK immediately via e-mail.

Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive so far. Three folks wrote stating that they had a better way of setting up AF on their R5s. When I wrote back explaining why they were in error, two of them back-tracked. One stubborn guy is still doing it his way — less efficiently. Be sure to scroll down to read about my plans for a Canon R5/R6 User’s e-Guide. Understand that the info in the BAA Canon R5/R6 Autofocus e-Guide is so important that I opted to publish the AF guide immediately as the R5/R6 User’s Guide will take at least a month to finish.

BAA Canon R5/R6 Autofocus e-Guide

Twenty-one pages. 3,452 words. 28-DPP4 screen captures showing the R5’s vaunted AF system in action. Note: the AF system of the R5 is identical to the AF system of the R6.

You will learn:

1- The two most useful AF Methods for general bird photography and for birds in flight.

2- How to set up your R5/R6 AF Menus.

3- What boxes to check (and un-check) under Limit AF Methods.

4- How to change the AF Method quickly, easily, and efficiently. Note: the default way of doing this is clunky, cumbersome, and inefficient at best. One person replied that this tip alone was worth the price of admission.

5- The only setting that should be used for Initial Servo AF pt for Face Detection + Tracking.

I you are currently using multiple back buttons either for general bird photography or for birds in flight, what you learn in this guide will change your life. For the better.

Here are the first three paragraphs of this e-Guide:

From the moment I learned about the new Canon mirrorless bodies, I read about using two or three back-buttons to focus using different AF methods. The word on the street said that the way to go for birds in flight was to use one button to acquire focus with Zone AF or with Large Zone: Horizontal AF and then switch to another button to activate Face Detection + Tracking AF and then use the shutter button to make an image. My immediate thought was, “This is insanity! There has got to be a better way.” In short, there is a far superior way to set up AF on your R5 or R6.

Remember that I got away from any form of back-button or rear focusing many years ago after finally realizing that it is always easier to do one thing (press the shutter button), than it is to do two things (press a back button and then press the shutter button).

The default method of switching AF Methods with the R5/R6 bodies is cumbersome at best. It involves first pressing the grid button (my name) on the upper right back of the camera and then pressing the hard-to-access M-Fn button to toggle through the AF Methods. This method is so bad that it will not be mentioned again in this guide.

The guide is free to all who have ordered an R5 or an R6 using my B&H affiliate link or from Steve Elkins/Bedfords using the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout. Please send your receipt to me via e-mail. It will take me a few days to a week to verify the B&H purchases. Bedfords folks should expect their free e-Guides fairly quickly.

To purchase your copy of the e-Guide, please send a PayPal for $25.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net and be sure to include the words R5/R6 AF Guide in your PayPal e-mail.

Everyone who gets the guide will receive a free update no later than the first week in January.

Canon R5/R6 User’s e-Guide

I am working on a complete Canon R5/R6 User’s e-Guide. This will require a lot of research, a lot of time, and a lot of effort. I am hoping to have it complete by mid- to late January. As always, folks who use the BAA affiliate links to purchase their Canon gear will receive a substantial discount.

Understand that the info in the BAA Canon R5/R6 Autofocus e-Guide is so important that I opted to publish the AF guide right off the bat to help folks get started with their new camera bodies.

Great Topaz News!

Folks who use the BAA Topaz link to purchase Sharpen AI, DeNoise AI, or the Utility Bundle (or any other Topaz plugins) will receive a 15% discount by entering the ARTHUR15 code at checkout. To get the discount you must use my link and you must enter the discount code. Be sure to start with this link.

Topaz Stuff

As I said just a while back and have said often many times before, I should have listened sooner. If you, like me, are new to the Topaz party, please use this link to purchase. Right now I can wholeheartedly recommend both Topaz Sharpen AI and Topaz DeNoise AI. Though I have not yet worked with JPEGtoRAW AI or Gigapixel AI, I have installed both of these plug-ins and look forward to trying them on some I-Phone 11 images fairly soon. If you are thinking like me, consider the Utility Bundle that includes all four plug-ins mentioned above at a money-saving price.

Again, those who purchase Sharpen AI or DeNoise AI using my link, can e-mail to request a short Getting Started with Topaz e-Guide. I had a bit of trouble getting the two plug-ins installed and having them appear in the Photoshop Filter Menu. In addition, I will explain how to best learn about the two plug-ins by applying them on a Layer (in Photoshop).

129 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.

