Willets: a dime a dozen. A Wave Can Make or Break an Image. Announcing the BAA Canon R5/R6 AF Guide. And a update on the RawDigger e-Guide: why is it taking so long?

What’s Up?

Today is Wednesday, 9 December 2020. I was up early again. As usual. It is even colder than yesterday, but with less wind; I have not decided whether or not I will head down to the lake this morning. I have lots of work to do. But I do love photography …

I have been swimming my slow half-mile every day and did get in the pool yesterday afternoon; it was quite cold when I got out. I did make it down to the lake 30 minutes before sunset and had a nice session with the very dependable Mother’s Day crane family. The surviving colt — recognized by a gray patch on the front of its almost fully red crown — is doing quite well. At seven months, it is a big as its mother and bigger than its father!

Steve Elkins at Bedfords came through with R5 bodies and RF 100-500 lenses for quite a few folks early this week. Those included many blog folks like old friend Steve Freno (and his beloved adopted daughters) and blog-regular Roger Dietrich. Both ordered additional lenses and accessories as well. All that while other are languishing on long waiting lists with the big camera dealers … Save your e-mail receipts for a free copy of the BAA Canon R5/R6 AF Guide (coming soon) and to earn a discount on the BAA R5 Camera User’s Guide …

Fort DeSoto In-the-Field Instructional Sessions

I will be headed over to Fort DeSoto to photograph early on Friday and Saturday mornings. The weather is looking very good. If you would like to join me for one or two morning sessions (and possibly for a Friday afternoon session as well), please contact me via e-mail to learn the low rates.

Most Importantly

As always, if what you read or learn here inspires or convinces you to purchase an R5 or 6, and/or the RF 100-500 lens, and/or the RF Extender 1.4X, please use my B&H affiliate links or get in touch with Steve Elkins at Bedford to save 3% on your new gear and get it a lot quicker …

RawDigger e-Guide and Video Advance Copy Available

Save $10 Now

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

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

The BAA Canon R5/R6 AF Guide

I will be working on and completing a short Canon R5/R6 AF e-mail Guide today. If you used my B&H affiliate link or got your camera from Steve Elkins at Bedford, the guide will be free. If not, the cost will be $20.00. Details on obtaining a copy of the guide will be published tomorrow.

The BAA Used Gear Page

The Used Gear page continues to be red hot! It is BAA Used Gear Page is the place to sell your used photographic equipment. We will help you to get your gear sold quickly for 20 to 60% or more than what the big guys are offering … Doubt me? Check out the Recent Sales list for the past ten months at the bottom of the page.

New Listing

Canon EOS-1DX Mark II Professional Digital Camera Body (with extras!)

BAA Record-low Price!

Sold first day of listing!

Bryan Berkowitz is offering a Canon EOS-1DX Mark II in excellent condition (with extras) for a BAA record-low $2099.00. The sale includes the front cap, the manual, the battery charger, the original LP-E19 battery and an extra, two straps, a Sony Cfast 2.0 64GB memory card, the Sandisk Cfast 2.0 USB card reader, a Transcend 64GB memory card, and insured ground shipping via major courier to all 50 US addresses only. The camera body received a clean bill of health from Canon Professional Services in November 2020. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

The EOS-1DX Mark II is a Canon flagship professional camera body. I made many fine images with mine. It is rugged and fast and featured Canon’s best AF system (before the release of the 1DX III — $6499.00). The 1DX II is still in production and sells new for $4,499.00 so you can save a very cool $2400.00 on this great deal from Bryan. artie

Price Drops

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 16-35mm f/4G ED VR Lens

Price Reduced $100.00 on 9 DEC 2020

Karen McCormick is offering a Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 16-35mm f/4G ED VR lens in excellent plus condition for the very low price of $550.00 (was $650.00). The sale includes 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 Karen via e-mail.

