Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

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. And the same is true in spades when ordering new camera bodies or lenses. My advice will often save you some serious money and may help you avoid making a seriously bad choice. Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. If you are desperate, you can try me on my cell at 863-221-2372. Please leave a message and shoot me a text if I do not pick up.

What’s Up?

Saturday: worked on taxes, took 1.7-mile flow rope walk, watched US Open Tennis, 1/2-mile swim, napped, and did bursts.

I was glad to learn that Sigmon Whitener was thrilled to get his hands on the new Nikon NIKKOR Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S lens and was thrilled with the 3% discount and the service he received from Bedfords:

The lens weighs only 2.5 pounds and focuses faster than any lens I have put on the Z9.

Note to Steve Elkins– Sirena was very helpful!

Note to Artie — I can’t make enough good comments about Bedford’s. I’m so glad that you introduced me to them!

Ordering tip for new Nikon gear: join NPS, shoot your NPS number to Save Elkins via e-mail, order the item, go to the NPS website, find the order tab, and note that you want your new item delivered to Bedfords. NPS members jump the line.

To order yours from B&H: Nikon NIKKOR Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S lens.

I was also glad to learn that Sanjeev Nagrath will be joining me for the second San Diego IPT.

Today is Sunday 4 September 2022. The schedule for today: work on taxes, flow rope walk, watch US Open Tennis, 1/2-mile swim, nap, and do bursts. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about an hour to prepare and makes one hundred sixty-three days in a row with a new one.

Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links that are found on most blog pages and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords to get 3% back on your credit card and enjoy free second-day air FedEx. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn!

Instagram

Follow me on Instagram here. I am trying to feature both new and old images, especially images that have not appeared recently on the blog. Or search for birds_as_art.

BIRDS AS ART Image Optimization Service (BAA IOS)

Send a PayPal for $62.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net or call Jim at 863-692-0906 and put $62.00 on your credit card. Pick one of your best images and upload the raw file using a large file sending service like Hightail or DropBox and then send me the link via e-mail. I will download and save your raw file, evaluate the exposure and sharpness, and optimize the image as if it were my own after converting the raw file in Adobe Camera Raw. Best of all, I will make a screen recording of the entire process and send you a link to the video to download, save and study.

Induro GIT 304L Price Drop

Amazingly, we have two, brand-new-in-the-box Induro GIT 304L tripods in stock. They are $699.00 each (were $799.00) and the price now includes the insured ground shipping to the lower 48 states. Weekday phone orders only: 863-692-0906. Order yours here while they last.

h3>Please Remember

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

Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, is also available in the BAA Online Store, it would be great, and greatly appreciated, if you would opt to purchase from us. We will match any price. Please remember also to use my B&H affiliate links or to earn 3% cash back at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout for your major gear purchases. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And always earns my great appreciation.

Brand-New and As-Good-As-Ever Bedfords BAA Discount Policy

Folks who have fallen in love with Bedfords can now use the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout to enjoy a post-purchase, 3% off-statement credit (excluding taxes and shipping charges) on orders paid with a credit card. The 3% credit will be refunded to the card you used for your purchase. Be sure, also, to check the box for free shipping to enjoy free Second Day Air Fed-Ex. This offer does not apply to purchases of Classes, Gift Cards, or to any prior purchases.

Money Saving Reminder

Many have learned that if you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H and would like to enjoy getting 3% back on your credit card along with free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex Air shipping, your best bet is to click here, place an order with Bedfords, and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If an item is out of stock, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592 (Central time). Be sure to mention the BIRDSASART coupon code and check the box for Free Shipping. That will automatically upgrade to free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H and everywhere else. The waitlists 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 a 1, 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.

Important Note

As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small percentage when you purchase from Amazon after using any of the Amazon links on the blog (including the logo-link on the right side of each blog post page). My affiliate link works fine with Amazon Prime and using it will not cost you a single cent. Huge thanks, BTW 🙂

This image was created on 20 September 2021 a Fort DeSoto IPT. While standing at full height in Hidden Lagoon, I used the no-longer available (except from BAA) Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 1000. Exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/1250 sec. at f/4 (wide open). RawDigger showed that the raw file brightness was within 1/6-stop of perfect. AWB at 7:33:32am in the shade of a stand of mangroves on what would turn out to be a sunny morning. Tracking: Spot S/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version. Image #1: Roseate Spoonbill preening in soft light — the full frame version with zero clean-up

What I Like

I love the soft light and the resulting shades of soft pinks. And I love the incredibly sharp eye. I am not sure how I feel about the strip of out-of-focus mud at the bottom of the frame. In Image #1, I noticed two tiny things that bug me that are not present in either of the cropped versions below. If you spot them, please leave a comment, and let us know why you think they are distracting.

This image was created on 20 September 2021 a Fort DeSoto IPT. While standing at full height in Hidden Lagoon, I used the no-longer available (except from BAA) Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 1000. Exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/1250 sec. at f/4 (wide open). RawDigger showed that the raw file brightness was within 1/6-stop of perfect. AWB at 7:33:32am in the shade of a stand of mangroves on what would turn out to be a sunny morning. Tracking: Spot S/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version. Image #2: Roseate Spoonbill preening in soft light — a 2X3 cropped version to eliminate the strip of mud at the bottom of the frame

Why Stand?

I opted to stand while creating this image to ensure an all-water background and maintain the high key look. Had I gotten lower, I would have introduced mangrove roots into the background and ruined the mood I was after. Getting low is not always the best choice, especially when doing so brings distracting background elements into the photograph.

This image was created on 20 September 2021 a Fort DeSoto IPT. While standing at full height in Hidden Lagoon, I used the no-longer available (except from BAA) Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 1000. Exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/1250 sec. at f/4 (wide open). RawDigger showed that the raw file brightness was within 1/6-stop of perfect. AWB at 7:33:32am in the shade of a stand of mangroves on what would turn out to be a sunny morning. Tracking: Spot S/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version. Image #3: Roseate Spoonbill preening in soft light — a cropped to a square version that eliminates the strip of mud at the bottom of the frame

Cropping Alternatives

Obviously, there are an infinite number of cropping choices available for every optimized image. That said, I rarely create multiple versions of the same image (as I did here today). Which crop do you like best? All are invited to leave a comment and let us know why they made their choice. Or, you may wish to suggest a crop that would result in a fourth version. Have at it.

Spoonbills at DeSoto

Over the past years, Roseate Spoonbill have been become regular visitors to Fort DeSoto Park. I know when and where to find them and can teach you to approach them successfully. Do consider joining me on a DeSoto IPT.

Fort DeSoto in fall is rife with tame birds. All the images on this card were created at Fort DeSoto in either late September or very early October. I hope that you can join me there this fall. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version. Clockwise from upper left to center: Long-billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit, Caspian Tern, Great Egret, Sandwich Tern with fish, Willet, Black-bellied Plover threat display, Snowy Egret, 2-year old Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron, juvenile Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron.

The Fall 2022 Fort DeSoto Instructional Photo-Tours

Fall 2022 Fort DeSoto Instructional Photo-Tour #1

3 1/2 Days: Tuesday 27 September through the morning session on Friday 30 September 2022. $1899.00 includes three working lunches. Limit six photographers/Openings five.

Fall 2022 Fort DeSoto Instructional Photo-Tour #2

3 1/2 Days: 7 October through the morning session on Monday 10 October 2022. $1899.00 includes three working lunches. Limit six photographers.

Fall 2022 Fort DeSoto Instructional Photo-Tour #3

3 1/2 Days: Monday 31 October through the morning session on Thursday 3 November 2022. $1899.00 includes three working lunches. Limit six photographers.

Fort DeSoto, located just south of St. Petersburg, FL, is a mecca for migrant shorebirds and terns in fall. There they join hundreds of egrets, herons, night-herons, and gulls that winter on the T-shaped peninsula. With any luck at all, we should get to photograph one of Florida’s most desirable shorebird species: Marbled Godwit. Black-bellied Plover and Willet are easy, American Oystercatcher is pretty much guaranteed. Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, and White Ibis are easy as well and we will almost surely come up with a tame Yellow-crowned Night-Heron or two. And we will get to do some Brown Pelican flight photography. In addition, Royal, Sandwich, Forster’s, and Caspian Terns will likely provide us with some good flight opportunities as well. Though not guaranteed, Roseate Spoonbill and Wood Stork might well be expected. And we will be on the lookout for a migrant passerine fallout in the event of a thunderstorm or two.

On this IPT, all will learn the basics and fine points of digital exposure. Nikon and Canon folks will learn to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure, and SONY folks will learn to use Zebras so that they can be sure of making excellent exposures before pressing the shutter button. Everyone will learn how to approach free and wild birds without disturbing them, to understand and predict bird behavior, to identify many species of shorebirds, to spot the good situations, to choose the best perspective, to see and understand the light, and to design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system. Most importantly, you will surely learn to evaluate wind and sky conditions and understand how they affect bird photography. And you will learn how and why to work in Manual mode (even if you’re scared of it). The best news is that you will be able to take everything you learn home with you so that you will be a better photographer wherever and whenever you photograph.

There will be a Photoshop/image review session during or after lunch (included) each full day. That will be followed by Instructor Nap Time.

These IPTs will run with only a single registrant (though that is not unlikely to happen). The best airport is Tampa (TPA). Once you register, you will receive an e-mail with Gulfport AirBnB information. If you register soon and would like to share an AirBnB with me, shoot me an e-mail. Other possibilities including taking a cab to and from the airport to our AirBnB and riding with me. This saves you both gas and the cost of a rental car.

A $600 deposit is due when you sign up and is payable by credit card. Balances must be paid by check two months before the trip. Your deposit is non-refundable unless the IPT sells out with six folks, so please check your plans carefully before committing. You can register by calling Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand, or by sending a check as follows: make the check out to: BIRDS AS ART and send it via US mail here: BIRDS AS ART, PO BOX 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855. You will receive a confirmation e-mail with detailed instructions, clothing, and gear advice. Please shoot me an e-mail if you plan to register or if you have any questions.

Clockwise from upper left to center: Long-billed Curlew, juvenile Tricolored Heron, Marbled Godwits, Great Blue Heron, juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper, Wood Stork, smiling Sea Scallop, Ruddy Turnstone scavenging needlefish, Great Blue Heron sunset silhouette at my secret spot, and southbound migrant tern flock blur.

Up Early, Stay Out Late!

Obviously, folks attending an IPT will be out in the field early and stay late to take advantage of the sweetest light and sunrise and sunset colors (when possible). The good news is that the days are relatively short in early fall. I really love it when I am leaving the beach on a sunny morning after a great session just as a carful or two of well-rested photographers are arriving. The length of cloudy morning sessions will often be extended. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

Typos

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

If You Enjoy the Blog …

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 (still!) save 3% on every order and enjoy free second-day air shipping. In these crazy times — I lost about fifty thousand dollars in income due to COVID 19 — 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 and folks who appreciate how much they have learned here are invited to help out by clicking here to leave a blog thank you gift if they see fit.

What’s Up?

The southbound Auto Train trip was blessedly uneventful. After stopping at Publix and Junior’s Fish Store in Lake Wales for groceries and fresh tuna, I arrived at home at 12:45pm.

Today is Friday 2 September 2022. I’ll be abstaining from photography for at least a while to tackle my 2021 tax returns and catch up on e-mails. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about an hour to prepare and makes one hundred sixty-one days in a row with a new one.

Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links that are found on most blog pages and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords to get 3% back on your credit card and enjoy free second-day air FedEx. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn!

Instagram

Follow me on Instagram here. I am trying to feature both new and old images, especially images that have not appeared recently on the blog. Or search for birds_as_art.

BIRDS AS ART Image Optimization Service (BAA IOS)

Send a PayPal for $62.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net or call Jim at 863-692-0906 and put $62.00 on your credit card. Pick one of your best images and upload the raw file using a large file sending service like Hightail or DropBox and then send me the link via e-mail. I will download and save your raw file, evaluate the exposure and sharpness, and optimize the image as if it were my own after converting the raw file in Adobe Camera Raw. Best of all, I will make a screen recording of the entire process and send you a link to the video to download, save and study.

Induro GIT 304L Price Drop

Amazingly, we have two, brand-new-in-the-box Induro GIT 304L tripods in stock. They are $699.00 each (were $799.00) and the price now includes the insured ground shipping to the lower 48 states. Weekday phone orders only: 863-692-0906. Order yours here while they last.

Please Remember

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

Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, is also available in the BAA Online Store, it would be great, and greatly appreciated, if you would opt to purchase from us. We will match any price. Please remember also to use my B&H affiliate links or to earn 3% cash back at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout for your major gear purchases. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And always earns my great appreciation.

Brand-New and As-Good-As-Ever Bedfords BAA Discount Policy

Folks who have fallen in love with Bedfords can now use the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout to enjoy a post-purchase, 3% off-statement credit (excluding taxes and shipping charges) on orders paid with a credit card. The 3% credit will be refunded to the card you used for your purchase. Be sure, also, to check the box for free shipping to enjoy free Second Day Air Fed-Ex. This offer does not apply to purchases of Classes, Gift Cards, or to any prior purchases.

Money Saving Reminder

Many have learned that if you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H and would like to enjoy getting 3% back on your credit card along with free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex Air shipping, your best bet is to click here, place an order with Bedfords, and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If an item is out of stock, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592 (Central time). Be sure to mention the BIRDSASART coupon code and check the box for Free Shipping. That will automatically upgrade to free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H and everywhere else. The waitlists 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 a 1, 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.

Important Note

As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small percentage when you purchase from Amazon after using any of the Amazon links on the blog (including the logo-link on the right side of each blog post page). My affiliate link works fine with Amazon Prime and using it will not cost you a single cent. Huge thanks, BTW 🙂

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. If you are desperate, you can try me on my cell at 863-221-2372. Please leave a message and shoot me a text if I do not pick up.

This image was created on 22 October 2021 at Fort DeSoto Park, Tierra Verde, FL. I used the no-longer available (except from BAA) Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. ISO 640. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/3200 second at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was about 1/6th stop under. AWB at 8:53:11am on partly sunny morning. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version. Image #1: Semipalmated Plover worn juvenile flapping after bath image

Flapping-after-Bath Framing Options

1- The number one mistake when photographing birds flapping after a bath is to get greedy and frame too tightly. When you do you will be clipping wings on the front flaps and clipping wings on the back flaps. Averaging about 7 inches in length, Semipalmated Plover is a relatively small shorebird, but their wingspan ranges from a bit more than 17 inches to a bit less than 21 inches. You gotta give them room. If you are using a fixed focal length lens, you may need to move back (or avoid getting too close in the first place). With a zoom lens, you need to zoom out before the bird flaps. As noted here previously many times, by studying bathing birds, you will come to learn just about exactly when they will rise up and flap.

2- After being sure to frame widely, it is always best to center the subject. That will give you room for the back flaps (as in Image #1), and the front flaps (as in Images #2 and #3).

Consider joining me on a DeSoto IPT this fall to learn the fine points of photographing birds flapping after their baths.

This image was created on 22 October 2021 at Fort DeSoto Park, Tierra Verde, FL. I used the no-longer available (except from BAA) Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. ISO 640. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/3200 second at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was about 1/6th stop under. AWB at 8:53:11am on partly sunny morning. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version. Image #2: Semipalmated Plover worn juvenile flapping after bath image

Flapping-after-Bath Cropping Options

With the back flaps, as in Image #1, horizontal crops will almost always be best provided that you have centered the subject and not framed too tightly. Small crops may be needed to ensure compositional balance. With the front flaps, as in Image #2 above, you will almost always have more room behind the bird than in front of the bird. Thus, square crops are often best as you do not want a lot of empty space behind the bird. With flat flaps, as in Image #3 below, centering the subject in a horizontal frame will often be the ticket to success.

If there is not much texture in the water, you can often help yourself compositionally by adding canvas on two sides. And the same may be true if you must first level the image. All three of today’s featured images needed about 2.5 degrees of counter-clockwise rotation. And all had slivers of canvas added on two sides.

Consider joining me on a DeSoto IPT this fall to learn a ton about cropping, designing pleasing images, making artistic crops, and to vastly improve your post-processing skills.

This image was created on 22 October 2021 at Fort DeSoto Park, Tierra Verde, FL. I used the no-longer available (except from BAA) Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. ISO 640. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/3200 second at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that the exposure was about 1/6th stop under. AWB at 8:53:11am on partly sunny morning. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version. Image #3: Semipalmated Plover worn juvenile flapping after bath image

Your Favorite?