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 overnight 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 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 at Fort DeSoto Park, Pinellas County, FL on 27 December 2019. I used the handheld Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS lens (at 400m) and the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital Camera Body. ISO I00. Pre-RawDigger the exposure poorly determined: 1/1600 sec. at f/7.1 in Manual mode was close to 1 2/3 stops too dark. AWB at 3:12pm on a partly sunny afternoon. Flexible Spot (S) AF-C was active at the moment of exposure. I placed the AF point on the uropygial gland. Click on the image to see a larger version. Immature Brown Pelican butt-view

Wind-Against-Sun Butt-View Solution?

I was photographing with Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity brother Harry Lerner; he had signed up for two days of private instruction. With a strong northeast wind and the sun in the southwestern sky on a clear afternoon (wind-against-sun conditions), things were tough. We did have some luck with pelicans floating in the aqua-green water and with a tame Great Egret on the pier railing. When I spotted a silly tame young Brown Pelican sitting on the railing at the corner of the pier right down sun angle, I approached cautiously. As it was quite windy, the bird did not want to fly.

When the bird began to gather oil with its bill tip from the uropygial (oil or preen) gland above the base of the tail, it raised the surrounding feathers for better access to the gland. With the wind blowing and keeping those feathers up, I was presented with a unique opportunity. Working quickly, I stopped down a bit, screwed up the exposure, and created a few images. Strangely, the feathers surrounding the gland remained raised as I corrected my exposure error. But this image from the under-exposed series, was the only one that showed the pelican’s bill. I opened up the image during the raw conversion in Capture One, and used Topaz DeNoise AI to eliminate the excessive noise caused by the under-exposure.

I really liked this series when it was created more than a year ago but never got around to sharing it. I came across the series while working on the RawDigger Guide.

The Lesson/WDYT?

The lesson here is that when conditions are poor or seem hopeless, don’t give up. Keep your eyes open and look for out-of-the-box possibilities. When you see something that interests you, expand your creative vision and don’t bother listening to the “rules.” Like this one or hate it, I’d love to hear from you. As always, feel free to share your thoughts on why. Either way.

Click on the Comparison View screen capture to better see the three Topaz DeNoise AI options with the Immature Brown Pelican butt-view image.

HI and the Comparison View

I brought the image into Topaz DeNoise AI and checked the comparison view. Click on the image to see the very noisy original in the upper left corner. DeNoise looked pretty good, but when I examined the long feather tip in the upper right corner, it was obvious that Low Light on Auto had done the best job of eliminating the noise. Bingo!

Remember that though the Topaz AI technology is amazing, HI (human intelligence) always has the final say!

Comparison View

Thanks again to blog regular Adam Rubenstein for opening my eyes to using Comparison View with both DeNoise AI and Sharpen AI. It really has been an educational game-changer for me. See the instructions in the blog post here.

Why So Much Noise at ISO 500?

Many might be wondering why there was so much noise with this ISO 500 image. As with yesterday’s featured image, this image was created before I began working with RawDigger. In the guide, we explain that once you see your consistent exposure errors, you can improve by re-thinking the exposure strategies that you are currently using whether they be Zebra evaluation, histogram evaluation, or highlight alert (blinkies) evaluation. The guide is intended only for serious photographers.

Typos

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

What’s Up?

I shipped the Canon loaner gear back to B&H yesterday. With thanks. Then I ordered an R5, an RF 14X TC, an RF 100-500, and an extra battery from Steve Elkins at Bedfords. As they are almost impossible to get right now, I will need to be a bit patient. If you are interested in any of the above, I’d suggest that you place your order ASAP to be assured of getting one from Steve’s next allocation. Without an R5 in my hands, I will not be spending a lot of time on the BAA EOS R5 Camera User’s Guide. That should give me time to finish up the RawDigger e-guide this week.

I am continuing to do my two walks, my slow 1/2 mile swim, and my bursts every day. Today is Tuesday 5 January 2021 and with clear skies and northwest winds I will be taking the morning off from photography.

This blog past makes nineteen days in a row with a new blog post. This one took about 1 1/2 hours to prepare. Please remember …

Please Remember

With income from IPTs approaching 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 can always help out by clicking here if they see fit.

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.

RawDigger e-Guide and Video Advance Copy Available

Save $10 Now

The RawDigger e-Guide and Video is almost finished. It will sell for $51.00. If you are anxious to get started with RawDigger, learn to mega-Expose to the Right, and wind up with the highest quality image files, you can save $10.00 and have a chance to review a pre-publication copy of the guide by sending a PayPal for $41.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net with the words RawDigger e-Guide and Video Pre-publication Copy cut and pasted into the Subject line. The recent delay is the result of my recent conversations with Iliah Borg, the brains behind RawDigger. It is likely that the Shock-your-World section will shock you.

You will of course receive a link for the completed PDF when the guide is finished.

