Preening Bird Head Angle Tips. Deadly Weapon: the Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS Lens. And a7r iv or a9 ii?

What’s Up?

On Monday morning I headed back to the Ridge Audubon Center and photographed Florida Greeneyes. I was happy with the results but would not mind another crack at them … On Tuesday morning I began searching the side-streets for wildflowers but quickly realized that it was too breezy so I headed down to the lake. I found the two Mother’s Day adult cranes preening in their usual spot by some short posts along the edge of the South Canal. I was quite concerned as I did not see the surviving colt … After five minutes it stood up right between its parents; it had been nestled down in the tall grasses. Whew!

Jim and I drove into town to deliver my 2003 Toyota Sequoia (with almost 200,000 miles on it) to my doctor. My new SUV is being delivered tomorrow. Hooray.

We have only a single Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro left in stock … We are ordering more today. If you do not get the last one, it is recommended that you place a phone order (863-692-0906) now to ensure getting one from our second shipment; your card will not be charged until your head is shipped.

Please Remember

If you enjoy and learn from the blog, please remember to use one of my two affiliate programs when purchasing new gear. Doing so will not cost you a single penny and if you use Bedfords, you will save at least $50.00 on all orders greater than $1000.00. In these crazy times — I am out at least forty to sixty thousand dollars so far due to COVID 19 (with lots more to come) — remembering to use my B&H link or shop at Bedfords will help me out a ton and will be greatly appreciated. Overseas folks who cannot order from the US because of import fees, duties, and taxes can always help out by clicking here if they see fit.

BIRDS AS ART

BIRDS AS ART is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The BAA Used Gear Page

The BAA Used Gear Page is the place to sell your used photographic equipment. We will help you to get your gear sold quickly for 20 to 60% more than what the big guys are offering … Doubt me? Check out the Past Sales list at the bottom of the page.

New Listings

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

IPT veteran Matt Schramer is offering a Canon EOS 7D Mk II camera body in near-mint condition (but for a single small rub mark on the lower right front corner) for a very low $597.00. The sale includes the original box and everything that came in it including the strap, front lens cap, the USB cable, the manuals and the CDs that came with the camera, one battery and the charger, 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 Matt via e-mail or via phone at 1-360-801-1891 (Pacific time zone).

Both Patrick Sparkman and I used and loved the 7D Mark II until about four years ago when we both committed to using full-frame Canon bodies. We both made some truly great images with it. Two of my three 2016 Nature’s Best honored entries were created with the 7D II, one still, and one video. One thing is for sure: the 7D Mark II is the greatest value ever in a digital camera body. If you have any doubts, type the word “Cadieux” in the little search box top right and follow any or all of the links to see the great images that BPN Avian Moderator Dan Cadieux has created with his 7D series bodies … artie

Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM Lens with extras!

IPT veteran Matt Schramer is also offering a Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens in near-mint condition (but for a single very small ding on the white finish on the lens barrel) for $5,249.00. The sale includes the lens trunk with keys, the strap, the front and back lens caps, both original lens feet, the front lens cover, a LensCoat, a LensCoat Hoodie, a 4th Generation Design CRX-5 Low Foot, 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 Matt via e-mail or via phone at 1-360-801-1891 (Pacific time zone).

The 500 f/4 super-telephoto lenses have long been the world’s most popular for birds, nature, wildlife, and sports for many decades. Canon’s Series II version is light, fast, super-sharp, and produces amazing images with both the 1.4X and 2X III TCs. The 500 II is relatively small, easily hand-holdable for some folks, and is much easier to travel with, focuses closer than, and costs a lot less than the 600 II or the 600 III! Lastly, and you might find this amazing, the magnification for the 500 II is the same as it is for the 600 II: .15X. How is that possible? Magnification is calculated at the minimum focusing distance of the lens — 12.14 feet (3.7 meters) for the 500 II and 14.77 feet (4.5 meters) for the 600 II. Simply put, the 500 II focuses more than two feet closer than the 600 II. Please do not tarry if you are seriously interested in Matt’s lens as it should sell quickly. Or not 🙂 As the 500 II goes for $8999.00 new, you will be getting a pretty much new lens while saving a very handsome $,3,750.00! I loved my 500 II! artie

Canon EF Extender 1.4X III (teleconverter)

Matt Schramer is also offering a Canon EF 1.4X III teleconverter in like-new condition for $229.00. The sale includes the original box, the lens pouch, the front and rear lens caps, 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 Matt via e-mail or via phone at 1-360-801-1891 (Pacific time zone).

As regular readers know, I depended so much on TCs when I shot Canon that I always traveled with two spare 1.4X-s and one spare 2X TC. These sell new for $429.00 so you can save a very nice $200.00. artie

SONY e-Guide Discount Program

Purchase a (new) qualifying SONY camera body (a7r iii, a7r iv, a9, a9 ii) from Bedfords or using a BIRDS AS ART B&H affiliate link, and you will receive a $40 discount on the SONY e-guide. Purchase a (new) SONY 200-600mm G lens from Bedfords or using a BIRDS AS ART B&H affiliate link, and you will receive a $25 discount on the SONY e-guide. Purchase a (new) SONY 600mm f/4 GM lens from Bedfords or using a BIRDS AS ART B&H affiliate link, and you will receive a free SONY e-guide with one or two videos.

Please send your Bedford’s or B&H receipts to me via e-mail to receive your discount and your ordering instructions. Folks purchasing from Bedfords and using the BIRDSASART code will save $50. Folks sending their B&H receipts may need to wait a few days to have their purchases confirmed. Folks using Bedfords will have their purchases confirmed immediately.