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

Flapping-after-Bath In-the-Field Quiz

How do you know in which direction the bird will be facing when it flaps?

Fort DeSoto in fall is rife with tame birds. All the images on this card were created at Fort DeSoto in either late September or very early October. I hope that you can join me there this fall. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version. Clockwise from upper left to center: Long-billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit, Caspian Tern, Great Egret, Sandwich Tern with fish, Willet, Black-bellied Plover threat display, Snowy Egret, 2-year old Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron, juvenile Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron.

The Fall 2022 Fort DeSoto Instructional Photo-Tours

Fall 2022 Fort DeSoto Instructional Photo-Tour #1

3 1/2 Days: Tuesday 27 September through the morning session on Friday 30 September 2022. $1899.00 includes three working lunches. Limit six photographers/Openings five.

Fall 2022 Fort DeSoto Instructional Photo-Tour #2

3 1/2 Days: 7 October through the morning session on Monday 10 October 2022. $1899.00 includes three working lunches. Limit six photographers.

Fall 2022 Fort DeSoto Instructional Photo-Tour #3

3 1/2 Days: Monday 31 October through the morning session on Thursday 3 November 2022. $1899.00 includes three working lunches. Limit six photographers.

Fort DeSoto, located just south of St. Petersburg, FL, is a mecca for migrant shorebirds and terns in fall. There they join hundreds of egrets, herons, night-herons, and gulls that winter on the T-shaped peninsula. With any luck at all, we should get to photograph one of Florida’s most desirable shorebird species: Marbled Godwit. Black-bellied Plover and Willet are easy, American Oystercatcher is pretty much guaranteed. Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, and White Ibis are easy as well and we will almost surely come up with a tame Yellow-crowned Night-Heron or two. And we will get to do some Brown Pelican flight photography. In addition, Royal, Sandwich, Forster’s, and Caspian Terns will likely provide us with some good flight opportunities as well. Though not guaranteed, Roseate Spoonbill and Wood Stork might well be expected. And we will be on the lookout for a migrant passerine fallout in the event of a thunderstorm or two.

On this IPT, all will learn the basics and fine points of digital exposure. Nikon and Canon folks will learn to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure, and SONY folks will learn to use Zebras so that they can be sure of making excellent exposures before pressing the shutter button. Everyone will learn how to approach free and wild birds without disturbing them, to understand and predict bird behavior, to identify many species of shorebirds, to spot the good situations, to choose the best perspective, to see and understand the light, and to design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system. Most importantly, you will surely learn to evaluate wind and sky conditions and understand how they affect bird photography. And you will learn how and why to work in Manual mode (even if you’re scared of it). The best news is that you will be able to take everything you learn home with you so that you will be a better photographer wherever and whenever you photograph.

There will be a Photoshop/image review session during or after lunch (included) each full day. That will be followed by Instructor Nap Time.

These IPTs will run with only a single registrant (though that is not unlikely to happen). The best airport is Tampa (TPA). Once you register, you will receive an e-mail with Gulfport AirBnB information. If you register soon and would like to share an AirBnB with me, shoot me an e-mail. Other possibilities including taking a cab to and from the airport to our AirBnB and riding with me. This saves you both gas and the cost of a rental car.

A $600 deposit is due when you sign up and is payable by credit card. Balances must be paid by check two months before the trip. Your deposit is non-refundable unless the IPT sells out with six folks, so please check your plans carefully before committing. You can register by calling Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand, or by sending a check as follows: make the check out to: BIRDS AS ART and send it via US mail here: BIRDS AS ART, PO BOX 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855. You will receive a confirmation e-mail with detailed instructions, clothing, and gear advice. Please shoot me an e-mail if you plan to register or if you have any questions.

Clockwise from upper left to center: Long-billed Curlew, juvenile Tricolored Heron, Marbled Godwits, Great Blue Heron, juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper, Wood Stork, smiling Sea Scallop, Ruddy Turnstone scavenging needlefish, Great Blue Heron sunset silhouette at my secret spot, and southbound migrant tern flock blur.

Up Early, Stay Out Late!

Obviously, folks attending an IPT will be out in the field early and stay late to take advantage of the sweetest light and sunrise and sunset colors (when possible). The good news is that the days are relatively short in early fall. I really love it when I am leaving the beach on a sunny morning after a great session just as a carful or two of well-rested photographers are arriving. The length of cloudy morning sessions will often be extended. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

Typos

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

What’s Up?

After our late, great — thanks-again-to-B&H, ate-too-much dinner at Prime Bistro in Lawrence, Long Island, I was barely able to drag myself out of bed and to the beach early on a cloudy Tuesday morning for what turned out to be another pleasingly successful blur session. See the three images from above.

I was glad to learn that Galapagos IPT veteran (along with wife Sandy) Don Selesky sold his Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM lens in like-new condition for the BAA record-low price of $5597.00 (was $6,797.00).

Today is 31 August 2022. Again, it is supposed to rain. I have my doubts. Anyhoo, the weather does not matter as I will be on the road no later than 4:15am, headed for the Amtrak Auto Train station in Lorton, Virginia. The train is scheduled to arrive in Sanford, FL by 10:00am on 1 September. I should be back in my office around lunchtime on Thursday. All in all, it was a great trip. I will begin working on my 2021 tax return on Friday 🙂 Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about 90 minutes to prepare and makes one hundred fifty-nine days in a row with a new one.

Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links that are found on most blog pages and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords to get 3% back on your credit card and enjoy free second-day air FedEx. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn!

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

Price reduced $100.00 on 31 August 2022

Multiple IPT veteran Geri Georg is offering a Canon 100-400mm EF f/4.5-5.6L IS II zoom lens in excellent-plus to near-mint condition for a very low $1299.00 (was $1399.00). The sale includes the original box, the front and rear lens caps, the carrying case with strap, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-40 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Geri via e-mail or by phone at 1-970-219-4493 (Mountain time zone).

This incredibly versatile zoom lens — with its amazing .98 meter close focus — was my favorite Canon telephoto zoom lens ever. By far. It is easy to hand hold, great for tight portraits, for birds in flight, for quasi-macro stuff, and lots more. For flight, it is fabulous with an EOS R, R5, R6, or R7! This lens sells new for $2399.00 so you can save a handsome $1100.00 by grabbing Geri’s lens right now. artie

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Follow me on Instagram here. I am trying to feature both new and old images, especially images that have not appeared recently on the blog. Or search for birds_as_art.

BIRDS AS ART Image Optimization Service (BAA IOS)

Send a PayPal for $62.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net or call Jim at 863-692-0906 and put $62.00 on your credit card. Pick one of your best images and upload the raw file using a large file sending service like Hightail or DropBox and then send me the link via e-mail. I will download and save your raw file, evaluate the exposure and sharpness, and optimize the image as if it were my own after converting the raw file in Adobe Camera Raw. Best of all, I will make a screen recording of the entire process and send you a link to the video to download, save and study.

Induro GIT 304L Price Drop

Amazingly, we have two, brand-new-in-the-box Induro GIT 304L tripods in stock. They are $699.00 each (were $799.00) and the price now includes the insured ground shipping to the lower 48 states. Weekday phone orders only: 863-692-0906. Order yours here while they last.

Please Remember

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

Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, is also available in the BAA Online Store, it would be great, and greatly appreciated, if you would opt to purchase from us. We will match any price. Please remember also to use my B&H affiliate links or to earn 3% cash back at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout for your major gear purchases. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And always earns my great appreciation.

Brand-New and As-Good-As-Ever Bedfords BAA Discount Policy

Folks who have fallen in love with Bedfords can now use the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout to enjoy a post-purchase, 3% off-statement credit (excluding taxes and shipping charges) on orders paid with a credit card. The 3% credit will be refunded to the card you used for your purchase. Be sure, also, to check the box for free shipping to enjoy free Second Day Air Fed-Ex. This offer does not apply to purchases of Classes, Gift Cards, or to any prior purchases.

Money Saving Reminder

Many have learned that if you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H and would like to enjoy getting 3% back on your credit card along with free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex Air shipping, your best bet is to click here, place an order with Bedfords, and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If an item is out of stock, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592 (Central time). Be sure to mention the BIRDSASART coupon code and check the box for Free Shipping. That will automatically upgrade to free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H and everywhere else. The waitlists 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 a 1, 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.

Important Note

As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small percentage when you purchase from Amazon after using any of the Amazon links on the blog (including the logo-link on the right side of each blog post page). My affiliate link works fine with Amazon Prime and using it will not cost you a single cent. Huge thanks, BTW 🙂

If You Enjoy the Blog …

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 (still!) save 3% on every order and enjoy free second-day air shipping. In these crazy times — I lost about fifty thousand dollars in income due to COVID 19 — remembering to use my B&H link or to shop at Bedfords will help me out a ton and be greatly appreciated. Overseas folks who cannot order from the US because of import fees, duties, and taxes, are invited to help out by clicking here to leave a blog thank you gift if they see fit.

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. If you are desperate, you can try me on my cell at 863-221-2372. Please leave a message and shoot me a text if I do not pick up.

This image was also created on 30 August 2022 at Nickerson Beach. Standing on the beach, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with Exposure Compensation on the Thumb Dial. Shutter Priority +2.0 stops. AUTO ISO set ISO 250. 1/15 second at f/6.3 (wide-open). AWB at 6:36:56am on a very cloudy morning. RawDigger showed the exposure to be within 1/3-stop of perfect. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #1: Juvenile Black Skimmer skimming

Baby Skimmer Skimming

With the very cloudy skies and a strong breeze from the SW, I had many chances on young skimmers skimming right at me. When I saw one coming, I’d switch from Tracking: Spot to Tracking: Zone with a single push of the Set button (as detailed in the a1 Group guide). As is often the case when you are trying to create a pleasing blur, one image — Image #1 above, stood out as clearly best. Though a sharp eye is a plus for single bird flight image blurs, that is not a requirement for me. Especially when working at 1/15 second.

Click on the image to better see the green eye-AF boxes in action. Sony Alpha 1 Flight Photography AF Points!

The SONY Alpha a1 Set-up Guide and Info Group: $150.00 (or Free)

The SONY Alpha a1 Set-up Guide and Info Group is going great guns as more and more folks chime in with thoughtful questions and experience-based answers. As the a1 is becoming more readily available, more and more folks are getting their hands on this amazing body. By June 1, 2022, the group was up to an astounding 124 lucky and blessed folks. (More than a few folks own two or more a1 bodies! Early on, we discussed the myriad AF options. I gave my opinion as to the best one for flight and general bird photography. The best news is that everyone in the group receives an e-mail that includes a .DAT file with my a1 settings on it, and explicit directions on how to load my settings onto your a1; talk about convenience! I am now offering a .DAT file compatible with firmware update 1.20. Your entry into the group includes a consolidated Sony a1 CAMSETA2 INFO & GUIDE. New a1 folks will now receive six e-mails instead of the previous 28! You will receive new e-mails as they are published. Simply put, this e-mail guide is an incredible resource for anyone with an a1.

All who purchased their Alpha 1 bodies via a BAA affiliate link — B&H or Bedfords — will receive a free Sony Alpha a1 Set-Up Guide and free entry into the Info Updates group after shooting me their receipts via e-mail. (Note: it may take me several days to confirm B&H orders.). Others can purchase their guide here in the BAA Online Store.

This image was created on 30 August 2022 at Nickerson Beach. Standing on the beach, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with Exposure Compensation on the Thumb Dial. Shutter Priority +2.3 stops. AUTO ISO set ISO 125. 1/13 second at f/6.3 (wide-open). AWB at 6:50:35am on a very cloudy morning. RawDigger showed the exposure to be perfect. Tracking: Spot S/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #2: Black Skimmer blastoff

What’s Good About This Image?

Zoom lenses are great for doing blurs. When you need to, you can zoom out to ensure a clean upper edge and a clean lower edge, as seen in Image #1, above. Other plusses include an almost surreal degree of blurring on the birds taking off, the inclusion of some skimmers that are still on the ground, and a perfectly level (and somewhat interesting horizon). Note that by standing I was able to include a large expanse of light blue water in the background — Jones Inlet. Had I been sitting that would have been greatly reduced.

This image was also created on 30 August 2022 at Nickerson Beach. Standing on the beach, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 452mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with Exposure Compensation on the Thumb Dial. Shutter Priority +2.0 stops. AUTO ISO set ISO 100. 1/13 second at f/6.3 (wide-open). AWB at 6:57:24am on a very cloudy morning. RawDigger showed the exposure to be perfect. Tracking: Spot S/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #3: Black Skimmer/Sanderling/tern blastoff with pink hotel background

Avoid the Hotel?

Many photographers strive to avoid having the pink hotel in Long Beach in their backgrounds. Not me. Here, the hotel provides a lovely backdrop of pastel colors to complement the birds. As the south end of the hotel was cut off in the original frame, I did have to cut off that end and craft a “new” one in Photoshop. That was done with loving care.

Choosing the best Pleasing Blurs

It is no exaggeration to say that I created many thousands of intentionally blurred images on my August 2022 Long Island visit. While picking my keepers in Photo Mechanic at warp speed, the best ones will jump off the screen at you and scream, “Pick me!). Today’s three featured images did just that. Learn more in a Guide to Pleasing Blurs (as below).

Which one, if any, is your favorite? Please leave a comment and let us know why.

A Guide to Pleasing Blurs

Learn everything there is to know about creating pleasingly blurred images in A Guide to Pleasing Blurs by Denise Ippolito and yours truly. This 20,585 word, 271 page PDF is illustrated with 144 different, exciting, and artistic images. The guide covers the basics of creating pleasingly blurred images, the factors that influence the degree of blurring, the use of filters in creating pleasing blurs, and a great variety of both in-the-field and Photoshop techniques that can be used to create pleasingly blurred images.

Artie and Denise teach you many different ways to move your lens during the exposure to create a variety of pleasingly blurred images of flowers and trees and water and landscapes. They will teach you to recognize situations where subject movement can be used to your advantage to create pan blurs, wind blurs, and moving water blurs. They will teach you to create zoom-blurs both in the field and during post-processing. Artie shares the techniques that he has used and developed for making blurred images of flocks of geese in flight at his (formerly) beloved Bosque del Apache and Denise shares her flower blur magic as well as a variety of creative Photoshop techniques that she has developed.

With the advent of digital capture creating blurred images has become a great and inexpensive way to go out with your camera and have fun, especially when there is not much light. And while many folks think that making successful blurred images is the result of being a sloppy photographer, nothing could be further from the truth. In “A Guide to Pleasing Blurs” Artie and Denise will help you to unleash your creative self.

Typos

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

Canon 800mm f/5.6L ISUSM Lens/with extras!

BAA Record-low Price!
Price Reduced $400 on 18 July 2022!
Price Reduced $400 on 9 July 2022!
Price Reduced $400 on 29 August 2022!

Galapagos IPT veteran (with wife Sandy), Don Selesky, is offering a Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM lens in like-new condition the BAA record-low price of 5597.00 (was $6,797.00). The sale includes the rear lens cap, the lens trunk and key, the original tough front lens cover, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Don via e-mail.

I used this lens, often with a 1.4X TC, as my main super-telephoto lens for five years. It is a superb lens that offers lots of reach for those working with birds that are skittish. It is great from the car. I was astounded that 15 of the 67 images in the San Diego exhibit were created with the 800. I missed it terribly for years. It will seriously kill with an R5 or an R6 and an RF-EF Adapter! This lens sells new at B&H for $12,999 but is back-ordered everywhere. Don’s lens is a superb buy; grab it now and save a very sweet $8302.00! artie

What’s Up?

The skimmers did not skim into the east wind on Sunday morning. It was totally cloudy, and things started off very slowly. There were huge flocks of skimmers blasting off every few minutes, but too many photographers, too many beach walkers, and too many signs made it difficult to impossible to create any nice pleasing blurs. Amazingly, with blast off blur conditions perfect, and beautiful soft light, all the other photographers left the beach and headed home. Seated and working with the 600 and the 1.4X TC on the tripod, I had many fabulous chances and wound up keeping more than 125 photos out of 2,700. You will see some of the best of those here at some point.

