SONY A9/100-400 GM OSS Incoming Brandt's Cormorants Flight Sequence: As Tough As It Gets ...

What’s Up?

It is 6:45am and we are in the car headed to the San Diego Airport. Wednesday morning was great for pelicans and also for gulls in flight. I stayed in that afternoon to pack. The Sony gear continues to amaze.

IPT Updates

Unsolicited via e-mail from multiple IPT veteran Donna Bourdon

Thank you Artie for another amazing trip! The setting and the access to such spectacular wildlife was more than we could have hoped for. And you, yourself are remarkable. I am always touched by your selflessness in sharing your professional talent and knowledge. Not many working pros would be willing to share their intellectual property as you do. And the group experience was such fun. It was good to make new friends and enjoy food, fun and fellowship together! I hope to meet up with everyone again soon for another “over the top” adventure. with love, Donna

Unsolicited via e-mail from IPT veteran Eugen Dolan

Arthur, Thank you very much for your overwhelming infectious enthusiasm that helped get me up on some mornings. Also, your ability to express yourself- and explain in great detail why you like or may not like an image – was very helpful in allowing me to better analyze my images. Eugen

I have room for two folks on the spoonbill boat and still need three or four folks for the Galapagos trip. If you would like to explore the possibilities, please get in touch via e-mail; no reasonable offer will be refused.

• The 2019 Hooptie Deux/Roseate Spoonbill Boat 3 1/2 DAY IPT — FEB 16 thru 19, 2019: $2599.00. Limit: 5 photographers/Openings: 2.
• The New, Expanded 2019 UK Puffins, Gannets, & Red Kites IPT. Thursday June 27 (from EDI) through Tuesday, July 9, 2019 (on the ground; fly home on Wednesday July 10.): $9,999. Limit 10 photographers/Openings: 9. This trip needs four to run. Co-leader: Peter Kes.
• The GALAPAGOS Photo Cruise of a Lifetime IPT/The Complete Galapagos Photographic Experience. July 23 to August 6, 2019 on the boat. 13 FULL and two half-days of photography: $14,499. Limit: 12 photographers/Openings: 4.

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Bedford’s Special

Purchase a NIKKOR 180-400 super-telephoto zoom lens and choose either a GITZO GT2542LS SYSTEMATIC TRIPOD (a $930 value) or the WIMBERLEY GIMBAL/WH-200 w/ custom plate (a $694 value) at no charge when you purchase the 180-400!

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BPN, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. Those questions might deal with systems, camera bodies, accessories, and/or lens choices and decisions.

This image was created on January 27, day 2 with the SONY gear. I used the hand held Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS lens (at 244mm) and the beyond remarkable Sony Alpha a9 Mirrorless Digital Camera. ISO 3200: 1/2000 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. AWB at 8:15:56am in the shade of the building behind us. Image #1: Incoming Brandt’s Cormorant

Photographing Incoming Brandt’s Cormorants: As Tough As It Gets …

Photographing incoming Brandt’s Cormorants as they return to their nests is as tough as it gets. Try as I might, I had maybe one semi-sharp image in this situation over many years with various Canon bodies and lenses, that in many hundreds of attempts. I did however, have many that were razor sharp on the feet. With both the D5 and the D850, I would usually get two or three fairly sharp images out of ten. Anita North did a bit better than that with her Nikon Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR lens and the Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III but again, her best results were somewhere between fairly sharp and acceptably sharp.

With the SONY gear …

This image was also created on January 27, day 2 with the SONY gear. I used the hand held Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS lens (at 244mm) and the beyond remarkable Sony Alpha a9 Mirrorless Digital Camera. ISO 3200: 1/2000 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. AWB at 8:15:56am in the shade of the building behind us. Image #2: Incoming Brandt’s Cormorant

With the SONY gear …

With the SONY gear, the results were mind-boggling. Once you got the tracking going, eight out of every ten images were razor sharp. You could see the veins in the distended blue gular sac and the individual white crest feathers were sharp as well. You will see more of the same in coming blog posts: the sharpness of images made with the SONY A9 approaches science fiction-like levels. And remarkably, two A9 firmware updates scheduled for late spring and early summer at the latest, should actually improve AF performance with birds in flight …

This image was also created on January 27, day 2 with the SONY gear. I used the hand held Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS lens (at 244mm) and the beyond remarkable Sony Alpha a9 Mirrorless Digital Camera. ISO 3200: 1/2000 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. AWB at 8:15:56am in the shade of the building behind us. Image #3: Incoming Brandt’s Cormorant

Frame Rate

When using AF-C, tracking AF, Continuous with Nikon and AI Servo AF with Canon, your digital camera body will never match the quoted frame rate. With the A9, that is 20 frames per second. With tracking AF that drops to about 15 fps when creating compressed RAW (ARW with SONY) files (as I did for the first two days) and down to about 13 fps when creating uncompressed RAW files as I did on days 3-5. Today’s featured images are all from compressed AWR files.