104 sold to rave reviews. The SONY e-Guide by Patrick Sparkman and Arthur Morris

The Sony Camera User’s e-Guide (and Videos)

Click here to purchase the guide with one Camera Set-up Video. Be sure to e-mail us by clicking here to specify your camera body so that we can send you a link for the correct video.

Click here to purchase the guide with two Camera Set-up Videos. Be sure to e-mail us by clicking here to specify your two camera bodies so that we can send you links for the correct videos.

Click here to learn more about the SONY e-Guide.

Money Saving Reminder

If you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H, would enjoy free overnight shipping, and would like a $50 discount on your first purchase over $1000.00, click here to order and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If you are looking to strike a deal on Canon or Nikon gear (including the big telephotos) or on a multiple item order, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell at (479) 381-2592 (Eastern time) and be sure to mention your BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order. Steve has been great at getting folks the hot items that are out of stock at B&H. Those include the SONY a7r IV, the SONY 200-600, the SONY 600mm f/4 GM, and the Nikon 500mm PF. Steve is eager to please.

Gear Questions and Advice

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

The BAA Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide You can purchase your copy here in the BAA Online Store.

The BAA Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide

126 pages, 87 photographs by Joe Przybyla and Arthur Morris.
The PDF for this e-Guide is an electronic download sent via e-mail.

Purchase your copy here in the BAA Online Store.

I had thought about doing a guide to some of the great but little-known photo hotspots around central Florida for about a decade, but those plans never came to fruition. I met Joe online in the Avian Forum at BirdPhotographer’s.Net about two years ago. Joe’s photography has improved tremendously over the past few years; he credits the BAA blog, my books and PDFs, and his participation on BPN. The one thing that I learned right from the get-go about Joe is that he is a hard and tenacious worker, always striving to improve his skills and to grow his knowledge base. As he knew of more than a few good spots in central Florida, I broached the idea of us doing a photographic site guide that covered many of the little-known photographic hotspots from Brandon to Lakeland to Joe Overstreet Road to Indian Lake Estates (my Florida home for the past 20 years or so). After more than many, many dozens of hours of effort, The BIRDS AS ART Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide is now a reality. Thanks to Joe’s wife Dottie for her review of our writing. We all learned once again that writing is a process, a back and forth process. All thanks to the white pelicans of Lakeland. Here are the locations that are detailed in this e-Guide:

• Indian Lake Estates: Sandhills Cranes with chicks and colts, lots of vultures, and Ospreys up the kazoo!
• Gatorland, Kissimmee: Learn to make great images of wading birds in a cluttered rookery.
• The Brandon Rookery: Great for nesting Wood Storks, Great Egrets, and more.
• Circle Bar B Reserve, Lakeland: Here you will find a great variety of avian subjects in a great variety of habitats.
• Lake Morton, Lakeland: There are lots of silly tame birds here including and especially American White Pelican during the colder months.
• Lake Mirror, Lakeland: Tame Anhingas, Limpkins, and a zillion White Ibises at times.
• West Lake Parker, Lakeland: Here you will have a chance for two difficult birds, Snail Kite, and Purple Gallinule.
• Joe Overstreet Road, Kenansville: Crested Caracara, meadowlarks, Loggerhead Shrike, and much more on the fenceposts and barbed wire.

Each location includes a map, a detailed description of the best spots, best season, light and time of day instructions, the expected species, and an educational and inspirational gallery that is designed to open your eyes as to the possibilities.

You can purchase a copy here in the BAA Online Store.

This image was created at Lakeland, FL on 15 FEBRUARY 2019. I used the handheld Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x teleconverter (at 560mm) and the original AF king, the Sony Alpha a9 Mirrorless Digital Camera. ISO 400. Exposure determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/500 sec. at f/ in Manual mode. AWB at 10:38am on a mostly sunny morning. Center Zone AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and did a fine job of getting the eye sharp. The system used an AF point just to our right oof the bird’s eye. Anhinga — preening adult female in full breeding plumage

Preening Bird Head Angle Tips …

Birds spend lots of time cleaning their feathers. Preening birds often offer wonderful photographic opportunities simply because they stay put and are often relatively easy to approach. I love working tight in such situations. BPN friend Joe Przybyla found this gorgeous lady bird for me at one of the hotspots detailed in The BAA Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide. (Joe is the co-creator of this guide.) Thanks, Joe!

For years I have stated the following:

Ninety-nine percent of excellent tight images of a preening bird feature the bird’s open eye and have the plane of the bird’s face and bill perfectly parallel to the back of the camera, aka the sensor and formerly referred to as “the film plane.” For this image, I sat down on a concrete walkway in order to get parallel to the bird’s face and bill as noted above.

The SONY 100-400 GM Lens

When working with relatively tame birds, the Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS lens can be a deadly weapon with oor without the Sony FE 1.4x teleconverter. The minimum focusing distance of .98 meters, slightly more than 3 feet 2 1/2 inches, is outstanding. As regular readers know I often use this combo handheld for butterflies and on a tripod for medium-sized and larger flowers. In both of the situations, the narrow angle of view (with or without the 1.4X TC) fit my clean, tight and graphic style perfectly. Note: today, in similar situations, I would unequivocally go with the 61MP monster, the Sony Alpha a7R IV Mirrorless Digital camera body.

In pure flight and action situations, I would go with the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital camera body. The a9 ii is most often paired with either the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens or the tripod-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens (the latter often with the 1.4X TC).

If In Doubt …

If you are in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog or Bedfords, for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would, of course, appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links or Bedfords for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who regularly visit the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

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Typos

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