What’s Up?
Me, packing for the JAX IPT. Today is Wednesday 14 July and the weather forecast does not matter as I have too much work to do before I leave at about 11:00am. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day.
Remember that you can find some great photo accessories (and necessities!) 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 like me, who 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. As you might expect, doing so will not cost you a single penny, but would be appreciated tremendously by yours truly. And it works seamlessly with your Amazon Prime account.
This blog post took less than an hour to prepare and makes 199 consecutive days with a new one. Please remember that if an item — a Delkin flash card, or a tripod head — for example, that is available from B&H and/or Bedfords and 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 save 3% 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.
Please Remember
With income from IPTs now close to 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
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This image was created on 28 June 2021 on the first JAX IPT. While standing and crouching a bit, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 640. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/500 sec. at f/10 (stopped down 1 1/3 stops) in Manual mode. AWB at 10:33am on a cloudy bright morning. Spot S/AF-C (positioned right on the bird’s eye), was active at the moment of exposure and performed as expected. Click on the image to view a larger version Royal Tern day-old chick — barely alive |
The Situation
On our second morning, participant Mike De Rosa found this hours-old Royal Tern chick on the beach and called the rest of us over. We all agreed that it would not have been possible for this tiny, helpless bird to survive. It is likely that the chick had been grabbed by a Laughing Gull that then dropped it. The several Herring Gulls around would gulp down tidbits like these in an instant. Perhaps the chick was so well-camouflaged on the white sand beach that once it was back on the ground and unable to move, it was ignored by other (quite numerous) predators. After we photographed the chick, we picked it up and placed in under a wooden palette on the edge of the colony. It was gone by that afternoon.
Learn more about Mike’s experience on his second IPT in the blog post here)
Does This Image Make You Feel Sad? Why?
The tiny chick was both helpless and beautiful. I photographed it from a crouch, while seated on the beach, and as I laid flat on the dry sand. This image, made from a relatively high perspective as I crouched down a bit, was my favorite.
Please leave a comment letting us know whether or not this image made you sad (and why).
A SONY Lens Question
In fact, I could have created an image with the bird much larger in the frame with the SONY 100-400 at 400mm than I did with the 200-600 at 600mm. How would you explain that?
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Designing and Creating Pleasing and Dramatic Natural History Images |
Designing and Creating Pleasing and Dramatic Natural History Images
A Video Webinar
In this 1 hour 28 minute plus video you will learn and be inspired. We cover everything from the very basics to the fine points. After a brief bio, the topics include Behavior, Action, Diagonal Lines, and the Cuteness Factor; Birds in Flight — The Holy Grail of Bird Photography; Mis-Framing!; Basic Image Design/HORIZONTALS: Get the subject out of the center of the frame. Basic Image Design/VERTICALS: The center of the frame is generally fine; The Importance of BACKGROUND; Isolating the Subject; Other Elements of Composition; On Getting Low; Going Wide for Bird-scapes; Super-tight!; Working in Sunny Conditions; Working in Cloudy Conditions; Working in Foggy Conditions; Working in the Shade; Working in Bad Weather; Creating Back-lit Images; Creating Silhouettes; and Creating Pleasing Blurs.
Each segment of the program consists of an average of about 15 images that will drive home the points being made, educate you, and inspire. The instructions and advice, given clearly and concisely, are based on my near-38 years of experience photographing birds with telephoto and super-telephoto lenses. And on several decades of creating educational blog posts.
This presentation is based on the webinar that I did for the South Shore Camera Club in April. You can find some of the comments below along with comments from two of the folks who viewed the webinar the night before the DeSoto IPT began.
You can order your copy of Designing and Creating Pleasing and Dramatic Natural History Images/A Video Webinar by clicking here or by calling Jim with your credit card in hand at 863-692-0906.
Typos
With all blog posts, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
When you spend time in nature, you realize that everything is at is supposed to be. Anyone who has a heart cannot look at this and feel nothing, but that is just us projecting our human emotions on the scene. The scene is beautifully photographed.
The 200 to 600 is a great lens. However, it is a heavy focus breathing lens. When at 600mm, and focusing at the minimum distance, the focal length drop to approx 300mm. Other than this minor issue, it’s a great value proposition. If I were a Sony shooter I would have this lens in my arsenal.
Thanks for your comment. I surely use mine often and find it incredibly versatile.
I do believe, however, that you are way off on the focus breathing; I would guess that it is at least 520mm at 600 and the MFD.
with love, artie
Yes, sad, but do you know the percentage of chicks who survive? (I don’t)
Answer: the close focusing distance of the 100-400, unless you put an extension tube on the 200-600.
Mike
I believe that about half of all chicks that hatch in the wild survive until fledging … But it is difficult to find a good source to confirm that. In addition, it would be interesting to compare the survival rate of hatchlings of altricial birds as compared to precocious birds. The former are hatched blind and totally helpless, the latter dry off in an hour or two and are good to go. All gulls, terns, and shorebirds are altricial.
with love, a
A little sad but it is natures way..some must die for others to survive.