Friend Anke Frohlich and I visited Nickerson on Sunday afternoon hoping for a great sunset. As we walked to the west colony, the clouds piled up and eliminated all hopes of any color. From a distance, I spotted an adult Great Black-backed Gull picking apart a young skimmer. We shot high ISO stills and did some video. The adult bird flew off and a young great black-backed flew in to work on the carcass. Then another juvie flew in, and a battle ensued. Eventually, the victor flew off leaving what was left of the baby skimmer behind. Anke filled a card in twenty minutes and inserted a new one. When the smoke cleared, I had room for only 87 more images on my Delkin card. As I had not been expecting much, I did not have a spare card with me. For the next half-hour, I nursed my way through repeated tern and skimmer blastoffs, each one more spectacular than the one before.

Last August 28 had been an incredible day for photography at Nickerson Beach, and this year turned out to be equally good.

I had long known that Bald Eagle and Osprey populations had been decimated by eggshell thinning caused by DDT, and that both species recovered amazingly well once the use of the pesticide was banned in the US. I vaguely remember that Brown Pelicans were affected by DTT but connected that only with Louisiana populations. Check out the extremely well-written Coronados Islands Pelicans article below to see how wrong I was. Somewhat incredibly, it is legal to manufacture DDT in the US, though it can only be exported for use in foreign nations. DDT is still used today in South America, Africa, and Asia.

Consider joining me on a San Diego IPT to photograph the fruits of the pelicans great recovery. Details below.

Today is Monday 29 August 2022. The forecast for Lido Beach is for cloudy with a gentle SW breeze. Not great, not terrible. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about 90 minutes to prepare and makes one hundred fifty-seven days in a row with a new one.

Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links that are found on most blog pages and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords to get 3% back on your credit card and enjoy free second-day air FedEx. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn!

Instagram

Follow me on Instagram here. I am trying to feature both new and old images, especially images that have not appeared recently on the blog. Or search for birds_as_art.

BIRDS AS ART Image Optimization Service (BAA IOS)

Send a PayPal for $62.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net or call Jim at 863-692-0906 and put $62.00 on your credit card. Pick one of your best images and upload the raw file using a large file sending service like Hightail or DropBox and then send me the link via e-mail. I will download and save your raw file, evaluate the exposure and sharpness, and optimize the image as if it were my own after converting the raw file in Adobe Camera Raw. Best of all, I will make a screen recording of the entire process and send you a link to the video to download, save and study.

Induro GIT 304L Price Drop

Amazingly, we have two, brand-new-in-the-box Induro GIT 304L tripods in stock. They are $699.00 each (were $799.00) and the price now includes the insured ground shipping to the lower 48 states. Order yours here while they last.

This image was created on 15 January 2022 on a San Diego IPT. I used the no-longer available (except from BAA) Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 840mm) with The One, the Sony a1 Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. ISO 800: 1/400 sec. at f/5.6. AWB at 3:04:43pm on a cloudy afternoon. Tracking: Spot S/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger, sharper, high-res version. Image #1: Brown Pelican Pacific race, young and adult juxtaposition

Your Call

Feel free to leave a comment on each of today’s featured images. Which is the strongest? What are the plusses and minuses of each. Talking a close look at various images and evaluating them is one of the very best ways to improve your own photography.

This image was also created on 15 January 2022 on a San Diego IPT. I used the no-longer available (except from BAA) Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 840mm) with The One, the Sony a1 Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. ISO 800: 1/400 sec. at f/5.6. AWB at 3:05:57pm on a cloudy afternoon. Tracking: Spot S/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger, sharper, high-res version. Image #2: Brown Pelican Pacific race, young and adult juxtaposition

A Great Question from Anar

Anar Daswani joins me last spring for two In-the-Field sessions at Stick Marsh. Though it was a less than stellar season there because of the S-96 construction project, she had a great time, learned a ton, and made some great images. She will be joining me on the first San Diego IPT, WED 21 DEC thru the morning session on Saturday 24 DEC 2022. On Saturday, she e-mailed: Do the brown pelicans nest close to La Jolla? When do they nest and have their chicks?

I thought that they bred on the Coronado Islands, southwest of San Diego in Mexican waters, and on some islands off the coast of Southern California. A bit of internet surfing brought me to the National Park Service’s California Brown Pelican page here.

I read the whole thing and learned a bunch. Here are three short excerpts:

Introduction

The importance of the Channel Islands National Park for conservation of wildlife is exemplified in its relationship to the California brown pelican. This seabird was classified as federally endangered in 1970 and as endangered by the state of California in 1971, but was delisted as a federally listed species in 2009. The only breeding colonies of California brown pelicans in the western United States are within Channel Islands National Park on West Anacapa and Santa Barbara islands. The preservation of this essential habitat along with the monitoring of this species is critical for the continued health of the California brown pelican population.

Quick and Cool Facts

Breeding range is from the Channel Islands south to central Mexico.
The only breeding colonies of California brown pelicans in the western United States are on West Anacapa and Santa Barbara Islands.
The non-breeding range extends north to Vancouver, Canada.
Brown pelicans build large nest structures on the ground, in trees, or on vegetation.
The nesting season can extend from January through October.
Brown pelicans normally lay three eggs and the adults share incubation duties.
Brown pelicans can dive from 60 feet in the air.
Brown pelicans can live up to 40 years old.
A pelican’s throat pouch can hold over 2 gallons of water.

Appearance

Brown pelicans weigh about 8 pounds and measure a little over 4 feet in length, with a wingspan of over 6.5 feet. The 6 subspecies of brown pelican are similar in appearance with slight differences particularly in breeding plumage. Sexes look similar, though males are slightly larger. Brown pelicans have short, dark legs, long, broad wings, a large, heavy all-brown body, and a huge bill. Webbing between all four toes makes the brown pelican an awkward walker, but a strong swimmer. In basic plumage, adults have a white neck and belly, pale yellow head with occipital crest, a brown body, brown eyes, a throat pouch that is reddish orange, and a billface that is paler at the base and tipped with yellow. As the breeding season approaches, the distal end of the bill turns reddish, the proximal end of the throat pouch brightens to a poppy-red, the iris turns a yellowish white to light blue, and a white stripe runs down the pouch side of neck, while the rest of the neck stays dark brown. Colors start to fade during the onset of incubation, and the yellow feathers on the head are replaced with white feathers.

This image was also created on 15 January 2022 on a San Diego IPT. I used the no-longer available (except from BAA) Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 840mm) with The One, the Sony a1 Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. ISO 800: 1/400 sec. at f/5.6. AWB at 3:10:22pm on a cloudy afternoon. Tracking: Spot S/AF-C with Bird Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger, sharper, high-res version. Image #3: Brown Pelican Pacific race, young and adult juxtaposition

Learning More

Wanting to learn if I was right about the pelicans nesting on the Coronados Islands, I continued searching and was rewarded when I found an incredibly interesting article by Jeannette DeWyze here on the San Diego Reader website. It was published in 1979. The whole article appears below.

The Effect of DDT on the Coronados Islands Pelicans

I’m not sure why the birds on the north island of the Coronados are making such a racket. They’re screaming so loudly it seems like the noise should carry to Point Loma, fifteen miles away; the cacophony sounds like the bawling of a hundred angry human infants. From a boat, even just a few hundred feet offshore, the birds blend into the mottled cliff side of the island, a forbidding lump of rock that rises precipitously from the sea. But through binoculars I can see that indeed this is a nursery. Sections of the cliff are virtually covered with fuzzy baby pelicans, snow white, ungainly creatures which have broken out of their shells only days and weeks before. I know they’re probably screaming because they’re hungry, or for some equally prosaic reason, but this year. I’d like to believe the pelicans’ shrieks are a cry of victory.

The Coronados are one of the only places where California brown pelicans are born. The Coronados are those jagged lumps you see on clear days when you look south out over the ocean, and they ‘re also one of the only places where California brown pelicans are born. Every spring the birds gather here, and at the Channel Islands off Santa Barbara, and at a dozen other havens scattered along both coasts of Baja, where they perform the ancient acts which perpetuate their species. Chicks usually hatch between March and May and the parents tend them solicitously for three months; by midsummer most of the youngsters have flown off on their own. Great flocks of brown pelicans nested on the Coronados when the first curious San Diegans sailed out to them ninety years ago (before the Mexican government declared the islands to be a sanctuary in 1924). But ten years ago the islands saw an ominously different scene; 1969 marked the pelicans’ most silent spring.

The large-billed birds flew out to the islands that year and built their nests in the scraggly bushes on the slopes of the southernmost island. As usual, the females had deposited their eggs in the centers of the motley collections of twigs, and the parent birds had prepared to cover them with their four webbed toes (the pelicans’ standard method for warming their incubating offspring). But one by one, as they had settled down on the big white spheres, the parents found themselves standing in slimy pools of broken shell and yolk. Most gamely picked up the dripping messes with their beaks and flung them into the brush, only to try with a second and third egg and to fail again. By May of that year, all the adults had flapped off on their annual northern migration, leaving on the island hillsides a biological tragedy.

Though they flew off that year without young, the pelicans had acquired something more exotic—status as a symbol in one of the world’s most dramatic biological controversies. And when they glided northward a decade ago, the birds were also riding something more powerful than the coastal winds. They were riding the currents of a growing environmental movement that was to make the pelicans its early stars.

Joe Jehl witnessed the beginning of the pelicans’ saga, and he recalls that it all began quietly. Jehl is a lean, boyish man with an incongruous head of a gray hair. Today he’s San Diego’s most respected authority on brown pelicans, but in March of 1969 he had only an undistinguished interest in the big feathered creatures. Jehl was working then as the curator of birds and mammals at the San Diego Natural History Museum when a Berkeley biochemist and ornithologist named Bob Risebrough invited him to go on a trip surveying pelicans on Santa Barbara’s Channel Islands. Risebrough also invited a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ornithologist named Fred Sibley and another Natural History Museum ornithologist named Monte Kirven. Foul weather and the Santa Barbara oil spill postponed the expedition several times, but finally the four men hitched a ride with park rangers from the Channel Islands National Monument and set off for the traditional nesting grounds on March 19, 1969.

Today Jehl works as assistant director for the Hubbs Sea World Research Institute (he was the first scientist to quit the Natural History Museum during its recent administrative upheaval), and he recalls that none of the four biologists began the island trip feeling particularly alarmed. True, all had noted minor warning signals. For one thing, they’d seen Eastern brown pelicans apparently vanish from the Gulf of Mexico, where their numbers at one time had made them the state bird of Louisiana. Jehl also says that a broad survey of seabirds of 1967-68 had counted very few nesting pelicans, but even that didn’t seem cause for undue concern. ‘’There’s so much fluctuation in biological systems that one year’s little discrepancy doesn’t get anyone excited, and rightly so,” he says. “There was a little uncertainty in everyone’s mind, but nothing you’d want to get excited about. Call it a lingering doubt. ’’ However, when the four scientists sailed around the islands and discovered no signs of nesting, their doubts grew. They finally located one colony on the peak of Anacapa Island. While Jehl stayed in the lower part of the island to survey other types of birds, the other three men scrambled to the summit, where they were greeted by a scene of utter desolation.

“They came back with bags full of these deformed, thin-shelled eggs,” Jehl remembers. “And you didn’t have to be a very smart biologist to know that something really funny was going on. If you walk into a colony and find a broken egg or two. you can chalk it up to the gulls eating it, or you can think of some simple explanation. But if you walk into a colony and find that just about every egg you see is flat and collapsed and doesn’t have any shell on it …” his husky voice trails off. “It was incredible. We were stunned.”

The group raced back to the mainland and Jehl immediately headed south. In San Diego he grabbed a boat and motored out to the Coronados, where the scene was even worse than that at Anacapa: out of 350 to 400 nests, no young survived. Further south, on Baja’s San Martin and San Benito islands, the toll was less dramatic, but still abnormal. Everywhere, Jehl found strange, deformed shells.

Meanwhile, back in Berkeley, Risebrough had analyzed the yolks of eggs collected at Anacapa, and his findings seemed to identify the culprit conclusively. The yolks contained 226 parts per million of DDE (a metabolic product of DDT); fatty tissue within the yolks contained even higher amounts.

At the time of Risebrough’s incriminating discovery, the fortunes of DDT had already slipped drastically. In its youth, however, the pesticide had been gratefully welcomed. Invented in 1939 by a Swiss chemist named Paul Muller, the substance had quickly commanded world attention: it seemed safe, easy to handle and mass produce, and capable of smiting a host of man’s ancient enemies—namely, insects that carried diseases like malaria, epidemic typhus and typhoid fever, and dysentery. In the testing grounds of the Second World War, DDT soon proved itself; before long thousands of soldiers and sailors were dusting themselves and their personal effects with DDT powder as regularly and enthusiastically as teenagers applying deodorant. With the war’s end and the chemical’s general release, the miracles moved to an even broader stage; the pesticide saved countless persons from death and starvation by increasing food production. In 1948 Muller ascended to the halls of the Nobel laureates; by 1950 world health authorities estimated that DDT had saved five million lives worldwide by destroying malarial mosquitoes.

In the face of such wonders, it wasn’t surprising that the first few sour notes struck by the chemical sounded quietly. Yet gradually, over the years, they built to a disturbing refrain. Huge doses of DDT seemed to kill birds and fish as well as insects; and evidence also began to indicate that the intensity of the pesticide magnified as it climbed the food chain. There were several incidents like the one that occurred at Clear Lake, California, ninety miles north of San Francisco. There a 1949 application of DDT killed ninety-nine percent of the gnats, which had plagued outdoorsmen at the lake. Within five years, however, the gnats had returned. A second application again killed ninety-nine percent of the pests, but this time they recovered in just three years. A third application killed less than ninety-nine percent, and then that winter tragedy struck the area. More than 2000 Western grebes, a fish-eating water bird which lived at the lake, began to die. Yet mystifyingly, the concentration of the chemical in the water was minute—only .02 parts per million. Then biologists found that plankton in the lake contained ten parts per million of the pesticide, and fish that ate the plankton contained 903 parts per million in their fat. The fat of the meat-eating fish that ate the vegetarian fish contained 2690 parts per million, and by the time the grebes died, their fatty tissues contained 100,000 times the concentration of the pesticide in the lake.

By 1962 the growing body of evidence prompted marine biologist Rachel Carson to release her famous attack on DDT, Silent Spring. The book opened the floodgates through which anti-DDT data poured. By the time Risebrough, Jehl, and the other two men headed out to survey pelicans in the Channel Islands, studies had already shown DDT to be accumulating in adult pelican bodies, and other work had indicated that shells of eggs from several bird species (including ospreys, Bermuda petrels, bald eagles, and peregrine falcons) had been thinning gradually since the Second World War. So, with the discovery of the crushed eggs, the case seemed conclusive—the pesticide was about to claim another feathered victim.

Joe Jehl still remembers the day in the spring of 1969 when he announced his own startling findings at a press conference at the Natural History Museum. He says one reporter from the Evening Tribune showed up and the small story that resulted was buried in the sports pages. But the brown pelicans had more than their share of fans, and concern about their plight soon raced through the popular media. Jehl at least partly credits that concern to an announcement from Robert Finch (then secretary of Health, Education and Welfare) in November of 1969. Finch declared that the federal government would phase out all but “essential uses” of the pesticide within two years.

Finch’s announcement didn’t help the pelicans much the following breeding season, though. Jehl counted only three to five young that year on the Coronados; he found none on San Martin Island and only one on San Benito. Other observers announced that the Anacapa colony had also met with total reproductive failure. Jehl recalls that at that time the scientific community still assumed the pesticide was entering the marine food chain as a result of the tremendous volumes being sprayed on cropland worldwide. “We figured it was coming from agricultural uses, floating through the atmosphere, running off the land, then settling in the sea.” Unfortunately, that theory didn’t explain why brown pelicans on the east side of the Baja peninsula weren’t faring anywhere near as badly as those on the Pacific side. The answer finally emerged in 1970, when a researcher who had been checking DDT levels in sand crabs all along the California coast found that those levels skyrocketed off White’s Point in Los Angeles. The level there peaked at forty-five times that at major agricultural drainage areas. The spot turned out to be near the site of the outlet for the Los Angeles County sewer system. Feeding into it were watery wastes produced by the Montrose Chemical Corporation, the only producer of DDT in the U.S.