The relatively lightweight and inexpensive 16-35mm wide angle zooms are great for serious landscape shooters on a budget. The heavier faster Nikon AF-S Zoom-NIKKOR 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED lens sells for a shopping $1951.95. Who needs the speed when you are on a tripod? The 16-35 f/4 Nikkor sells new for $1096.95 so you can save a pretty penny by grabbing Karen’s lens. artie

Nikon AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED Lens

Price Reduced $100.00 on 9 DEC 2020

Karen McCormick is offering a Nikon AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens in excellent plus condition for the very low price of $750.00 (was $850.00). The sale includes 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 Karen via e-mail.

The 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses in all systems are huge favorites with nature and wildlife photographers. They are fast, very sharp, and extremely versatile. All pair well with a 1.4X teleconverter. They are great for bird-scapes, wildlife, large mammals, scenics, sports, low light situations, and lots more. artie

Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary Lens and TC-1401 1.4x Teleconverter Kit for Nikon F

Price Reduced $100.00 on 9 DEC 2020

Karen McCormick is offering a Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary Lens and TC-1401 1.4x Teleconverter Kit for Nikon F in excellent plus condition for a remarkably low ($400.00 (was $500.00). The sale includes 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 Karen via e-mail.

Offering an impressively versatile range with a portable form factor, the Nikon F-mount 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM from Sigma is a Contemporary-series telephoto zoom characterized by its sophisticated optics and flexible handling. One FLD element and three SLD elements are used to reduce color fringing and chromatic aberrations throughout the zoom range and a Super Multi-Coating also helps to suppress flare and ghosting for improved contrast and color accuracy when working in strong lighting conditions.

Balancing the optical design, this lens also features a Hyper Sonic Motor, which provides especially fast and quiet autofocus performance as well as full-time manual focus override. An Optical Stabilizer also works to minimize the appearance of camera shake for sharper handheld shooting. Additionally, a removable, rotating tripod collar is included to suit working on a tripod or monopod. B&H

I have seen many excellent sharp images created by folks on IPTs and on BPN. As this kit sells new for $1,289.00 Karen’s offering is a great bargain for a beginning bird photographer using Nikon gear. artie

Back in Stock

Three sold yesterday!

We now have fifteen of the hugely popular Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro tripod heads in stock. Click on the preceding link to learn more about this amazing head, the ballhead that thinks it’s a gimbal head and — thanks to the amazing counter-balanced spring mechanism — works great with any rig from the longest, heaviest super-telephoto lens to a camera-body-mounted wide angle. The latter is possible because of the bi-directional clamp; it is no longer necessary to travel with a gimbal head for long lens photography and a ballhead for scenic photography. And after just a moment’s adjustment, the double ball enables you to ensure that every image you take is on the level.

Please Remember

With income from IPTs approaching zero, please, if you enjoy and learn from the blog, remember to use one of my two affiliate programs when purchasing new gear. Doing so just might make it possible for me to avoid having to try to get a job as a Walmart greeter and will not cost you a single penny more. And if you use Bedfords and remember to enter the BIRDSASART code at checkout, you will save 3% on every order and enjoy free second-day air shipping. In these crazy times — I am out at least forty to sixty thousand dollars so far due to COVID 19 (with lots more to come) — remembering to use my B&H link or to shop at Bedfords will help me out a ton and be greatly appreciated. Overseas folks who cannot order from the US because of import fees, duties, and taxes can always help out by clicking here if they see fit.

New and Better Bedfords Discount Policy!

You can now save 3% on all of your Bedfords photo gear purchases by entering the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout. Your discount will be applied to your pre-tax total. In addition, by using the code you will get 2nd day air shipping via Fed Ex.

Grab a Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III and save $14.99. Purchase a Canon EOS R5 and your discount will be $116.97. Purchase a Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and save a remarkable $389.94! Your Bedford’s purchase no longer needs to be greater than $1,000.00 for you to receive a discount. The more you spend, the more you save.

Money Saving Reminder

Many have learned that if you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H and would enjoy free overnight shipping, your best bet is to click here, place an order with Bedfords, and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If an item is out of stock, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell phone at (479) 381-2592 (Eastern time). Be sure to mention the 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 and everywhere else. The wait lists at the big stores can be a year or longer for the hard to get items. Steve will surely get you your gear long before that. For the past year, he has been helping BAA Blog folks get their hands on items like the SONY a9 ii, the SONY 200-600 G OSS lens, the Canon EOS R5, the Canon RF 100-500mm lens, and the Nikon 500mm PF. Steve is personable, helpful, and eager to please.

