Keep or Delete this Pacific-race Brown Pelicans Greeting Image? First Thoughts on the New Remove Tool

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.

The 2023/2024 San Diego Brown Pelicans (and more!) IPT

San Diego IPT: 4 1/2 DAYS: TEUS 23 JAN thru the morning session on SAT 27 JAN 2024: $2699.00. Deposit: $699.00. Limit: 6 photographers/Openings: 4.

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.

I discovered some really neat new spots on my 2022/23 visit. As a result, the first and second IPTs may include an afternoon or two of landscape photography.

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, at times 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. Each IPT will include one or two duck sessions.

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 shoot. 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.

Deposit Info

A $699 deposit is required to hold your slot for one of the 2024 San Diego IPT. You can send a check (made out to “BIRDS AS ART”) to us here: BIRDS AS ART, PO Box 7245, Indian Lake Estates, FL, 33855, or call Jim or Jennifer at the office with a credit card at 863-692-0906. Your balance, payable only by check, is due 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.

The Carhartt Men’s Knit Cuffed Beanies that have been the backbone of my traveling-by-air strategy for several decades, is currently on sale in blue only for a ridiculously low $9.99. Amazingly, you can still find them, on Amazon no less, for as much as $33.90. These beanies are far less costly than the LensCoat stuff, offer far more protection in terms of absorbing shock during travel by air or by car, and provide better protection against moisture as well. I use two of the hats for my camera bodies. You can buy thinner, cheaper watch caps, but they simply do not do the job.

Learn more about traveling by air with your gear here. And learn more about the two great Think Tank bags here. One or the other of these two great rolling bags make my life easier whenever I get on a plane.

My Call

In the last blog post, Tortoise Heaven: the Highlands at Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz, I wrote:

Which two of today’s four featured Galapagos Tortoise images do you like best? Please leave a comment and let us know why you made your choices.

The few who responded coherently chose Image #3 as their favorite. My two choices are the stitched pano, Image #1 because I love the crop and the reflection, and Ed Dow and the tortoise, Image #3, as it does a great job of depicting the situation.

What’s Up?

I continued getting tons of work done on Thursday. This blog post took about two hours to prepare (including the time spent on the image optimization). 4087 published posts are nothing to sneeze at.

Today is Friday 22 September 2023 and I still have lots to do. Wherever you are an whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.

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!

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.

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.

This image was created on 20 December 2022 at La Jolla, CA. Standing at full height, I used the handheld Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 2000. 1/4000 sec. at f/4.5 (stopped down 1/3 stop) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file exposure was determined to be 1/3 stop short of perfect. AWB at8:58:45am on a then partly sunny morning. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled performed to perfection. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. The JPEG above represents the full frame, out-of-camera raw file for the Pacific-race Brown Pelicans greeting each other image

Keep or Delete?

While scrolling through more than 2,000 images from a typical San Diego morning session, you come across a series that includes the image above, _A1G5406 La Jolla, CA. When a pelican flies into the cliff and lands near others, it is sometimes difficult to tell if they are saying “Howdy” or squabbling over space. As the incoming birds lands, you do not have much control over the image design (especially when you are working with a fixed focal length like 560mm here). You need to trust the AF system and keep your fingers crossed.

I made about half dozen images as the birds interacted. Though this was the best of the lot, there were still some serious problems. Most notably, the photo-bombing juvenile on the lower frame edge, the one just right of center looking at the two birds that were communicating.

Before you scroll down, decide if you would keep or delete this raw file and leave a comment letting us know why.

This image was created on 20 December 2022 at La Jolla, CA. Standing at full height, I used the handheld Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera). The exposure was determined via Zebra technology with ISO on the Thumb Dial. ISO 2000. 1/4000 sec. at f/4.5 (stopped down 1/3 stop) in Manual mode. When evaluated in RawDigger, the raw file exposure was determined to be 1/3 stop short of perfect. AWB at8:58:45am on a then partly sunny morning. Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird Face/Eye detection enabled performed to perfection. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. The Optimized Version: Pacific-race Brown Pelicans greeting each other

The Optimized Version

Yes, I did keep the raw file. The superb quality of sharp a-1 image files allows for fairly large crops.

After converting the raw file in Adobe Camera Raw, all but the juvenile mentioned above were eliminated with a fairly aggressive crop. My first try was a wider crop that included the rock and the feet of the pelican standing on it. For the first time ever, I tried Generative Fill. Though the results were halfway decent, they did not stand up to a closer look. Then, I tried the tighter crop that you see in the optimized version above.

Ten days ago, I began working with the new Remove Tool. It is a huge improvement over the similar Spot Healing Brush, but it is not perfect. When you wish to remove a background distraction that merges with the subject, the results, however, can be amazing. With many images, I learned that using the Divide and Conquer technique prior to employing the Remove Tool consistently yields spectacular results.

As soon as I get my new Apple 16″ MacBook Pro (M2 Max, Silver) set up and running — it is sitting on the couch in the unopened box, I will get to work and some Digital Basic III videos that will teach you how best to work with the Remove Tool. Stay tuned.

Though the optimized version represents only 41.8% of the original pixels, the image quality remains superb.

An A7INFO screen capture for the original Pacific-race Brown Pelicans greeting each other image.

Face/Eye Tracking in Chaotic Situations

When photographing birds in flight, or in action situations with multiple birds in the frame, do not expect your mirrorless AF system to nail the eye every time. It ain’t gonna happen. But quickly and accurately tracking the bird’s face (as above), will often yield razor-sharp-on-the-eye files. As noted previously, you must trust your AF system in the really difficult situations.

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 September 2023, the group was up to an astounding 148 lucky and blessed folks. And 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 1.32. Your entry into the group includes a consolidated Sony a1 CAMSETA2 INFO & GUIDE. New a1 folks will now receive eight 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.

Typos

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