If there seemed to be obvious links between the chemical wastes and the sea life languishing off Southern California, they weren’t clear to the chemical company’s Torrance plant superintendent. “Do you have the impression that the brown pelican is virtually extinct?” he scoffed in the Opinion section of the Los Angeles Times in the summer of 1969. “Just south of the border in Ensenada and beyond there are thousands living and breeding normally.” Indeed, the pelicans didn’t seem to be disappearing; Southern California residents still could see them soaring along the coast. What they couldn’t see were the unhatched young. Since pelicans can live for as long as fifteen years, it would have required years of breeding failure for the numbers to begin thinning noticeably. As the controversy quickened, some challenged the notion that DDT had any effect on the reproductive failures. Two San Jose State College biologists, for example, declared that intruding environmentalists had scared the pelicans out of breeding. Nationally, the pesticide’s defenders reached even greater dramatic heights. One spokesman made a point of publicly ingesting the chemical to prove it was safe. Joe Jehl smiles sardonically when he shows off another particularly memorable clipping retained from the days when tempers flared the hottest. “Up With People—And Down With The Venomous Foes Of Chemical Pesticides,” reads the headline from Barron’s, the weekly financial journal. “Better things for better living, whether through chemistry or some other triumph of science, rarely make headlines or win votes,” the article flamed. “Without them, however, mankind never would have climbed out of those wondrously natural caves.”

Despite such invective, 1971 came as a turning point for the pelicans. In April of 1970 the Los Angeles DDT plant had begun depositing its liquid wastes in a sanitary landfill, and oceanic input of the pesticide started to decline rapidly. By the very next breeding season, eggshells found on Anacapa, Santa Cruz, and North Coronado islands seemed noticeably thicker, although only forty-two babies developed that year from 650 nests counted. The political climax to the saga came on June 14, 1972, with an order from William Ruckelshaus, head of the Environmental Protection Agency. He overturned a recent decision of a federal hearing examiner that DDT’s benefits outweighed its risks, and he ordered a virtual ban on the pesticide in this country.

And then the pelicans surprised everyone. Jehl states, “We had thought they had so much DDT in their systems that it might take ’em ten years to get rid of it, and by that time these birds, which hadn’t bred in three or four years, were going to be so old and senile that they couldn’t breed anyway. We had thought the whole damn population might just go!” But the eggshells almost immediately thickened, and the numbers of surviving young climbed correspondingly. In 1973 observers counted 134 chicks produced from 597 nests on the three breeding islands (Anacapa, Santa Cruz, and North Coronado), and by 1974 an astounding 1185 young birds appeared to have survived.

Now Jehl stands on the flying bridge of a borrowed yacht trying to survey a breeding colony which this year may even exceed that bumper crop of 1974. So many birds cover the face of this North Coronado Island cliff that counting them boggles the untrained mind. Jehl and a young assistant naturalist follow an old established procedure. As the captain inches his vessel northward, the two biologists freeze, binoculars locked at eye level. Mentally, they stake off sections of the brush-tangled, guano-covered slopes. They count, silently and frantically, then they periodically lower their glasses to blink hard and call out the numbers over the avian din. “There are birds nesting on the ground this year. In the grass,” Jehl mutters incredulously. “Christ, there’s a mess of chicks.”

The sea is calm this morning, but the boat still bobs slightly. It complicates the counting, but this early in the nesting season Jehl has no alternative but to do it from the water. Normally no one sets foot on these island sanctuaries except for rare scientific parties and a small group of villagers on the south island. Jehl, in fact, holds a precious landing permit for this expedition, but even he won’t venture onto the north island at this delicate time. He explains that one pelican parent must stay with each nest at all times to protect eggs and chicks from marauding gulls and to shelter the tiny chicks from the sun. Humans entering the colony would scare away the parent birds. “One person in a pelican colony for ten minutes can be enough to destroy the colony for the year, ” the ornithologist says. So, he settles for the rough count from the boat.

From the offshore vantage, he can’t see the thickness of the shells, but Jehl knows they have remained at normal levels since 1974, even though the success of the pelicans’ breeding has fluctuated since then. Last year, for example, Jehl counted only sixty-two chicks produced by 265 pairs on the Coronados, but he says natural forces are now causing those fluctuations. He laughs when he mentions that pelicans still officially perch on the endangered species list. “They’re not endangered today, not by any stretch of the imagination. They were endangered because of DDT. Now, they do have problems today because they’re dependent on anchovies, and the anchovy population has some competition from bait boats. But if pelicans don’t breed now, it’s because people are going into the colonies and bothering them, or because their food supply has disappeared.”

Jehl’s pronouncement disturbs me. Despite the pelicans’ remarkable comeback. I’ve found myself wondering about its significance. I know what difference the pelicans’ survival makes to me personally. Quite simply, I think San Diego is more beautiful because of them. I’m enthralled by creatures with wingspans so wide that they seem to wobble when they beat; who glide low and heavily and smoothly like elegant patrol planes; who can climb so effortlessly and then drop like stones to the water surface, creating splashes so huge that each dive is a separate comedy. But apart from aesthetics, I wonder if it would have made any real difference to our human lives if pelicans had simply vanished from the globe? And how important was their victory over the threat from a chemical pesticide if they’ve only survived to face threats from human disturbances and dwindling food supplies?

Jehl, glib and fast-talking, retorts that it wouldn’t really make much difference— environmentally—if all the brown pelicans vanished this instant. He argues that what was important about the saga of the brown pelicans was not the “victory” of one individual species, but rather the defeat of an agent that threatened an entire wildlife habitat. “All animals go extinct!” he cries. “All individuals die. All species die. Even man someday will drop off the face of the earth. Who really cares? I don’t care, except as a biologist I care that the process that makes species is allowed to continue.”

Jehl complains that this is where the environmental movement has gone wrong. “We get so terribly concerned with little dickey birds and snail darters and we lose sight of the big picture.” He worries that such narrowness may ultimately defeat environmentalists. “I don’t think that the species-based approach is a sound biological approach. I think it’s absolutely self-defeating because it gets you into situations like what you’ve got with Tellico Dam and the snail darter. Put the dam and the snail darter up to a vote, and nine-to-one the public will say build the dam— who cares about the snail darter?— because we’ve built this fight on one silly, insignificant fish, which if it drops off the face of the earth tomorrow really doesn’t make any difference.”

In contrast, Jehl argues that what’s important is “to protect major chunks of habitat, because then the species that you’re worried about do just fine.” He says that the contrary—worrying about individual species rather than habitats— leads to dilemmas like the one now involving the California condor. Only a handful remain in the wild, but condors probably could be raised in captivity. Jehl says the question is, “Should we spend millions of dollars catching these birds, putting them in captivity, and raising them? Do you put a lot of money into saving this species so that what you have is condors in captivity? How much money would you pay to see a dinosaur?” he asks flippantly. Then he answers his own question, half seriously. He says maybe it’s worth a lot to people, so maybe we should have dinosaurs—or condors—in captivity. But there’s one thing to remember. “Even if we become hip-deep in condors, there ain’t no place you can put them in the wild ever again. There’s no chance that they could ever be released into the kind of habitat they need, because there is no such place in the world anymore!”

The banning of DDT preserved a habitat that ultimately affected dozens and maybe hundreds of species; a habitat so large and crucial that it ultimately may have affected man’s survival. (Evidence even had been gathered indicating that the chemical decreased photosynthesis in plankton, the primary source of the world’s oxygen.) Jehl says it was a victory for the preservation of basic biological processes. “What bothers me is that the processes ought to be able to go on at a rate at which animals can be tested. Environments change and dinosaurs went extinct. We don’t know why they went extinct, except that basically what happened is that they weren’t able to cope with what happened in their environment. They couldn’t make it. I don’t care about that. But if you put DDT in and the animals have a ten-year life span, they don’t have a chance to develop resistance to that. And it seems to me that our role as biologists—or just as inhabitants of the earth—is to make sure that the changes we are inflicting on the world don’t come at a rate that doesn’t give the animals a chance to cope.”

2009

Under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are removing the brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife due to recovery. This action is based on a review of the best available scientific and commercial data, which indicate that the species is no longer in danger of extinction, or likely to become so within the foreseeable future. The brown pelican will remain protected under the provisions of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The effective date of this rule is December 17, 2009.

Joe Jehl

To the best of my knowledge, Joe Jehl, born in 1935, is still alive. Learn more about his remarkable life here on the Islapedia website.

This all-new card includes images created on my JAN 2022 visit to San Diego. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

The 2022/23 San Diego Brown Pelicans (and more!) IPTs

San Diego IPT #1. 3 1/2 DAYS: WED 21 DEC thru the morning session on Saturday 24 DEC 2022. $2099.00. Deposit: $699.00. Limit: 6 photographers/Openings: 5.

San Diego IPT #2. 4 1/2 DAYS: SAT 7 JAN thru the morning session on WED 11 JAN 2023: $2699.00. Deposit: $699.00. Limit: 6 photographers/Openings: 4.

San Diego IPT #3: 3 1/2 DAYS: FRI 20 JAN thru the morning session on MON 23 JAN 2023: $2099.00. Deposit: $699.00. Limit: 6 photographers/Openings: 5.

Please e-mail for information on personalized pre- and post-IPT sessions.

Join me in San Diego to photograph the spectacular breeding plumage Brown Pelicans with their fire-engine red and olive green bill pouches; Brandt’s (nesting) and Double-crested Cormorants; breeding plumage Wood and Ring-necked Ducks; other duck species possible including Lesser Scaup, Redhead, Northern Shoveler and Surf Scoter; a variety of gulls including Western, California, and the gorgeous Heermann’s, all in full breeding plumage; shorebirds including Marbled Godwit, Willet, Sanderling and Black-bellied Plover; many others are possible including Least, Western, and Spotted Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Black and Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Plover, and Surfbird; Harbor Seals and California Sea Lions (both depending on the current regulations and restrictions). And as you can see by studying the IPT cards, there are some nice bird-scape and landscape opportunities as well. Not to mention a ton of excellent flight photography opportunities and instruction.

Please note: where permitted and on occasion, ducks and gulls may be attracted (or re-located) with offerings of grains or healthy bread.

San Diego offers a wealth of very attractive natural history subjects, including and especially the Pacific race of California Brown Pelican. With annual visits spanning more than four decades, I have lots of photographic experience there … Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

Learning Exposure, Whether You Like It Or Not

Whether you like it or not, we will be beating the subject of exposure like a dead horse. In every new situation, you will hear my thoughts on exposure along with my thoughts on both Nikon and Canon histograms and SONY Zebras. Whether you like it or not, you will learn to work in manual mode so that you can get the right exposure every time (as long as a bird gives you ten seconds with the light constant). Or two seconds with SONY zebras … And you will learn what to do when the light is changing constantly. What you learn about exposure will be one of the great takeaways on every IPT.

Though the pelicans will be the stars of the show on this IPT, there will be many other handsome and captivating subjects in wonderful settings. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

It Ain’t Just Pelicans

With gorgeous subjects just sitting there waiting to have their pictures taken, photographing the pelicans on the cliffs is about as easy as nature photography gets. With the winds from the east almost every morning there is usually some excellent flight photography as well, often with 70-200mm lenses! And the pelicans are almost always doing something interesting: preening, scratching, bill pouch cleaning, or squabbling. And then there are those crazy head throws that are thought to be a form of intra-flock communication. You will be guided as to how to make the best of those opportunities. Depending on the weather, the local conditions, and the tides, there are a variety of other fabulous photo chances available in and around San Diego.

Did I mention that there are lots of great birds and natural history subjects in San Diego in winter? Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

The San Diego Details

These IPTs will include four or five 3-hour morning photo sessions, three or four 1 1/2-hour afternoon photo sessions, and three or four working brunches that will include image review and Photoshop sessions. On rare cloudy days, we may — at the leader’s discretion, stay out in the morning for a long session and skip that afternoon. To ensure early starts, breakfasts will be your responsibility. And so that we can get some sleep, dinners will be on your own as well. In the extremely unlikely event that Goldfish Point is closed due to local ordinance (or whimsy) — that has never happened in the past fifty years, I will of course do my very best to maximize our photographic opportunities.

San Diego offers a wealth of very attractive natural history subjects, including and especially the Pacific race of California Brown Pelican. With annual visits spanning more than four decades, I have lots of photographic experience there … Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

Deposit Info

A $599 deposit is required to hold your slot for one of the 2022/23 San Diego IPTs. You can send a check (made out to “BIRDS AS ART”) to us here: BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 3385, or call Jim or Jennifer at the office with a credit card at 863-692-0906. Your balance, payable only by check, is due three months before the trip.

Variety is surely the spice of life in San Diego. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

Getting Up Early and Staying Out Late

On all BIRDS AS ART IPTS including and especially the San Diego IPT, we get into the field early to take advantage of unique and often spectacular lighting conditions and we stay out late to maximize the chances of killer light and glorious sunset silhouette situations. We often arrive at the cliffs a full hour before anyone else shows up to check out the landscape and seascape opportunities.

Typos

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

What’s Up?

On Friday morning at the East Pond, there were far fewer birds than there had been the day before. The small pond that held hundreds of birds the day before, held only a few individuals. The water level has continued to drop from evaporation. There has been no rain to speak of in about two months. The strange thing is that photography on Friday was a lot better than it had been on Thursday. Carlotta Grenier learned to shoot off the rear monitor with her tripod flattened. She did well and we had plenty of birds to photograph. At the Cross Bay Diner, I downloaded and installed both Photo Mechanic and RawDigger. Our “morning session” brunch ended at 1:20pm! On Monday, Carlotta will be returning for an afternoon workflow lesson followed by an In-the-Field session at Nickerson Beach. I head home on Wednesday and will be back in the office on Thursday at about lunchtime.

Friday afternoon turned out to be cloudy with thunderstorms so I am glad that I took the afternoon off. Today is Saturday 27 August 2022. With cloudy skies and a north wind in the forecast, I will head to the East Pond again this morning despite the 9:19am high tide. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about an hour to prepare and makes one hundred fifty-five days in a row with a new one.

Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links that are found on most blog pages and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords to get 3% back on your credit card and enjoy free second-day air FedEx. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn!

This image was created on 18 October 2020 on a Fall Fort DeSoto IPT. Siting on damp sand, I used the knee-pod technique with the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 800. 1/400 second at f/6.3 (wide-open) in Manual Mode. AWB at7:55:06 am on a sunny morning. RawDigger showed the exposure to be perfect. Tracking: Spot S AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly though there was no eyeball to be seen anywhere. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Royal Tern, dismembered head on sand

Suggestions for Improving this Image?

If you have any suggestions on how I could have improved this image either in the field or on the computer, please leave a comment.

Macabre: [muh-kah-bruh] adjective

1: gruesome and horrifying; ghastly; horrible.
2: of, pertaining to, dealing with, or representing death, especially its grimmer or uglier aspect.
3: suggestive of the allegorical dance of death.

This Royal Tern head likely belonged to a bird that was an early morning breakfast for a Peregrine Falcon. In a strange way, I find this image beautiful though macabre. What do you think?

Unsolicited via e-mail from Pete Myers

I just spent 4 days in the field in a graduate course in bird photography taught by Artie Morris at Fort DeSoto. After almost 50 years of experience pointing cameras at birds from the Arctic to Tierra del Fuego, New Zealand and beyond, I thought I was good enough. But what I learned from Artie in just four days has taken me to a whole new level. As he aptly puts it, “birds as art,” not simply bird photography. One of those 4 days was the most satisfying I’d ever experienced, anywhere. The IPT left me euphoric about what I’d learned, and frighteningly committed to recreating my portfolio with the techniques and insights he taught me.

Fort DeSoto in fall is rife with tame birds. All the images on this card were created at Fort DeSoto in either late September or very early October. I hope that you can join me there this fall. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version. Clockwise from upper left to center: Long-billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit, Caspian Tern, Great Egret, Sandwich Tern with fish, Willet, Black-bellied Plover threat display, Snowy Egret, 2-year old Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron, juvenile Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron.

The Fall 2022 Fort DeSoto Instructional Photo-Tours

Fall 2022 Fort DeSoto Instructional Photo-Tour #1

3 1/2 Days: Tuesday 27 September through the morning session on Friday 30 September 2022. $1899.00 includes three working lunches. Limit six photographers/Openings five.

Fall 2022 Fort DeSoto Instructional Photo-Tour #2

3 1/2 Days: 7 October through the morning session on Monday 10 October 2022. $1899.00 includes three working lunches. Limit six photographers.

Fall 2022 Fort DeSoto Instructional Photo-Tour #3

3 1/2 Days: Monday 31 October through the morning session on Thursday 3 November 2022. $1899.00 includes three working lunches. Limit six photographers.

