Silly-Tame Red-shouldered Hawk. And Focal Length Quiz

What’s Up?

Donna Bourdon, Clemens Van der Werf, and I enjoyed a stellar, cloudy-bright Saturday morning on Lake Blue Cypress. We enjoyed another fine dinner on the pool deck: rib-eye steak done rare on the grill, barbecued Brussels sprouts, and some more fine wine. After we ate, I edited the 2287 image folder from that morning. Most were of Ospreys in flight. I kept 11 out of 370 blurs and 48 out of 436 of the landing-with-whole-catfish images. All in all I kept only 97 images of the original 2287. Deleted 2190. Perhaps 30 or 40 will survive the second edit …

Today is Sunday 25 April 2021. We are headed back to a local lake for more Snail Kite photography. The forecast is for partly cloudy turning cloudy with a gentle breeze from the southwest. Not great, not terrible. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you have a great day.

This blog post took less than an hour to prepare and makes 123 consecutive days with a new one. Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head, for example, is available from B&H and/or Bedfords and is also available in the BAA Online Store, it would be great if you opt to purchase from us. We will match any price. Please remember also to use my B&H affiliate links or to save money at Bedfords by using the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And doing so always earns my great appreciation.

Stuck in Time

Via e-mail from Steve Schiff

Hi Artie —

I think your shutter counter is stuck again. From your recent blog posts:

4/21: This blog post took more than an hour to prepare and makes 119 consecutive days with a new one.
4/22: This blog post took more than an hour to prepare and makes 119 consecutive days with a new one.
4/23: This blog post took more than an hour to prepare and makes 119 consecutive days with a new one.
4/24: This blog post took more than an hour to prepare and makes 119 consecutive days with a new one.

Steve in NJ

Working too fast has its hazards! Thanks to Steve, I have corrected my errors and will probably refrain from making similar ones for at least a week or two.

Please Remember

With income from IPTs now at 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, are invited to help out by clicking here to leave a blog thank you gift 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 second-day 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 use it for your online order to save 3% and enjoy free 2nd-day air shipping. 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.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs (remember those?) 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 along a canal at Lake Blue Cypress on 23 April 2021. I used the hand held (???) lens with the (???) teleconverter and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 1000. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/500 sec. at f/13 in Manual mode. AWB at 6:18pm on a sunny afternoon. Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and nailed the focus. Click on the image to see a larger version. Red-shouldered Hawk head portrait

Focal Length Quiz

This is the free and wild red-shoulder that we encountered on Friday afternoon when all seemed hopeless. It was beyond silly-tame, and more amazingly, it was sitting with its back to the wind so that its face was perfectly lit. The image as presented represents the full frame original capture.

After clicking on the image to see the larger version and checking out the 100% crop of the bird’s eyeball below, I’d love for you to guess (or figure out — there is a single clue …) the lens and TC that I used along with the focal length.

This image was created along a canal at Lake Blue Cypress on 23 April 2021. I used the hand held (???) lens with the (???) teleconverter and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 1000. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/500 sec. at f/13 in Manual mode. AWB at 6:18pm on a sunny afternoon. Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and nailed the focus. Click on the image to see a larger version. An unsharpened 100% crop of the eyeball of the Red-shouldered Hawk head portrait image

What an Eyeball!

Click on the image to enlarge the eye and you can see the three of us in Clemens’ flats boat. Clemens is the tall one in the back. The bird was so tame that I eventually stood on the bow platform without flushing the bird. Note the sharpness of the eyelashes in the front of the eye (to our right) and the reflection of the eyelashes at the back of the eye (to our left).

This image was created along a canal at Lake Blue Cypress on 23 April 2021. I used the hand held (???) lens with the (???) teleconverter and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 1000. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/500 sec. at f/13 in Manual mode. AWB at 6:18pm on a sunny afternoon. Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and nailed the focus. Click on the image to see a larger version. The active AF point for the Red-shouldered Hawk head portrait image

The Active AF Point

The performance of the SONY AF system at any focal length (when the a1 is set up properly as detailed in the in e-mails to the Sony Alpha a1 Info & Updates group), continues to amaze me. Early on, there was lots of discussion within the group with many preferring multiple back button approaches. For me a simple shutter button approach with the right AF settings that yield 99% sharp-on-the-eye images is best. By far. It is super-simple and mega-effective. Note: info on the program that I use to ascertain SONY AF point information is detailed in one of the SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group e-mails. I plan on making that information available here soon for all SONY camera users. You guessed it, I am working on a guide. 🙂

SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group

The SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group is going great guns as folks chime in with thoughtful questions and experience-based advice. We are now up to an astounding 35 folks. Early on, we discussed the myriad AF options. I gave my opinion as to the best one for flight and general bird photography. More recently, we have been in contact with folks at SONY sharing our thoughts, experiences, and frustrations with the EVF blackout problem.

All who purchased their Alpha a1 bodies via a BAA affiliate link will receive a free subscription to the Sony Alpha a1 Set-Up and Info Updates after shooting me their receipts via e-mail. (Note: it may take me several days to confirm B&H orders.) This same service may be purchased by anyone with an a1 body via a $150.00 PayPal sent to birdsasart@verizon.net indicating payment for Alpha a1 Info Updates. Alternatively, they can call Jim weekday afternoons at 1-863-692-0906 to pay via credit card. New members will receive composite e-mails that summarize all previous discussions.

Typos

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