125 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.

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 2 October 2020 at North Beach, Fort DeSoto Park. I used the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 496mm) and the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital camera body. Exposure was determined via Zebra evaluation with ISO on the rear dial as detailed in The Sony Camera User’s e-Guide and One Camera Set-up Video. ISO 3200: 1/1000 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. ABW at 7:58am on a cloudy dark morning. Upper Center Zone AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and worked perfectly. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #1: First-winter Willet foraging in the surf

Willets: a Dime a Dozen

Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus) is a large, common shorebird that is related to birds in the yellowlegs Tringa tribe. The semipalmata refers to the fact that this species has partial webbed toes. Willet can be found along coastal shorelines almost anywhere in North America and are fairly common inland as well throughout the US and the prairie provinces of Canada.

Note: Recent genetic evidence suggests that Willet falls within the genus Tringa. The American Ornithological Union has recognized willets as Tringa semipalmata rather than Catoptrophorus semipalmatus.

There are two races of Willet, a western race and an eastern race. Willets nest throughout their range and move south in the winter. If you take a walk on a coastal beach it is likely that you will encounter a Willet, even on crowded beaches. They are quite common on the beaches and sandbars at Fort DeSoto, it very rare to encounter them in flocks. There, they are quite tame and easily approached as they forage in the shallows. At times, they swim.

Though they are almost always available subjects, making a really good image of a Willet is a challenge (unless you get them flapping after a bath or in flight when you can see their prominent white wing stripes). My best advice for creating a good Willet image is to get low. With today’s featured image I am pretty sure that I was sitting on the beach. The problem with that strategy is that you have to get up and down often when following the bird. But the results are worth it.

A Wave Can Make or Break an Image

You have heard it here dozens of times before: when you are photographing along the edge of the surf be aware of the position of the breaking waves. Even small waves can have a large impact on the success of an image. Watch them as they break and roll through your frame. If your image has a wave breaking and it intersects your subject’s head or body, it will generally ruin the photo. A wave just above (and/or below) the bird can frame the subject nicely. And a wave breaking right at the feet of the subject (as in Image #1) can be quite lovely.

So, when you are photographing a bird along the edge of the surf be aware of the position of the waves.

Image #1A: RawDigger screen capture for first-winter Willet foraging in the surf

RawDigger Screen Capture

First, note the 11,000 over-exposed (OvExp) pixels in the Green channel. The over-exposed pixels are noted by the rosy red OvExp warning on the brightest strip of the surf. In the RawDigger (RD) e-Guide, you will learn how and why such an over-exposure can be saved easily without any loss of detail. You will learn to use the RD histogram when evaluating exposures. And you will learn to evaluate the Max G values as a way to learn to mega-expose all of your images to the right so that you will minimize noise, maximize image quality, best utilize the dynamic range of your camera’sensor, and attain the highest possible level of shadow detail in your RAW files in every situation. In addition, your properly exposed RAW files will contain more tonal information and feature smooth transitions between tones. And your optimized images will feature rich, accurate color.

Why So Long?

Many folks have been learning to use RawDigger from their pre-publication copies for months. They, and many others might be asking, Why is it taking so long for artie to finish the RawDigger e-Guide?

I was almost finished several months ago when IPT veteran Bart Deamer asked some questions that I could not answer. So Patrick and I got in touch with Iliah Borg, the creator of RawDigger. That opened many cans of worms and after extensive e-mail conversations with Iliah we got a handle on things. This new understanding required a virtual re-write of the guide.

I was pretty much done about six weeks ago when along came the Canon R5. Examining the R5’s CR.3 raw files in RD opened up a new can of worms and triggered more e-mails conversations with Iliah Borg. With his and Patrick’s help, I now have an even deeper understanding of RawDigger. Now I just need to get back to the guide and do the required work.

Typos

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