Fort DeSoto, located just south of St. Petersburg, FL, is a mecca for migrant shorebirds and terns in fall. There they join hundreds of egrets, herons, night-herons, and gulls that winter on the T-shaped peninsula. With any luck at all, we should get to photograph one of Florida’s most desirable shorebird species: Marbled Godwit. Black-bellied Plover and Willet are easy, American Oystercatcher is pretty much guaranteed. Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, and White Ibis are easy as well and we will almost surely come up with a tame Yellow-crowned Night-Heron or two. And we will get to do some Brown Pelican flight photography. In addition, Royal, Sandwich, Forster’s, and Caspian Terns will likely provide us with some good flight opportunities as well. Though not guaranteed, Roseate Spoonbill and Wood Stork might well be expected. And we will be on the lookout for a migrant passerine fallout in the event of a thunderstorm or two.

On this IPT, all will learn the basics and fine points of digital exposure. Nikon and Canon folks will learn to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure, and SONY folks will learn to use Zebras so that they can be sure of making excellent exposures before pressing the shutter button. Everyone will learn how to approach free and wild birds without disturbing them, to understand and predict bird behavior, to identify many species of shorebirds, to spot the good situations, to choose the best perspective, to see and understand the light, and to design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system. Most importantly, you will surely learn to evaluate wind and sky conditions and understand how they affect bird photography. And you will learn how and why to work in Manual mode (even if you’re scared of it). The best news is that you will be able to take everything you learn home with you so that you will be a better photographer wherever and whenever you photograph.

There will be a Photoshop/image review session during or after lunch (included) each full day. That will be followed by Instructor Nap Time.

These IPTs will run with only a single registrant (though that is not unlikely to happen). The best airport is Tampa (TPA). Once you register, you will receive an e-mail with Gulfport AirBnB information. If you register soon and would like to share an AirBnB with me, shoot me an e-mail. Other possibilities including taking a cab to and from the airport to our AirBnB and riding with me. This saves you both gas and the cost of a rental car.

A $600 deposit is due when you sign up and is payable by credit card. Balances must be paid by check two months before the trip. Your deposit is non-refundable unless the IPT sells out with six folks, so please check your plans carefully before committing. You can register by calling Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand, or by sending a check as follows: make the check out to: BIRDS AS ART and send it via US mail here: BIRDS AS ART, PO BOX 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855. You will receive a confirmation e-mail with detailed instructions, clothing, and gear advice. Please shoot me an e-mail if you plan to register or if you have any questions.

Clockwise from upper left to center: Long-billed Curlew, juvenile Tricolored Heron, Marbled Godwits, Great Blue Heron, juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper, Wood Stork, smiling Sea Scallop, Ruddy Turnstone scavenging needlefish, Great Blue Heron sunset silhouette at my secret spot, and southbound migrant tern flock blur.

Up Early, Stay Out Late!

Obviously, folks attending an IPT will be out in the field early and stay late to take advantage of the sweetest light and sunrise and sunset colors (when possible). The good news is that the days are relatively short in early fall. I really love it when I am leaving the beach on a sunny morning after a great session just as a carful or two of well-rested photographers are arriving. The length of cloudy morning sessions will often be extended. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

Typos

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

Which of Today’s Six Featured Images is Your Favorite?

Why?

What’s Up?

Wednesday morning at JBWR was decent with fewer bugs and some nice cool air. The NW breeze freshened as the morning went on eliminating the mosquitoes but making photography more difficult. A strong onshore breeze at Nickerson in the afternoon made things fun, especially with midair skimmer battles. And several very late Black Skimmer nests hatched near the ropes so there are a few tiny chicks around.

Today is Thursday 25 August 2022. The forecast for the morning is a carbon copy of yesterday’s. I will be heading back to the East Pond very early. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about 90 minutes to prepare and makes one hundred fifty-three days in a row with a new one.

Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links that are found on most blog pages and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords to get 3% back on your credit card and enjoy free second-day air FedEx. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn!

Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART

Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission on items priced at $1,000 or more. With items less than $1000, there is a $50 flat-fee. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charged a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. They went out of business. And e-Bay fees are now up to 13%. If you are interested, please click here, read everything carefully, and do what it says. To avoid any misunderstandings, please read the whole thing very carefully. If you agree to the terms, please state so clearly via e-mail and include the template or templates, one for each item you wish to sell. Then we can work together to get your stuff priced and listed.

Stuff that is priced fairly — I offer pricing advice only to those who agree to the terms — usually sells in no time flat. Over the past years, we have sold many hundreds of items. Do know that prices for used gear only go in one direction. Down. You can always see the current listings by clicking here or on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.

Sony a7RIV Full Frame Mirrorless Body

BAA Record-low Price!

Multiple IPT veteran Jim Miller is offering a Sony a7RIV Full Frame Mirrorless body in excellent plus to near mint condition for a BIRDS AS ART record-low $1897.00. The sale includes the original box, all manuals and documents, the front body cap, one battery and the charger with power cord, the USB-C/USB cable, the original product box, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Jim via e-mailor by phone at 850-445-5042 (Eastern time zone).

For the past several years you have seen the incredible detail in my a7r IV images made with a variety of SONY lenses and both teleconverters. Before the a1, I typically used my 7r IV for about 50% of my bird photography and my a9 II in pure flight situations. As the a7r IVA sells new right now for $3498.00 (and the only “improvement” over the original a7R IV is more resolution in the rear monitor), you can save a cool $1601.00 by grabbing Jim’s sweet a7r IV ASAP. Though this 61-MP body is especially attractive to landscape and macro photographers, it is great for birds as well; you can pretty much crop to your heart’s content. For photographing bird in flight, I do not recommend its use with the 200-600 G lens. artie

Sony G Master FE 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6 GM OSS Lens

BAA Record-low Price!

Jim Miller is offering a Sony G Master FE 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6 GM OSS lens in near-mint condition for a BIRDS AS ART record-low $1296.00. The sale includes the the original product box, the manuals, the front and rear lens caps, the nylon zippered case, the hood, the lens strap, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Jim via e-mailor by phone at 850-445-5042 (Eastern time zone).

This versatile, mega-close-focusing lens is easily hand holdable by most folks; it is much lighter than the 200-600 G lens. It is great for bird photography. I used mine often for flight photography, for head shots of silly-tame birds, and for large flowers, butterflies, frogs, and the like. It sells new for $2498.00 so you can save a handsome $1,2002 by grabbing Mark’s Jim’s lens today. artie

This image was also created on 21 August on an In-the-Field session at the north end of the East Pond at JBWR, Queens, NY. Again, while seated on damp mud and working off the titled rear monitor, I used the flattened, no-longer available except from BIRDS AS ART, Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter (at 1200mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). Shutter Priority at zero. The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with Exposure Compensation on the thumb dial. AUTO ISO set ISO 4000. 1/500 sec. at f/8 (wide open). When evaluated in RawDigger, it was determined that the raw file exposure was shown to be dead-solid perfect. AWB at 6:26:54am on a then very cloudy, dark afternoon. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #1A: Bright juvenile plumage Short-billed Dowitcher

Odd Man Out

In the North End East Pond on a Bad Afternoon – Fun in the Dark! blog post here, my favorite of the four images was Image #3, the juvie Short-billed Dowitcher, now #1A, above. Why? Many shorebirds in fresh juvenal plumage have an orange blush on their breasts. This blush wears quickly as juvenile feathers wear more quickly than adult feathers. Had the yellowlegs image been razor sharp, I would have chosen that one as best.

This image was also created on 20 August 2022 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. While seated on damp sand, I used the lowered, no-longer available except from BIRDS AS ART, Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 840mm) with The One, the Sony a1 Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. ISO 2000: 1/800 sec. at f/5.6. AWB at 7:30:06am on a cloudy morning. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version. Image #2A: Small in the big world juvenile Piping Plover

Small in the big world juvenile Piping Plover

In the Piping Plover Thanks to Muhammad Arif (AKA Moe) blog post here, my favorite image by a small margin was Image #2 (now #2A, above). I love the concept of placing small-in-the-frame, vulnerable subjects in large expanses of habitat. And I just love the clean wet sand left by receding tides (or waves). A close second for me was the PIPL with the worm. The standoff image was exciting to see and make, but the head angles were less than perfect.

This image was created on 19 August 2022 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. While seated on damp sand, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 840mm)) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with Exposure Compensation on the Thumb Dial. Shutter Priority + 1.3-stops. Auto ISO set ISO 500. 1/500 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open). AWB at 6:24:23am just after sunrise. RawDigger showed the exposure to be dead-solid perfect. Tracking: Spot S — AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #3A: Lesser Black-backed Gull backlit at sunrise

Understanding the Qualities of Light

In the Understanding the Ever-changing Qualities of Light. And Working What Used to Be a Very Rare Gull blog post here, all but the comparative id image of the Great Black-backed Gull received mentions. I agree as the other five were all strong photos. For me the two best are the elegant #5, and #4 — now #3A, above), the Lesser Black-backed Gull backlit at sunrise image. If you twisted my arm, I’d go with the backlit sunrise image.

In the same post, I wrote:

Note the quality of the light at nine in the morning (Image #1), and compare it with the quality of light in Images # 4, 5, and 6, those all made before seven am on a sunny morning. What differences are you seeing?

Nobody took a crack at that one. The WHITEs in Image #1 are much colder with more BLUE in them than the WHITEs in the images made before 7am. Those feature more warm tones, the YELLOWs and the REDs. When we process the images, we strive to make the colder toned images a bit warmer and the warmer tones images a bit cooler (while retaining the look of the image as it was captured).

This image was also created on 13 August 2022 at the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens, NY. While seated on damp mud and working off the tilted rear monitor, I used the flattened, no-longer available except from BIRDS AS ART, Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 840mm) with The One, the Sony a1 Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. ISO 800: 1/1000 sec. at f/8. AWB at 7:59:39 on a sunny morning. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version. Image #1: Least Sandpiper juvenile looking for prey (with small flying insect)

The First Frame

The Least Sandpiper landed to our left and foraged right toward sun angle. This was the first keeper in a two-second series. I am absolutely over-the-moon about the sharp flying insect.

This image was also created on 13 August 2022 at the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens, NY. While seated on damp mud and working off the tilted rear monitor, I used the flattened, no-longer available except from BIRDS AS ART, Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 840mm) with The One, the Sony a1 Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. ISO 800: 1/1000 sec. at f/8. AWB at 7:59:40am on a sunny morning. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version. Image #2: Least Sandpiper juvenile ruffling version I

The First Keeper from the Second Second

When the bird was right on sun angle, it ruffled its feathers, I held the shutter button down for a ten-frame burst. I kept two. I love each of them.

This image was also created on 13 August 2022 at the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens, NY. While seated on damp mud and working off the tilted rear monitor, I used the flattened, no-longer available except from BIRDS AS ART, Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 840mm) with The One, the Sony a1 Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. ISO 800: 1/1000 sec. at f/8. AWB at 7:59:40am on a sunny morning. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version. Image #3: Least Sandpiper juvenile ruffling version II

Why f/8?

As regular readers know, I usually work at the wide open aperture with the 600mm f/4 and the 1.4X TC. For all three of the juvie Least Sandpiper images above, I stopped down one full stop to f/8. Why? For just a tiny increase in depth of field to sharpen the face up a bit.

Understand that when working at point blank range with long effective focal lengths, depth-of-field is razor thin. PhotoPills shows that at f/5.6, dof in front and in back of the point of focus is effectively zero! At f/8, the total dof is .01 meters, 4/10 of a single inch, just 2/10 of an inch (less than 1/4 inch) in front of and behind the subject.

If you would like to learn when getting the legs and the feathers are the rear of the bird sharp is a ridiculous idea, check out my comments on the BPN thread here.

The Three Best From a Great East Pond Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Morning — give me two good seconds!

In the The Three Best From a Great East Pond Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Morning — give me two good seconds! blog post here, I like all three images equally — I could not pick a single favorite. Images #2 and #3 clearly offered a better look at the face of the tiny sandpiper, but the bird’s intent stare and the sharp tiny flying insect in #1 were very special. Choosing between the two ruffling images, #2 and #3, was equally difficult. While I liked the great view of the folded wing in Image #2, I loved seeing the spread primary feathers in Image #3.

Typos

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

Which of Today’s Four Featured Images is the Strongest Overall?

Please leave a comment and let us know why you made your choice. My favorite will likely surprise most folks.

Wanted to Buy

On the off chance that someone has a Sony 200-600mm G lens sitting on a shelf that they would like to get rid of for a decent price, please contact me via e-mail; I have a serious prospective buyer.

What’s Up?

Thanks to the ridiculous weather forecast, I enjoyed a full day of rest and catching up (mostly catching up) without making a single image.It was my first day off since 2 August. The rain all day with thunderstorms forecast was a bit off. It did not rain a single drop after 5am. By midday it was mostly sunny and the sun remained out until it clouded over at 6pm. The revised midday forecast had called for cloudy skies with rain and thunderstorms.

Today is Tuesday 23 August. The forecast for the morning is for cloudy with a SW wind. I woke early but decided to stay in again. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about two hours to prepare (including the time spent on the four new image optimizations) and makes one hundred fifty-one days in a row with a new one.

Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links that are found on most blog pages and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords to get 3% back on your credit card and enjoy free second-day air FedEx. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn!

Time is Running Out

Many folks are scheduled to join me at either Nickerson or JBWR in the next two weeks for an In-the-Field session or two. The first window for doing shorebirds at the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge has closed. The second window is from 24-26 August. I have a private client on the 26th. See the additional details below. Muhammad Arif enjoyed three In-the-Field sessions and made lots of great images with his R5. I hope to share some of them with you here soon. Carlotta Grenier came for her third session recently and Sanjeev Nagrath learned a ton during his three Nickerson Beach sessions. Sandy Brown will be flying in from Seattle for an afternoon at Nickerson and a morning at JBWR this coming week. I head south to catch the Auto train on 31 August.

Clockwise from the upper left corner back around to the center: Wilson’s Phalarope, JBWR; just fledged Common Tern, Nickerson; Black Skimmer, adult skimming, Nickerson; Black Skimmer killing tiny skimmer chick, Nickerson; American Oystercatcher foraging at sunrise, Nickerson; Common Tern chick swallowing baby bluefish, Nickerson; Short-billed Dowitcher, juvenile, double overhead wing stretch, JBWR; Black Skimmers, predawn flock blur, Nickerson; Black Skimmer, 10-day old chick, Nickerson. Click on the card to view a larger version. Nickerson Beach/East Pond JBWR composite

Nickerson Beach/East Pond at Jamaica Bay (JBWR) In-the Field Workshops

Both Nickerson Beach and the East Pond at JBWR offer some of the best midsummer bird photography on the planet. Hundreds of pairs or Black Skimmers and Common Terns along with dozens of pairs of American Oystercatchers breed at Nickerson each season so there are lots of chicks of all sizes and handsome fledged young birds to photograph. Provided that the water levels are low, hundreds of young shorebirds in their handsome fresh juvenile plumages stop by the pond each August on their way south.

Nickerson often reveals nature at it rawest, most basic level. Most days we get to photograph all sorts of dramatic behaviors ranging from skimmers and terns fishing and feeding (and tending) their young. There are often chances to shoot a variety of predatory encounters — gulls eating large skimmer chicks, skimmers attacking (and sometimes killing) skimmer babies, and Peregrine Falcons hunting. And rarely, if we are lucky, Peregrine Falcons catching! Consider joining me to learn a ton both about bird photography and the birds.

I head south on 31 August and should be back home on 1 September (barring anything unforeseen). I am offering In-the-Field sessions at both Nickerson Beach and the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. If you are interested, please get in touch via e-mail or text me at 863-221-2372.

Instagram

Follow me on Instagram here. I am trying to feature both new and old images, especially images that have not appeared recently on the blog. Or search for birds_as_art.

BIRDS AS ART Image Optimization Service (BAA IOS)

Send a PayPal for $62.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net or call Jim at 863-692-0906 and put $62.00 on your credit card. Pick one of your best images and upload the raw file using a large file sending service like Hightail or DropBox and then send me the link via e-mail. I will download and save your raw file, evaluate the exposure and sharpness, and optimize the image as if it were my own after converting the raw file in Adobe Camera Raw. Best of all, I will make a screen recording of the entire process and send you a link to the video to download, save and study.

Induro GIT 304L Price Drop

Amazingly, we have two, brand-new-in-the-box Induro GIT 304L tripods in stock. They are $699.00 each (were $799.00) and the price now includes the insured ground shipping to the lower 48 states. Weekday phone orders only: 863-692-0906. Order yours here while they last.