Canon R5/R6 AF e-Guide Info

So far, 56 folks have sent PayPals for their copy of the Canon R5/R6 AF e-Guide. And 27 who used my affiliate links to purchase their R5 have e-mailed for and received their free copy of the guide. If you e-mailed or sent a PayPal and did not receive your guide, please LMK immediately via e-mail.

Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive so far. Three folks wrote stating that they had a better way of setting up AF on their R5s. When I wrote back explaining why they were in error, two of them back-tracked. One stubborn guy is still doing it his way — less efficiently. Be sure to scroll down to read about my plans for a Canon R5/R6 User’s e-Guide. Understand that the info in the BAA Canon R5/R6 Autofocus e-Guide is so important that I opted to publish the AF guide immediately as the R5/R6 User’s Guide will take at least a month to finish.

BAA Canon R5/R6 Autofocus e-Guide

Twenty-one pages. 3,452 words. 28-DPP4 screen captures showing the R5’s vaunted AF system in action. Note: the AF system of the R5 is identical to the AF system of the R6.

You will learn:

1- The two most useful AF Methods for general bird photography and for birds in flight.

2- How to set up your R5/R6 AF Menus.

3- What boxes to check (and un-check) under Limit AF Methods.

4- How to change the AF Method quickly, easily, and efficiently. Note: the default way of doing this is clunky, cumbersome, and inefficient at best. One person replied that this tip alone was worth the price of admission.

5- The only setting that should be used for Initial Servo AF pt for Face Detection + Tracking.

I you are currently using multiple back buttons either for general bird photography or for birds in flight, what you learn in this guide will change your life. For the better.

Here are the first three paragraphs of this e-Guide:

From the moment I learned about the new Canon mirrorless bodies, I read about using two or three back-buttons to focus using different AF methods. The word on the street said that the way to go for birds in flight was to use one button to acquire focus with Zone AF or with Large Zone: Horizontal AF and then switch to another button to activate Face Detection + Tracking AF and then use the shutter button to make an image. My immediate thought was, “This is insanity! There has got to be a better way.” In short, there is a far superior way to set up AF on your R5 or R6.

Remember that I got away from any form of back-button or rear focusing many years ago after finally realizing that it is always easier to do one thing (press the shutter button), than it is to do two things (press a back button and then press the shutter button).

The default method of switching AF Methods with the R5/R6 bodies is cumbersome at best. It involves first pressing the grid button (my name) on the upper right back of the camera and then pressing the hard-to-access M-Fn button to toggle through the AF Methods. This method is so bad that it will not be mentioned again in this guide.

The guide is free to all who have ordered an R5 or an R6 using my B&H affiliate link or from Steve Elkins/Bedfords using the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout. Please send your receipt to me via e-mail. It will take me a few days to a week to verify the B&H purchases. Bedfords folks should expect their free e-Guides fairly quickly.

To purchase your copy of the e-Guide, please send a PayPal for $25.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net and be sure to include the words R5/R6 AF Guide in your PayPal e-mail.

Everyone who gets the guide will receive a free update no later than the first week in January.

Canon R5/R6 User’s e-Guide

I am working on a complete Canon R5/R6 User’s e-Guide. This will require a lot of research, a lot of time, and a lot of effort. I am hoping to have it complete by mid- to late January. As always, folks who use the BAA affiliate links to purchase their Canon gear will receive a substantial discount.

Understand that the info in the BAA Canon R5/R6 Autofocus e-Guide is so important that I opted to publish the AF guide right off the bat to help folks get started with their new camera bodies.

Great Topaz News!

Folks who use the BAA Topaz link to purchase Sharpen AI, DeNoise AI, or the Utility Bundle (or any other Topaz plugins) will receive a 15% discount by entering the ARTHUR15 code at checkout. To get the discount you must use my link and you must enter the discount code. Be sure to start with this link.

Topaz Stuff

As I said just a while back and have said often many times before, I should have listened sooner. If you, like me, are new to the Topaz party, please use this link to purchase. Right now I can wholeheartedly recommend both Topaz Sharpen AI and Topaz DeNoise AI. Though I have not yet worked with JPEGtoRAW AI or Gigapixel AI, I have installed both of these plug-ins and look forward to trying them on some I-Phone 11 images fairly soon. If you are thinking like me, consider the Utility Bundle that includes all four plug-ins mentioned above at a money-saving price.

Again, those who purchase Sharpen AI or DeNoise AI using my link, can e-mail to request a short Getting Started with Topaz e-Guide. I had a bit of trouble getting the two plug-ins installed and having them appear in the Photoshop Filter Menu. In addition, I will explain how to best learn about the two plug-ins by applying them on a Layer (in Photoshop).

128 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.