Note that all four of today’s featured images were creating in the same second at 8:15:56am. In any case, the frame rate of the A9 is breath-taking. And I forgot to mention how quiet the A9 is.

This image was also created on January 27, day 2 with the SONY gear. I used the hand held Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS lens (at 244mm) and the beyond remarkable Sony Alpha a9 Mirrorless Digital Camera. ISO 3200: 1/2000 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. AWB at 8:15:56am in the shade of the building behind us. Image #4: Incoming Brandt’s Cormorant

SONY A9 ISO, Dynamic Range, and Exposure Latitude

Note that the AWR files for all four of today’s featured images were about 1 1/2 stops under-exposed.

Your Favorite?

Each of today’s four featured images is presented un-cropped. Please leave a comment letting us know which is your favorite pose and why.

Unsharpened 100% crop of Image #4: Incoming Brandt’s Cormorant

The Unsharpened 100% Crop as a JPEG

This look quite good to me. I love the feathers on the shoulders.

Fort DeSoto in spring is rife with tame birds, many in full breeding plumage. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version. Clockwise from upper left around to center: Laughing Gull landing on head of Brown Pelican, Laughing Gull in flight, Reddish Egret sunrise silhouette, Great Blue Heron with needlefish, Yellow-crowned Night Heron with ghost crab, Roseate Spoonbill, Sanderling in breeding plumage, and white morph Reddish Egret in glorious breeding plumage.

The 2019 Fort DeSoto Spring IPT/THURS 18 APRIL through the morning session on SUNDAY APRIL 21, 2019: 3 1/2 DAYS: $1549. Limit 8/Openings: 5. Meet and greet at 7PM on the evening of WED 17 APRIL.

Fort DeSoto, located just south of St. Petersburg, FL, is a mecca for a great variety of migrant shorebirds, gulls, terns, and passerines in Spring. Many of the gulls and terns will be courting and copulating. There the migrants join hundreds of Florida resident egrets, herons, night-herons, and pelicans on the T-shaped peninsula. We should get to photograph one of Florida’s most desirable shorebird species: Marbled Godwit. Black-bellied Plover and Willet are easy, American Oystercatcher almost guaranteed. Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, and White Ibis are easy as well and many of those will be in their spectacular breeding plumages. Yellow-crowned Night-Heron is a strong possibility. We may get to see and photograph the amazing heron/egret hybrid that has been present for three years. And we should enjoy some great 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. Yikes, I almost forgot to mention that nearly all of the birds are ridiculously tame!

Yes, Fort DeSoto in spring is rife with tame birds, most in breeding plumage. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version. Clockwise from upper left around to center: breeding plumage Dunlin, dark morph Reddish Egret displaying, Laughing Gull vertical front-end portrait, Laughing Gull with prey item, landing on head of Brown Pelican, breeding plumage Royal Tern displaying, Royal Terns — pre-copulatory stance, Laughing Gulls copulating, Laughing Gull head portrait, breeding plumage Sandwich Tern with fish, and a rare treat, a breeding plumage White-rumped Sandpiper.

Just some of the stuff you will learn …

On the IPT you will learn basics and fine points of digital exposure and to get the right exposure every time after making a single test exposure, 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).

Again, Fort DeSoto in spring is rife with tame birds, most in breeding plumage. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version. Clockwise from upper left around to center: Laughing Gull in flight, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Sandwich Terns copulating, Roseate Spoonbill, Great Egret with reflection, breeding plumage Short-billed Dowitcher, American Oystercatcher, Royal Tern, white morph Reddish Egret, and Snowy Egret in marsh.

What we do

There will be seven shooting sessions in all: four 3+ hours morning session and three 2 1/2 hour afternoon sessions. There will be a Photoshop/image review session during or after lunch (lunch is included) on each of the three full days. That will be followed by Instructor Nap Time.

The best airport is Tampa (TPA). Once you register, you will receive an e-mail with the hotel/lodging information.

You got it, Fort DeSoto in spring is rife with tame birds, most in breeding plumage. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version. Clockwise from upper left around to center: Roseate Spoonbill, immature Brown Pelican in flight, the heron/egret hybrid, American Oystercatcher feeding, immature Royal Tern on railing, Great Egret morning silhouette, Black Skimmer in surf, and underside head portrait of Great Blue Heron.

Signing Up

A $500 deposit is due when you sign up and is payable by credit card. Balances must be paid by check after you register. Your deposit is non-refundable unless the IPT sells out with eight 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 remember that the meet and greet will take place on the evening of WED 17 APRIL. Please shoot me an e-mail if you plan to register or if you have any questions.

Folks attending this IPT will be out in the field early and stay late to take advantage of sunrise and sunset colors. Click on the composite to enjoy a larger version. 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.

Early and Late

Getting up early and staying out late is pretty much a staple on all BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tours; on this particular trip we will get lots of sleep as the days are short. Being in the field well before the sun comes up and staying out until sunset will often present unique photographic opportunities, opportunities that will be missed by those who need their beauty rest. 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 arrive.

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Typos

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