Please Remember

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

Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, is also available in the BAA Online Store, it would be great, and greatly appreciated, if you would opt to purchase from us. We will match any price. Please remember also to use my B&H affiliate links or to earn 3% cash back at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout for your major gear purchases. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And always earns my great appreciation.

Brand-New and As-Good-As-Ever Bedfords BAA Discount Policy

Folks who have fallen in love with Bedfords can now use the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout to enjoy a post-purchase, 3% off-statement credit (excluding taxes and shipping charges) on orders paid with a credit card. The 3% credit will be refunded to the card you used for your purchase. Be sure, also, to check the box for free shipping to enjoy free Second Day Air Fed-Ex. This offer does not apply to purchases of Classes, Gift Cards, or to any prior purchases.

Money Saving Reminder

Many have learned that if you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H and would like to enjoy getting 3% back on your credit card along with free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex Air shipping, your best bet is to click here, place an order with Bedfords, and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If an item is out of stock, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592 (Central time). Be sure to mention the BIRDSASART coupon code and check the box for Free Shipping. That will automatically upgrade to free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H and everywhere else. The waitlists 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 a 1, 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.

Important Note

As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small percentage when you purchase from Amazon after using any of the Amazon links on the blog (including the logo-link on the right side of each blog post page). My affiliate link works fine with Amazon Prime and using it will not cost you a single cent. Huge thanks, BTW 🙂

If You Enjoy the Blog …

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 (still!) save 3% on every order and enjoy free second-day air shipping. In these crazy times — I lost about fifty thousand dollars in income due to COVID 19 — remembering to use my B&H link or to shop at Bedfords will help me out a ton and be greatly appreciated. Overseas folks who cannot order from the US because of import fees, duties, and taxes, are invited to help out by clicking here to leave a blog thank you gift if they see fit.

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. If you are desperate, you can try me on my cell at 863-221-2372. Please leave a message and shoot me a text if I do not pick up.

This image was created on 21 August on an In-the-Field session at the north end of the East Pond at JBWR, Queens, NY. While seated on damp mud and working off the tilted rear monitor, I used the flattened, no-longer available except from BIRDS AS ART Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 840mm) with The One, the Sony a1 Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. ISO 1000: 1/800 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open). AWB at 4:12:52pm on a then partly sunny afternoon. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version. Image #1: Greater Yellowlegs squabbling

Getting Ready Quickly

When we first sat down on the mud, I chosen a shutter speed of 1/1000 and estimated the exposure by choosing ISO 800. I saw one lesser lying down in the water in a submissive posture. Almost immediately it was whacked by the juvenile on our left in the image. I fired off lots of frames and was lucky to get one nice juxtaposition where I could see the faces of both birds. There were two problems. At 1/1000 second, there was lots of motion blur. I applied Topaz Sharpen AI judiciously to the attacker’s head and bill, but the image quality does not pass muster when examined closely. In addition, I had misjudged the light by 1/3-stop; the image was over-exposed. As all the OvExp pixels were in the GREEN channel, saving the highlights during the raw conversion in Photoshop was easy.

Had action been expected, a shutter speed of either 1/2500 or 1/3200 second would have been called for and the image would have been a lot sharper.

The Question

Do you get a pass on unsharpness and poor image quality with images that portray spectacular action? When, and why or why not?

This image was also created on 21 August on an In-the-Field session at the north end of the East Pond at JBWR, Queens, NY. While seated on damp mud and working off the tilted rear monitor, I used the flattened, no-longer available except from BIRDS AS ART, Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter (at 1200mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). Shutter Priority at zero. The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with Exposure Compensation on the thumb dial. AUTO ISO set ISO 1600. 1/1000 sec. at f/9 (stopped down 1/3-stop). When evaluated in RawDigger, it was determined that the raw file exposure was solid perfect. AWB at 4:43:37am on a then partly cloudy afternoon. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #2: Fading, worn, molting adult White-rumped Sandpiper with tiny invertebrate prey item

White-rumped Sandpiper

There were about fifty white-rumpeds at the north end of the pond alone. I did the shorebird count for Manomet at the pond for five years beginning in 1983 or so. I am not sure what the record-high count for this species was, but am pretty sure that it would have been broken on Sunday.

The first clue to identifying this species is that they are significantly larger than the almost always more numerous Semipalmated Sandpipers. Then note the long wings that extend well past the tail, the prominent eyeline, the bit of orange at the base of the lower mandible, the thin streaks on the side of the breast and the flanks, and the suffused grayish hood about the head and the upper breast.

Learn a ton more about shorebirds in my softcover book Shorebirds: Beautiful Beachcombers.

This image was also created on 21 August on an In-the-Field session at the north end of the East Pond at JBWR, Queens, NY. Again, while seated on damp mud and working off the titled rear monitor, I used the flattened, no-longer available except from BIRDS AS ART, Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter (at 1200mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). Shutter Priority at zero. The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with Exposure Compensation on the thumb dial. AUTO ISO set ISO 4000. 1/500 sec. at f/8 (wide open). When evaluated in RawDigger, it was determined that the raw file exposure was shown to be dead-solid perfect. AWB at 6:26:54am on a then very cloudy, dark afternoon. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #3: Bright juvenile plumage Short-billed Dowitcher

Amazing Technology

Creating super-sharp quality images at 1200mm using ISO 4000 is quite remarkable indeed. When I saw ISO 4000, I was wishing that I had had the 1.4X TC on instead of the 2X. The bird was so large in the frame that I had to add canvas top and right. That was done quickly and easily using Content-Aware Crop.

The Lesson

With the best modern mirrorless camera bodies, there is no reason at all to be scared of the high ISOs. Not to mention Topaz DeNoise AI. As Topaz is discontinuing its affiliate program, the Topaz Getting Started Guide will soon be available in BAA Online Store for $10.00.

This image was created on 21 August on an In-the-Field session at the north end of the East Pond at JBWR, Queens, NY. While seated on damp mud and working off the tilted rear monitor, I used the flattened, no-longer available except from BIRDS AS ART, While seated on damp sand I used the lowered, no-longer available except from BIRDS AS ART, Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 840mm) with The One, the Sony a1 Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. ISO 1000: 1/800 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open). AWB at 4:12:52pm on a then partly sunny afternoon. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version. Image #4: Juvenal plumage Short-billed Dowitcher preening

The Perfect Preening Pose and Head Angle

Once I switched out the 2X for the 1.4X, I had a lot more room in the frame for the dowitchers. Short-bills are huge compared to Semipalmated Sandpipers and Plovers. And they kept getting closer and closer to me.

For years I have been preaching that the best preening images will offer a clear look at the bird’s face and eye while the head and bill are parallel to the sensor, i.e., to the back of the camera body. Image #4 fills that bill perfectly.

The High Key Look

I love the high key look of Images #3 and #4. The trick is to push the exposure far to the right with some over-exposure of the water. That to yield a correct exposure for the darker subject.

Your Favorite Image?

All are invited to leave a comment letting us know which of today’s seven featured images is their favorite. Please do not choose #2 as it is intended for comparative ID purpose only. And please let us know why you made your choice.

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

Multiple IPT veteran Geri Georg is offering a Canon 100-400mm EF f/4.5-5.6L IS II zoom lens in excellent-plus to near-mint condition for a very low $1399.00 The sale includes the original box, the front and rear lens caps, the carrying case with strap, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-40 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Geri via e-mail or by phone at 1-970-219-4493 (Mountain time zone).

This incredibly versatile zoom lens — with its amazing .98 meter close focus — was my favorite Canon telephoto zoom lens ever. By far. It is easy to hand hold, great for tight portraits, for birds in flight, for quasi-macro stuff, and lots more. For flight, it is fabulous with an EOS R, R5, R6, or R7! This lens sells new for $2399.00 so you can save a handsome $1000.00 by grabbing Geri’s lens right now. artie

What’s Up?

Saturday began with quite a bit of cloud cover. There was some lovely color right on the horizon that resulted in some pink reflections on the wash* and the wet sand. I tried some blurs. Once it clouded over completely, I photographed some young Black-backed Gulls standing on the beach at the edge of the Atlantic. Then I ran into student/friend Muhammad Arif and his Mom on the beach. He told me that there was an un-banded juvenile Piping Plover foraging just inside the first jetty. It was a long walk, but I was well rewarded. Photos soon. On the long walk back to the car I tried to make some nice images of the adult Great Black-backed Gulls up on the berm but did not do too well. Nonetheless, it was a great morning, in part because it was so different from what you might expect at Nickerson Beach.

Wash, swash, or forewash, in geography: a turbulent layer of water that washes up on the beach after an incoming wave has broken.*

With a southeast wind and blue skies at Nickerson in the afternoon, I sat on the sand well back from the colony ropes and shot the midair skimmer fights. I have high hopes for a few that I saw while peeking at a few with Playback. I ran down to the western colony for what was a spectacular sunset but might have arrived just a bit too late.

Today is Sunday 21 August. The forecast for Lido Beach is for cloudy with a SE breeze. Not great, not terrible. I will be heading back to Nickerson to see what’s around and maybe find something different. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about two hours to prepare (including the time spent on the seven new image optimizations) and makes one hundred fifty days in a row with a new one.

Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links that are found on most blog pages and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords to get 3% back on your credit card and enjoy free second-day air FedEx. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn!

Time is Running Out

Many folks are scheduled to join me at either Nickerson or JBWR in the next two weeks for an In-the-Field session or two. The first window for doing shorebirds at the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge has closed. The second window is from 24-26 August. I have a private client on the 26th. See the additional details below. Muhammad Arif enjoyed three In-the-Field sessions and made lots of great images with his R5. I hope to share some of them with you here soon. Carlotta Grenier came for her third session recently and Sanjeev Nagrath learned a ton during his three Nickerson Beach sessions. Sandy Brown will be flying in from Seattle for an afternoon at Nickerson and a morning at JBWR this coming week. I head south to catch the Auto train on 31 August.

Clockwise from the upper left corner back around to the center: Wilson’s Phalarope, JBWR; just fledged Common Tern, Nickerson; Black Skimmer, adult skimming, Nickerson; Black Skimmer killing tiny skimmer chick, Nickerson; American Oystercatcher foraging at sunrise, Nickerson; Common Tern chick swallowing baby bluefish, Nickerson; Short-billed Dowitcher, juvenile, double overhead wing stretch, JBWR; Black Skimmers, predawn flock blur, Nickerson; Black Skimmer, 10-day old chick, Nickerson. Click on the card to view a larger version. Nickerson Beach/East Pond JBWR composite

Nickerson Beach/East Pond at Jamaica Bay (JBWR) In-the Field Workshops

Both Nickerson Beach and the East Pond at JBWR offer some of the best midsummer bird photography on the planet. Hundreds of pairs or Black Skimmers and Common Terns along with dozens of pairs of American Oystercatchers breed at Nickerson each season so there are lots of chicks of all sizes and handsome fledged young birds to photograph. Provided that the water levels are low, hundreds of young shorebirds in their handsome fresh juvenile plumages stop by the pond each August on their way south.

Nickerson often reveals nature at it rawest, most basic level. Most days we get to photograph all sorts of dramatic behaviors ranging from skimmers and terns fishing and feeding (and tending) their young. There are often chances to shoot a variety of predatory encounters — gulls eating large skimmer chicks, skimmers attacking (and sometimes killing) skimmer babies, and Peregrine Falcons hunting. And rarely, if we are lucky, Peregrine Falcons catching! Consider joining me to learn a ton both about bird photography and the birds.

I head south on 31 August and should be back home on 1 September (barring anything unforeseen). I am offering In-the-Field sessions at both Nickerson Beach and the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. If you are interested, please get in touch via e-mail or text me at 863-221-2372.

Whether you are a local or would like to fly in for several days of instruction — a sort of private, or small group. — at worst, IPT, LMK via e-mail so that we can work on a schedule that could possibly include both Nickerson and Jamaica Bay.

Instagram

Follow me on Instagram here. I am trying to feature both new and old images, especially images that have not appeared recently on the blog. Or search for birds_as_art.

BIRDS AS ART Image Optimization Service (BAA IOS)

Send a PayPal for $62.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net or call Jim at 863-692-0906 and put $62.00 on your credit card. Pick one of your best images and upload the raw file using a large file sending service like Hightail or DropBox and then send me the link via e-mail. I will download and save your raw file, evaluate the exposure and sharpness, and optimize the image as if it were my own after converting the raw file in Adobe Camera Raw. Best of all, I will make a screen recording of the entire process and send you a link to the video to download, save and study.

Induro GIT 304L Price Drop

Amazingly, we have two, brand-new-in-the-box Induro GIT 304L tripods in stock. They are $699.00 each (were $799.00) and the price now includes the insured ground shipping to the lower 48 states. Weekday phone orders only: 863-692-0906. Order yours here while they last.

Please Remember

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

Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, is also available in the BAA Online Store, it would be great, and greatly appreciated, if you would opt to purchase from us. We will match any price. Please remember also to use my B&H affiliate links or to earn 3% cash back at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout for your major gear purchases. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And always earns my great appreciation.

Brand-New and As-Good-As-Ever Bedfords BAA Discount Policy

Folks who have fallen in love with Bedfords can now use the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout to enjoy a post-purchase, 3% off-statement credit (excluding taxes and shipping charges) on orders paid with a credit card. The 3% credit will be refunded to the card you used for your purchase. Be sure, also, to check the box for free shipping to enjoy free Second Day Air Fed-Ex. This offer does not apply to purchases of Classes, Gift Cards, or to any prior purchases.

Money Saving Reminder

Many have learned that if you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H and would like to enjoy getting 3% back on your credit card along with free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex Air shipping, your best bet is to click here, place an order with Bedfords, and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If an item is out of stock, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592 (Central time). Be sure to mention the BIRDSASART coupon code and check the box for Free Shipping. That will automatically upgrade to free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H and everywhere else. The waitlists 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 a 1, 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.

Important Note

As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small percentage when you purchase from Amazon after using any of the Amazon links on the blog (including the logo-link on the right side of each blog post page). My affiliate link works fine with Amazon Prime and using it will not cost you a single cent. Huge thanks, BTW 🙂

If You Enjoy the Blog …

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 (still!) save 3% on every order and enjoy free second-day air shipping. In these crazy times — I lost about fifty thousand dollars in income due to COVID 19 — remembering to use my B&H link or to shop at Bedfords will help me out a ton and be greatly appreciated. Overseas folks who cannot order from the US because of import fees, duties, and taxes, are invited to help out by clicking here to leave a blog thank you gift if they see fit.

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. If you are desperate, you can try me on my cell at 863-221-2372. Please leave a message and shoot me a text if I do not pick up.

This image was created on 18 August 2022 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. While standing, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 563mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 4000 second at f/6.3 (wide-open) in Manual mode. AWB at 9:06:54am on a sunny morning. RawDigger showed the exposure to be perfect. Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #1: Lesser Black-backed Gull in relatively cold light

Wind-Against-Sun Birds on the Ground

With the sun a bit north of east and coming over your shoulder and the wind blowing in your face from the west/southwest, most birds will be facing away from you mosts of the time. Foraging birds may occasionally turn toward you so that they are square to the sensor. Then you just need to check that the head is not turned away from you. Note that the bird in image #1 is angled a bit away from me and the plane of the sensor. The trick then is to wait for the look-back head turn. When this bird obliged, I pressed the shutter button.

Note the quality of the light at nine in the morning and compare it with the quality of light in Images # 4, 5, and 6, those all made before seven am on a sunny morning. What differences are you seeing?

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull is slimmer and smaller than its larger and more robust cousin, Great Black-backed Gull. Adults like this bird have yellow legs. The long wings protruding well beyond the tail give it is slimmer, elongated look. Five decades ago, lesser was extremely rare anywhere in North America but it can now be found regularly in many locations in eastern North America. There are dozens to hundreds of Great Black-backed Gulls on the beach at Nickerson for most of the year. Lessers are uncommon but fairly regular. On rare occasion, I’ve seen multiple lessers on the beach at once.

This image was created on 20 August 2022 at at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. While standing, I used the no-longer available except from BIRDS AS ART, Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 840mm) with The One, the Sony a1 Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. ISO 640: 1/800 sec. at f/7.1. AWB at 8:28:55am on a partly sunny morning. Tracking: Spot S/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version. Image #2: Great Black-backed Gull worn adult

Great Black-backed Gull

Image #2 is presented for comparative identification purposes. Note that great black-backeds are large, stocky gulls that dwarf their smaller cousins, the lesser black-backeds. In the northeastern US, they are the second most common large gull species aside from Herring Gull. Note the flesh-colored legs and that the wings protrude just a bit beyond the end of the tail.