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 overnight 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 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 22 DEC 2020 at Indian Lake Estates, FL. Working from my SUV, I used the BLUBB-(barely) supported Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter, and the 61-MP Monster, the Sony Alpha a7R IV Mirrorless Digital camera body. ISO: 1600. Exposure determined by Zebras with ISO on the Control Wheel: 1/320 sec. at f/9 in Manual mode. AWB at 9:37am on a cloudy morning. Tracking Expand Flexible Spot AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Click on the image to see a larger version. Boat-tailed Grackle male singing

Introducing the Y-Perch

I walked through the woods a few blocks from my house looking for a nice, tall perch. When I saw the Y at the end of this branch, and the worn wood with a bit of color, I thought I had a winner. Though this bird landed on only one of the two points of the Y, others have utilized both and posed with legs splayed.

Jim and I erected the new Y-perch perch along the edge of the lake more than two weeks ago. We placed it well in front of The Perch that we had repaired earlier that same day. I am hoping that if I am working one perch and a bird lands on the other, I will be able to re-position my vehicle quickly. The male grackles took to the Y-perch almost immediately. Other than a single Great Blue Heron that landed briefly on the Y-perch, I have not see any Ospreys, Anhingas, herons, or egrets land on either of the perches. Time will tell.

RawDigger screen capture for Boat-tailed Grackle male singing

RawDigger, Black Subjects, and White Skies

The rose-colored and red tones are the highlight over-exposure warnings. With this image, RawDigger showed 29 million over-exposed pixels. This included 28 million OvExp pixels in the two GREEN channels combined and one million in the BLUE channel. That is, however, exactly what I wanted, as all of the OvExp pixels are in the sky. With black or dark subjects on white sky days, it is usually necessary to blow out the sky completely in order to get the best exposure for the dark tones. Most importantly, note the zero UnExp pixels ensuring that noise in the dark tones in this ISO 1600 image would be kept to a minimum.

In the new guide, we teach you why the GREEN channel is almost always the first to over-expose. We teach you how to interpret the Max G values. And most recently, we teach you a simple way to evaluate your exposures using an adapted RawDigger histogram. And tons more, of course. I am planning on having the RawDigger guide ready for sale by next Monday. Folks who saved $10.00 by pre-ordering will of course receive a link to the final PDF.

This in-camera HDR Art Vivid image was created on 31 December 2020 on the pier at Indian Lake Estates. I used the handheld Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM lens (at 500mm) and the highly touted 45MP Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Digital camera body. ISO 3200. Exposure determined using the in-camera histogram followed by a histogram/blinkies evaluation and some luck. The three exposures were bracketed around +2/3 stop: 1/160 sec. at f/7.1 in Manual mode. AWB at 5:24pm on a cloudy day. 1-point (moved well toward the bottom of the frame) AI Servo AF was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Click on the image to see a larger version. What is it?

I thought the Gila Monster was a Boat-tailed Grackle Pellet. But …

In the Gila Monster in Central Florida? blog post here, I posted the image above and asked “What is it?”

When I posted the image, I was sure that it was a pellet ejected (regurgitated) by a Boat-tailed Grackle. After all, I see lots of similar pellets and lots of Boat-tailed Grackles on the pier. Just to be safe, I grabbed my copy of The Birds of North America, No 207, 1986, the species account for Boat-tailed Grackle. Under Drinking, Pellet-casting, and Defecation, I found the following: Although grackles swallow material such as sunflower seeds whole, pellet-casting not seen. That does not mean that the pellets were definitely not from the boat-tails … In my decades as a bird photographer I often often observed behaviors that have never been reported in the ornithological literature.

It did, however, give me pause. I have never seen any type of mammal on the pier. (Several folks commented that the mystery item was some type of scat.) So I thought, what other bird species that might eat berries or fruits — the pink stuff in the image, hang out on the pier. The answer: Fish Crow.

So I pulled out The Birds of North America, No 589, 2001, the species account for Fish Crow. Under Drinking, Pellet-casting, and Defecation, I found this: Not observed to cast pellets, but undoubtedly does so. When I do my morning and evening walks, I will be carry my binoculars instead of a lens and keeping my eyes open to try and determine who is the actual pellet-caster.

Kudos to IPT veteran and old friend Bill Lloyd who commented, I’m surprised no one so far has suggested pellet. Most people are aware of “owl pellets” but birds of prey and many shore birds regurgitate pellets, something that would be expected if you watched them feeding.

I replied, Those are not the only bird families that regurgitate pellets … with love, artie

I have often seen Long-billed Curlews and Willets coughing up pellets. And the same is true of several gull species. Much of the material in all of those pellets consists of indigestible bits of crab shells. I will be keeping a close eye on the grackles and crows on the pier at ILE.

Typos

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