This image was created on 18 August 2022 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. While standing, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 4000 second at f/6.3 (wide-open) in Manual mode. AWB at 9:08:47am on a sunny morning. RawDigger showed the exposure to be perfect. Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #3: Lesser Black-backed Gull flying away in relatively cold light

Wind-Against-Sun Flight

With the sun a bit north of east and the wind blowing in your face from the west/southwest, most birds will be flying away from you into the wind. Sometimes, it pays to push the shutter button. Or not? I like this one.

This image was created on 19 August 2022 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. While seated on damp sand, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 840mm)) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with Exposure Compensation on the Thumb Dial. Shutter Priority + 1.3-stops. Auto ISO set ISO 500. 1/500 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open). AWB at 6:24:23am just after sunrise. RawDigger showed the exposure to be dead-solid perfect. Tracking: Spot S — AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #4: Lesser Black-backed Gull backlit at sunrise

Backlight at Sunrise

I have been working hard on the backlit at sunrise images at Nickerson. I stumbled upon a great one in 2014, but never followed up on the concept. This year, I have been hammering it on every clear or mostly sunny sunrise. My recent successes were published in the Sleep-deprived at Nickerson Beach for Good Reason blog post here. And another was featured yesterday’s miracle-card-came-back post.

The more I try for them, the more I learn. Want to learn what I know? Join me for an In-the-Field Session at Nickerson on a clear morning when I am not at JBWR.

This image was created on 19 August 2022 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. While standing, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 800 second. 1/1000 sec. at f/6.3 (wide-open) in Manual mode. AWB at 6:36:58am on a sunny morning. RawDigger showed the exposure to be perfect. Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #5: Lesser Black-backed Gull drinking in surf

Going for Behavior: Drinking

After I make the desired portrait image, I strive to create some decent images of various behaviors. Here, the bird has taken a sip of salt water. The salt is extruded through the nares, the nasal opening in the bill.

This image was created on 19 August 2022 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. While standing, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 800 second. 1/1600 sec. at f/6.3 (wide-open) in Manual mode. AWB at 6:40:22am on a sunny morning. RawDigger showed the exposure to be 1/3-stop under. Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #6: Lesser Black-backed Gull hunting sand crabs

Going for Behavior: Foraging

Here, the gull is hunting for the same sand crabs that the terns cherish. Whenever the bird caught a crab — they were usually successful when the rushed out to the base of a wave, they turned away from me into the wind. Bummer.

This image was created on 19 August 2022 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. While standing, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ) The exposure was determined using Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 800 second. 1/1600 sec. at f/6.3 (wide-open) in Manual mode. AWB at 6:44:17am on a sunny morning. RawDigger showed the exposure to be 1/3-stop under. Tracking: Zone AF-C with Bird Face/Eye Detection performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #7: Lesser Black-backed Gull posing

The Sweetest Background and the Most Elegant Pose?

The square-to-the-sensor subject, the perfect head angle, the sweet light, the raised foot, the tiny bit of seaweed on one leg, and the still blue water combine to make this one special. Is it the best of the lot?

Typos

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

Wanted to Buy

I have a serious buyer looking for a used Sony a9 II in excellent or better condition. If you have one sitting on a shelf doing nothing, please contact me via e-mail.

What’s Up?

Thursday morning at Nickerson was wind against sun with clear skies and a northwest wind right in our face. I knew the night before when and where we would have to be to get some good chances. My knowledge paid off in spades. Despite the poor conditions, Sanjeev and I both made some very good images.

On Thursday afternoon Anke Frohlich and I spent an hour with Marc Wortsman setting up his Sony A6400. We got the basics covered but were mystified by a few things. We got to Nickerson at about 6:00pm and reviewed some bird photography basics. A huge cloud in the west led to a ton of fun creating pleasing blurs as big flocks of skimmers blasted off repeatedly.

In the A Great East Pond Morning. And the Huge Sony Advantage blog post here, I shared five really good images and mentioned that I would be sharing what I thought were the three best images from that fabulous day in a future blog post. Today is the day.

There are only three great days left for the East Pond. I have a private client on 26 August. That leaves the mornings of 24 & 25 August if you would like to join me for an In-the Field session at JBWR and learn your way around the tame, young sandpipers and plovers. There are still lots of dates open for Nickerson before I head back south at the end of the month. Details below.

Today is Friday 19 August. The forecast for the morning at Lido Beach is for more of the same. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about two hours to prepare (including the time spent on the three image optimizations) and makes one hundred forty-eight days in a row with a new one.

Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links that are found on most blog pages and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords to get 3% back on your credit card and enjoy free second-day air FedEx. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn!

Time is Running Out

Many folks are scheduled to join me at either Nickerson or JBWR in the next two weeks for an In-the-Field session or two. The first window for doing shorebirds at the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge has closed. The second window is from 24-26 August.As above, I have a private client on the 26th. See the additional details below. Muhammad Arif enjoyed three In-the-Field sessions and made lots of great images with his R5. I hope to share some of them with you here soon. Carlotta Grenier came for her third session recently and Sanjeev Nagrath learned a ton during his three Nickerson Beach sessions. Sandy Brown will be flying in from Seattle for an afternoon at Nickerson and a morning at JBWR.

Clockwise from the upper left corner back around to the center: Wilson’s Phalarope, JBWR; just fledged Common Tern, Nickerson; Black Skimmer, adult skimming, Nickerson; Black Skimmer killing tiny skimmer chick, Nickerson; American Oystercatcher foraging at sunrise, Nickerson; Common Tern chick swallowing baby bluefish, Nickerson; Short-billed Dowitcher, juvenile, double overhead wing stretch, JBWR; Black Skimmers, predawn flock blur, Nickerson; Black Skimmer, 10-day old chick, Nickerson. Click on the card to view a larger version. Nickerson Beach/East Pond JBWR composite

Nickerson Beach/East Pond at Jamaica Bay (JBWR) In-the Field Workshops

Both Nickerson Beach and the East Pond at JBWR offer some of the best midsummer bird photography on the planet. Hundreds of pairs or Black Skimmers and Common Terns along with dozens of pairs of American Oystercatchers breed at Nickerson each season so there are lots of chicks of all sizes and handsome fledged young birds to photograph. Provided that the water levels are low, hundreds of young shorebirds in their handsome fresh juvenile plumages stop by the pond each August on their way south.

Nickerson often reveals nature at it rawest, most basic level. Most days we get to photograph all sorts of dramatic behaviors ranging from skimmers and terns fishing and feeding (and tending) their young. There are often chances to shoot a variety of predatory encounters — gulls eating large skimmer chicks, skimmers attacking (and sometimes killing) skimmer babies, and Peregrine Falcons hunting. And rarely, if we are lucky, Peregrine Falcons catching! Consider joining me to learn a ton both about bird photography and the birds.

I head south on 31 August and should be back home on 1 September (barring anything unforeseen). I am offering In-the-Field sessions at both Nickerson Beach and the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. If you are interested, please get in touch via e-mail or text me at 863-221-2372.

Whether you are a local or would like to fly in for several days of instruction — a sort of private, or small group. — at worst, IPT, LMK via e-mail so that we can work on a schedule that could possibly include both Nickerson and Jamaica Bay.

Instagram

Follow me on Instagram here. I am trying to feature both new and old images, especially images that have not appeared recently on the blog. Or search for birds_as_art.

BIRDS AS ART Image Optimization Service (BAA IOS)

Send a PayPal for $62.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net or call Jim at 863-692-0906 and put $62.00 on your credit card. Pick one of your best images and upload the raw file using a large file sending service like Hightail or DropBox and then send me the link via e-mail. I will download and save your raw file, evaluate the exposure and sharpness, and optimize the image as if it were my own after converting the raw file in Adobe Camera Raw. Best of all, I will make a screen recording of the entire process and send you a link to the video to download, save and study.

Induro GIT 304L Price Drop

Amazingly, we have two, brand-new-in-the-box Induro GIT 304L tripods in stock. They are $699.00 each (were $799.00) and the price now includes the insured ground shipping to the lower 48 states. Weekday phone orders only: 863-692-0906. Order yours here while they last.

Please Remember

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

Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, is also available in the BAA Online Store, it would be great, and greatly appreciated, if you would opt to purchase from us. We will match any price. Please remember also to use my B&H affiliate links or to earn 3% cash back at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout for your major gear purchases. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And always earns my great appreciation.

Brand-New and As-Good-As-Ever Bedfords BAA Discount Policy

Folks who have fallen in love with Bedfords can now use the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout to enjoy a post-purchase, 3% off-statement credit (excluding taxes and shipping charges) on orders paid with a credit card. The 3% credit will be refunded to the card you used for your purchase. Be sure, also, to check the box for free shipping to enjoy free Second Day Air Fed-Ex. This offer does not apply to purchases of Classes, Gift Cards, or to any prior purchases.

Money Saving Reminder

Many have learned that if you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H and would like to enjoy getting 3% back on your credit card along with free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex Air shipping, your best bet is to click here, place an order with Bedfords, and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If an item is out of stock, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592 (Central time). Be sure to mention the BIRDSASART coupon code and check the box for Free Shipping. That will automatically upgrade to free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H and everywhere else. The waitlists 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 a 1, 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.

Important Note

As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small percentage when you purchase from Amazon after using any of the Amazon links on the blog (including the logo-link on the right side of each blog post page). My affiliate link works fine with Amazon Prime and using it will not cost you a single cent. Huge thanks, BTW 🙂

If You Enjoy the Blog …

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 (still!) save 3% on every order and enjoy free second-day air shipping. In these crazy times — I lost about fifty thousand dollars in income due to COVID 19 — remembering to use my B&H link or to shop at Bedfords will help me out a ton and be greatly appreciated. Overseas folks who cannot order from the US because of import fees, duties, and taxes, are invited to help out by clicking here to leave a blog thank you gift if they see fit.

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. If you are desperate, you can try me on my cell at 863-221-2372. Please leave a message and shoot me a text if I do not pick up.

This image was also created on 13 August 2022 at the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens, NY. While seated on damp mud and working off the tilted rear monitor, I used the flattened, no-longer available except from BIRDS AS ART, Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 840mm) with The One, the Sony a1 Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. ISO 800: 1/1000 sec. at f/8. AWB at 7:59:39 on a sunny morning. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version. Image #1: Least Sandpiper juvenile looking for prey (with small flying insect)

The First Frame

The Least Sandpiper landed to our left and foraged right toward sun angle. This was the first keeper in a two-second series. I am absolutely over-the-moon about the sharp flying insect.

This image was also created on 13 August 2022 at the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens, NY. While seated on damp mud and working off the tilted rear monitor, I used the flattened, no-longer available except from BIRDS AS ART, Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 840mm) with The One, the Sony a1 Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. ISO 800: 1/1000 sec. at f/8. AWB at 7:59:40am on a sunny morning. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version. Image #2: Least Sandpiper juvenile ruffling version I

The First Keeper from the Second Second

When the bird was right on sun angle, it ruffled its feathers, I held the shutter button down for a ten-frame burst. I kept two. I love each of them. Which one do you like best, version I or version II?

This image was also created on 13 August 2022 at the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens, NY. While seated on damp mud and working off the tilted rear monitor, I used the flattened, no-longer available except from BIRDS AS ART, Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter (at 840mm) with The One, the Sony a1 Mirrorless Camera. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the Thumb Wheel. ISO 800: 1/1000 sec. at f/8. AWB at 7:59:40am on a sunny morning. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the larger version. Image #3: Least Sandpiper juvenile ruffling version II

Why f/8?

As regular readers know, I usually work at the wide open aperture with the 600mm f/4 and the 1.4X TC. For all three of today’s featured images, I stopped down one full stop to f/8. Why?

Unsolicited via e-mail from Pete Myers

I just spent 4 days in the field in a graduate course in bird photography taught by Artie Morris at Fort DeSoto. After almost 50 years of experience pointing cameras at birds from the Arctic to Tierra del Fuego, New Zealand and beyond, I thought I was good enough. But what I learned from Artie in just four days has taken me to a whole new level. As he aptly puts it, “birds as art,” not simply bird photography. One of those 4 days was the most satisfying I’d ever experienced, anywhere. The IPT left me euphoric about what I’d learned, and frighteningly committed to recreating my portfolio with the techniques and insights he taught me.

Fort DeSoto in fall is rife with tame birds. All the images on this card were created at Fort DeSoto in either late September or very early October. I hope that you can join me there this fall. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version. Clockwise from upper left to center: Long-billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit, Caspian Tern, Great Egret, Sandwich Tern with fish, Willet, Black-bellied Plover threat display, Snowy Egret, 2-year old Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron, juvenile Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron.

The Fall 2022 Fort DeSoto Instructional Photo-Tours

Fall 2022 Fort DeSoto Instructional Photo-Tour #1

3 1/2 Days: Tuesday 27 September through the morning session on Friday 30 September 2022. $1899.00 includes three working lunches. Limit six photographers/Openings five.

Fall 2022 Fort DeSoto Instructional Photo-Tour #2

3 1/2 Days: 7 October through the morning session on Monday 10 October 2022. $1899.00 includes three working lunches. Limit six photographers.

Fall 2022 Fort DeSoto Instructional Photo-Tour #3

3 1/2 Days: Monday 31 October through the morning session on Thursday 3 November 2022. $1899.00 includes three working lunches. Limit six photographers.

Fort DeSoto, located just south of St. Petersburg, FL, is a mecca for migrant shorebirds and terns in fall. There they join hundreds of egrets, herons, night-herons, and gulls that winter on the T-shaped peninsula. With any luck at all, we should get to photograph one of Florida’s most desirable shorebird species: Marbled Godwit. Black-bellied Plover and Willet are easy, American Oystercatcher is pretty much guaranteed. Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, and White Ibis are easy as well and we will almost surely come up with a tame Yellow-crowned Night-Heron or two. And we will get to do some Brown Pelican flight photography. In addition, Royal, Sandwich, Forster’s, and Caspian Terns will likely provide us with some good flight opportunities as well. Though not guaranteed, Roseate Spoonbill and Wood Stork might well be expected. And we will be on the lookout for a migrant passerine fallout in the event of a thunderstorm or two.

On this IPT, all will learn the basics and fine points of digital exposure. Nikon and Canon folks will learn to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure, and SONY folks will learn to use Zebras so that they can be sure of making excellent exposures before pressing the shutter button. Everyone will learn how to approach free and wild birds without disturbing them, to understand and predict bird behavior, to identify many species of shorebirds, to spot the good situations, to choose the best perspective, to see and understand the light, and to design pleasing images by mastering your camera’s AF system. Most importantly, you will surely learn to evaluate wind and sky conditions and understand how they affect bird photography. And you will learn how and why to work in Manual mode (even if you’re scared of it). The best news is that you will be able to take everything you learn home with you so that you will be a better photographer wherever and whenever you photograph.

There will be a Photoshop/image review session during or after lunch (included) each full day. That will be followed by Instructor Nap Time.

These IPTs will run with only a single registrant (though that is not unlikely to happen). The best airport is Tampa (TPA). Once you register, you will receive an e-mail with Gulfport AirBnB information. If you register soon and would like to share an AirBnB with me, shoot me an e-mail. Other possibilities including taking a cab to and from the airport to our AirBnB and riding with me. This saves you both gas and the cost of a rental car.

A $600 deposit is due when you sign up and is payable by credit card. Balances must be paid by check two months before the trip. Your deposit is non-refundable unless the IPT sells out with six folks, so please check your plans carefully before committing. You can register by calling Jim or Jennifer during weekday business hours at 863-692-0906 with a credit card in hand, or by sending a check as follows: make the check out to: BIRDS AS ART and send it via US mail here: BIRDS AS ART, PO BOX 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855. You will receive a confirmation e-mail with detailed instructions, clothing, and gear advice. Please shoot me an e-mail if you plan to register or if you have any questions.

Clockwise from upper left to center: Long-billed Curlew, juvenile Tricolored Heron, Marbled Godwits, Great Blue Heron, juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper, Wood Stork, smiling Sea Scallop, Ruddy Turnstone scavenging needlefish, Great Blue Heron sunset silhouette at my secret spot, and southbound migrant tern flock blur.

Up Early, Stay Out Late!

Obviously, folks attending an IPT will be out in the field early and stay late to take advantage of the sweetest light and sunrise and sunset colors (when possible). The good news is that the days are relatively short in early fall. I really love it when I am leaving the beach on a sunny morning after a great session just as a carful or two of well-rested photographers are arriving. The length of cloudy morning sessions will often be extended. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

Typos

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

iPhone Favor

If you have an old iPhone — the older the better — that is sitting in a drawer, unused, please consider sending it as a gift to my 14-year old grandson, Idris Reimov. He is collecting them. Please shoot me an e-mail for the address. Many thanks, much love. artie

What’s Up?

Conditions were dead-solid perfect at Nickerson on Tuesday morning with a brisk NE wind, but the action was a bit slow and the Monday’s light clouds never materialized. We did, however, have a very good morning and Muhammad learned a ton, as always. Early on, I got us on some Black Skimmers bathing in the ocean. After that, our best chances were with flying and fishing terns and with two pairs of Common Tern chicks.

On Tuesday afternoon with a strong east wind in the forecast, I headed to Ronkonkoma to have dinner with younger daughter Alissa and her family. Today is Wednesday 17 August. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about an hour to prepare and makes one hundred forty-six days in a row with a new one.

Many folks are scheduled to join me at either Nickerson or JBWR in the coming weeks for an In-the-Field session or two. The first window for doing shorebirds at the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge has closed. The second window is from 24-26 August. See the additional details below. Muhammad Arif enjoyed there In-the-Field sessions and made lots of great images with his R5. I hope to share some of them with you here soon. Carlotta Grenier is coming for her third session this morning and will joined by first-timer Sanjeev Nagrath who is staying for the afternoon and the following morning. Sandy Brown is flying in from Seattle for an afternoon at Nickerson and a morning on JBWR. And Marc Wortsman will be coming for lessons on his Sony a6400 as soon as we get an afternoon west wind.

Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links that are found on most blog pages and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords to get 3% back on your credit card and enjoy free second-day air FedEx. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn!

The Howdy to the World Exercise — Worth Repeating!

On Becoming Less Judgmental

As I mentioned here previously (this excerpt is adapted from the blog post here), one of the issues that I worked on at The March 2017 School for The Work was my being too judgmental. As Byron Katie says often, “We’re human. We judge. That’s our job. That’s who we are.” I have always seen myself as friendly. When photographing the nesting Brandt’s Cormorants and most recently, the killer male Anna’s hummingbird while standing on the sidewalk at La Jolla, I say “Hi” to lots of folks. But not to everyone. This one looks unhappy. This one is too obese. That one is smoking. She is too beautiful. That one will not like me. He is not making eye contact. And that one is surely too homeless.

On my recent visit, I came up with the following exercise: smile and offer a friendly “Howdy” to everyone I see who walks by (when I am not actively photographing). For the most part, that eliminates a lot of the having to judge the folks who pass by (but not all of it — we are human, that’s what we do). The second part of the exercise is practicing withholding judgment based on the reaction of the person you’ve said “Hi” to. You look someone right in the eye, smile and say “Howdy,” and they walk by staring straight ahead without so much as a smile. What would your story be? Is it true?

Having done this exercise for about 12 hours over four days while photographing in La Jolla years ago, I have learned that we are all the same, that we are all connected. Folks whom I might have previously judged as not worth a “Howdy” often stopped and chatted for minutes. A beautiful woman from Columbia and her three younger lady friends from Japan hung out for ten minutes learning about the hummer that posed for today’s featured image. There were hugs and smiles all around when they left. And several times folks who had stopped by wound up pointing out to me that I had missed seeing the bird come back and re-land.

Try giving out the love; it just might come back to you in spades.

Clockwise from the upper left corner back around to the center: Wilson’s Phalarope, JBWR; just fledged Common Tern, Nickerson; Black Skimmer, adult skimming, Nickerson; Black Skimmer killing tiny skimmer chick, Nickerson; American Oystercatcher foraging at sunrise, Nickerson; Common Tern chick swallowing baby bluefish, Nickerson; Short-billed Dowitcher, juvenile, double overhead wing stretch, JBWR; Black Skimmers, predawn flock blur, Nickerson; Black Skimmer, 10-day old chick, Nickerson. Click on the card to view a larger version. Nickerson Beach/East Pond JBWR composite

Nickerson Beach/East Pond at Jamaica Bay (JBWR) In-the Field Workshops

Both Nickerson Beach and the East Pond at JBWR offer some of the best midsummer bird photography on the planet. Hundreds of pairs or Black Skimmers and Common Terns along with more than a dozen pairs of American Oystercatchers breed at Nickerson each season so there are lots of chicks of all sizes and handsome fledged young to photograph. Provided that the water levels are low, hundreds of young shorebirds in their handsome fresh juvenile plumages stop by the pond each August on their way south.

Nickerson often reveals nature at it rawest, most basic level. Most days we get to photograph all sorts of dramatic behaviors ranging from skimmers and terns fishing and feeding (and tending) their you. There are often chances to shoot a variety of predatory encounters — gulls eating large skimmer chicks, skimmers eating skimmer babies, and Peregrine Falcons hunting. And rarely, if we are lucky, Peregrine Falcons catching! Consider joining me to learn a ton both about bird photography and the birds.

I am taking the Auto Train north on 31 July and will happily spend all of August on Long Island. I head south on 31 August and should be back home on 1 September (barring anything unforeseen). I am offering In-the-Field sessions at both Nickerson Beach and the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. If you are interested, please get in touch via e-mail or text me at 863-221-2372.

Whether you are a local or would like to fly in for several days of instruction — a sort of private, or small group. — at worst, IPT, LMK via e-mail so that we can work on a schedule that could possibly include both Nickerson and Jamaica Bay.

Instagram

Follow me on Instagram here. I am trying to feature both new and old images, especially images that have not appeared recently on the blog. Or search for birds_as_art.

BIRDS AS ART Image Optimization Service (BAA IOS)

Send a PayPal for $62.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net or call Jim at 863-692-0906 and put $62.00 on your credit card. Pick one of your best images and upload the raw file using a large file sending service like Hightail or DropBox and then send me the link via e-mail. I will download and save your raw file, evaluate the exposure and sharpness, and optimize the image as if it were my own after converting the raw file in Adobe Camera Raw. Best of all, I will make a screen recording of the entire process and send you a link to the video to download, save and study.

Induro GIT 304L Price Drop

Amazingly, we have two, brand-new-in-the-box Induro GIT 304L tripods in stock. They are $699.00 each (were $799.00) and the price now includes the insured ground shipping to the lower 48 states. Weekday phone orders only: 863-692-0906. Order yours here while they last.

Please Remember

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

Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords, is also available in the BAA Online Store, it would be great, and greatly appreciated, if you would opt to purchase from us. We will match any price. Please remember also to use my B&H affiliate links or to earn 3% cash back at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout for your major gear purchases. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And always earns my great appreciation.

Brand-New and As-Good-As-Ever Bedfords BAA Discount Policy

Folks who have fallen in love with Bedfords can now use the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout to enjoy a post-purchase, 3% off-statement credit (excluding taxes and shipping charges) on orders paid with a credit card. The 3% credit will be refunded to the card you used for your purchase. Be sure, also, to check the box for free shipping to enjoy free Second Day Air Fed-Ex. This offer does not apply to purchases of Classes, Gift Cards, or to any prior purchases.

Money Saving Reminder

Many have learned that if you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H and would like to enjoy getting 3% back on your credit card along with free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex Air shipping, your best bet is to click here, place an order with Bedfords, and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If an item is out of stock, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592 (Central time). Be sure to mention the BIRDSASART coupon code and check the box for Free Shipping. That will automatically upgrade to free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H and everywhere else. The waitlists 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 a 1, 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.

Important Note

As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small percentage when you purchase from Amazon after using any of the Amazon links on the blog (including the logo-link on the right side of each blog post page). My affiliate link works fine with Amazon Prime and using it will not cost you a single cent. Huge thanks, BTW 🙂

If You Enjoy the Blog …

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 (still!) save 3% on every order and enjoy free second-day air shipping. In these crazy times — I lost about fifty thousand dollars in income due to COVID 19 — remembering to use my B&H link or to shop at Bedfords will help me out a ton and be greatly appreciated. Overseas folks who cannot order from the US because of import fees, duties, and taxes, are invited to help out by clicking here to leave a blog thank you gift if they see fit.

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. If you are desperate, you can try me on my cell at 863-221-2372. Please leave a message and shoot me a text if I do not pick up.

The Photo Mechanic screen capture for the Anna’s Hummingbird, male singing image

Your Raw Files Should Look Washed Out

Does the file above looked washed out? It should. Raw files for images made in soft or low light should always looked washed out. Why? If they look good on the back of the camera, your image is well under-exposed. It will be nosier than properly exposed files, the colors will be muddier, and the file sizes will be smaller with less color information.

The washed out image proved to be (somewhat amazingly, even to me), about 1/3 stop too dark when analyzed in RawDigger! It did, however, look quite good after being optimized. See below for the finished product.

This image was created at La Jolla, CA with the Induro GIT 304L/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens (replaced by the Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS III USM Lens, the Canon Extender EF 2X III, and my very favorite Canon bird photography camera body, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 1600. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/250 sec. at f/10 (stopped down 2/3 stop) in Manual mode. AWB at 2:49pm on a cloudy day. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: +1. Three AF points up from the center AF point/Manual selection/AI Servo/Shutter Button AF was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was just below and slightly behind the bird’s eye as originally framed. Anna’s Hummingbird, male singing

Hummingbirds on the San Diego IPT

We run into a tame Anna’s Hummingbird on most San Diego IPTs. In 2021, we were blessed by a very cooperative male Allens. You can see four very nice images of this great bird in the blog post here. This male Anna’s graced us with a variety of wing stretches and on occasion, sang its raspy song for us.

The Optimized Image

As always, I began by adjusting the Color Temperature. As the image looked a bit too RED and a bit too YELLOW, I moved the slider to the right to cool the colors down. Next was setting the WHITE point and the BLACK point, pulling down the Highlights slider, and playing around a bit with the GREENs and YELLOWs in the Color Mixer tab. All (plus tons more) as detailed in Digital Basics II.

Via e-mail from multiple IPT participant David Hollander

Primarily, what distinguished the San Diego IPT other photographic classes that I have attended was the “granularity” and specificity of the information you shared. By that I mean the level of specific, technical information that was covered. This was helped by the fact that you often gave an explanation as to why you made your choices. For example, when we first arrived at the location, you told people to shoot at 1600, F 5.6, and various shutter speeds. As the light got better, you progressively moved to lower ISOs, and gave us rules of thumb on what ISO to use in different lighting conditions.

You further explained in one of the review sessions that with modern cameras and good software, the noise isn’t really a problem and that you could get rid of the noise from a 1600 ISO a lot easier than fixing a blurred image. Similarly, you gave precise instruction on what aperture to use in various circumstances. In general, before your class, my “default” mode was to shoot in aperture priority, usually at about F 9 or 8.1. The reason wasn’t that I was trying to capture background, but instead to increase my chances of getting the bird’s head in focus if I got the focus point in the wrong place. I will revisit that approach now.

During and image review session, you showed a picture that had the bird’s eye in focus, but the tip of the beak was slightly off. When I asked you whether you would have used a higher F stop in that case, you went to a website showing the impact on the depth of field at the given distance of moving up a stop, which was less than an inch. That demonstrated why increasing the F stop would not have worked in that case. From a teaching perspective, hearing the same information in multiple channels makes it more likely for people to absorb
it and remember it, so the technical explanations help the main message sink in. The instruction on use of the back button focus was also very helpful. I had read about that on your blog before, but I had not taken the time to actually try it, and now I have a new tool in my kit. Overall, I found the advice and instruction to be “actionable”. It was all there for those who were listening.

The comparison of slightly different images of the same bird was also very helpful. It showed what you were looking for head angles and placements. However, I should note that differences in many of the pictures that were acute to you were pretty subtle to me, and all of the pictures were ones that most photographers would have been proud to have taken, even the ones that you were rejecting.

This all-new card includes images created on my JAN 2022 visit to San Diego. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

The 2022/23 San Diego Brown Pelicans (and more!) IPTs

San Diego IPT #1. 3 1/2 DAYS: WED 21 DEC thru the morning session on Saturday 24 DEC 2022. $2099.00. Deposit: $699.00. Limit: 6 photographers/Openings: 5.

San Diego IPT #2. 4 1/2 DAYS: SAT 7 JAN thru the morning session on WED 11 JAN 2023: $2699.00. Deposit: $699.00. Limit: 6 photographers/Openings: 4.

San Diego IPT #3: 3 1/2 DAYS: FRI 20 JAN thru the morning session on MON 23 JAN 2023: $2099.00. Deposit: $699.00. Limit: 6 photographers/Openings: 1.

Please e-mail for information on personalized pre- and post-IPT sessions.

Join me in San Diego to photograph the spectacular breeding plumage Brown Pelicans with their fire-engine red and olive green bill pouches; Brandt’s (nesting) and Double-crested Cormorants; breeding plumage Wood and Ring-necked Ducks; other duck species possible including Lesser Scaup, Redhead, Northern Shoveler and Surf Scoter; a variety of gulls including Western, California, and the gorgeous Heermann’s, all in full breeding plumage; shorebirds including Marbled Godwit, Willet, Sanderling and Black-bellied Plover; many others are possible including Least, Western, and Spotted Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Black and Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Plover, and Surfbird; Harbor Seals and California Sea Lions (both depending on the current regulations and restrictions). And as you can see by studying the IPT cards, there are some nice bird-scape and landscape opportunities as well. Not to mention a ton of excellent flight photography opportunities and instruction.

Please note: where permitted and on occasion, ducks and gulls may be attracted (or re-located) with offerings of grains or healthy bread.

San Diego offers a wealth of very attractive natural history subjects, including and especially the Pacific race of California Brown Pelican. With annual visits spanning more than four decades, I have lots of photographic experience there … Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

Learning Exposure, Whether You Like It Or Not

Whether you like it or not, we will be beating the subject of exposure like a dead horse. In every new situation, you will hear my thoughts on exposure along with my thoughts on both Nikon and Canon histograms and SONY Zebras. Whether you like it or not, you will learn to work in manual mode so that you can get the right exposure every time (as long as a bird gives you ten seconds with the light constant). Or two seconds with SONY zebras … And you will learn what to do when the light is changing constantly. What you learn about exposure will be one of the great takeaways on every IPT.

Though the pelicans will be the stars of the show on this IPT, there will be many other handsome and captivating subjects in wonderful settings. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

It Ain’t Just Pelicans

With gorgeous subjects just sitting there waiting to have their pictures taken, photographing the pelicans on the cliffs is about as easy as nature photography gets. With the winds from the east almost every morning there is usually some excellent flight photography as well, often with 70-200mm lenses! And the pelicans are almost always doing something interesting: preening, scratching, bill pouch cleaning, or squabbling. And then there are those crazy head throws that are thought to be a form of intra-flock communication. You will be guided as to how to make the best of those opportunities. Depending on the weather, the local conditions, and the tides, there are a variety of other fabulous photo chances available in and around San Diego.

Did I mention that there are lots of great birds and natural history subjects in San Diego in winter? Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

The San Diego Details

These IPTs will include four or five 3-hour morning photo sessions, three or four 1 1/2-hour afternoon photo sessions, and three or four working brunches that will include image review and Photoshop sessions. On rare cloudy days, we may — at the leader’s discretion, stay out in the morning for a long session and skip that afternoon. To ensure early starts, breakfasts will be your responsibility. And so that we can get some sleep, dinners will be on your own as well. In the extremely unlikely event that Goldfish Point is closed due to local ordinance (or whimsy) — that has never happened in the past fifty years, I will of course do my very best to maximize our photographic opportunities.

San Diego offers a wealth of very attractive natural history subjects, including and especially the Pacific race of California Brown Pelican. With annual visits spanning more than four decades, I have lots of photographic experience there … Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

Deposit Info

A $599 deposit is required to hold your slot for one of the 2022/23 San Diego IPTs. You can send a check (made out to “BIRDS AS ART”) to us here: BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 3385, or call Jim or Jennifer at the office with a credit card at 863-692-0906. Your balance, payable only by check, is due three months before the trip.

Variety is surely the spice of life in San Diego. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version.

Getting Up Early and Staying Out Late

On all BIRDS AS ART IPTS including and especially the San Diego IPT, we get into the field early to take advantage of unique and often spectacular lighting conditions and we stay out late to maximize the chances of killer light and glorious sunset silhouette situations. We often arrive at the cliffs a full hour before anyone else shows up to check out the landscape and seascape opportunities.

Typos

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