Atlantic Dune Osprey Backgrounds & Image Re-design Quiz

Wanted to Buy

If you have a Canon 500mm f/4L IS II lens or a Canon EOS 7D Mark II sitting on a shelf and would like to get a good price for it — demand for both is up, please get in touch via e-mail.

Your Favorite?

Which of today’s two featured Osprey images is your favorite? All are invited to leave a comment and let us know why they made their choice. BTW, take a good look at Image #2 before scrolling down toe #2A; see if you can come up with a plan for re-crafting the image and creating a pleasing image design from the mis-framed original.

What’ Up?

With the supply pipeline opening up, bird photographers are flocking to the SONY Alpha a1/200-600 G lens combo. Five new folks going the SONY Info and Updates group in the last two days! The word is out …

Sebastian was pretty good on Monday morning; the big mullet run is on. Thanks to a very generous tip from YouTube rock star bird photographer Mark Smith, I was in the right spot from the get-go. After the action slowed down a bit, I got some nice head portraits of the always reliable Wood Storks.

The first morning of the third DeSoto IPT got off to a great start. We began with a predawn Snowy Egret feeding spree — can you say pleasing blurs? When the sun broke through the clouds on the Eastern horizon, we went to creating sharp images of the graceful white wading birds at high shutter speeds in butter light with blue water backgrounds. For the rest of the beautiful morning, we concentrated on a wide variety of shorebirds: Marbled Godwit, Willet, Red Knot, Black-bellied, Semipalmated, Snowy, and Piping Plovers, Western and Least Sandpipers, Sanderling, and Short-billed Dowitcher rounded out the cast.

Today is Wednesday 20 October 2021. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about two hours to prepare.

Remember that you can find some great photo accessories (and necessities, like surf booties!) 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 who, like me, 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 when they shop online. As you might expect, doing so will not cost you a single penny, but would be appreciated tremendously by yours truly. And doing so works seamlessly with your Amazon Prime account.

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, 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 for your major gear purchases. Doing either often earns you free guides and/or discounts. And always earns my great appreciation.

Price Drops

FE Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens

Price Reduced $200.00 on 2021 OCT 2021

Multiple IPT and In-the-Field Session veteran William Schneider is offering an FE Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens in like-new condition for a ridiculously low $1298.00 (was $1498.00). The sale includes the original box, the hood, the lens case, the front lens cover, the rear lens cap, and insured shipping via Fed Ex Ground. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Bill via e-mail e-mail or by phone at 1-(262) 269-8628 (Eastern time zone).

The 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses have long been the very versatile favorites for nature photographers. They are great for landscapes especially with fall color peaking in many areas. I have used this lens with Canon and Nikon and SONY. I used my Canon version to photograph granddaughter Maya’s dance recitals and to create bird-scapes and pre-dawn blast-off blurs at Bosque del Apache NWR in New Mexico. They are fast and sharp and have 1000 uses. The 70-200 f/2.8 lenses are a specialty lens for bird photographers. Like the bad little child, when they are good, they are really, really good! I’ve used mine mostly for flight photography at point blank range where their performance is unmatched, especially in low light. I’ve killed with these lenses on the gannet boat in the UK, in Homer for eagles, pre-dawn and blizzard blast-offs at Bosque, and at Merritt Island on huge feeding sprees right next to the road.

This super-fast lens weighs only 3.26 pounds and is easily hand holdable by just about everyone. As it sells new right now for $2,598.00, you can save a cool $1300 by grabbing Bill’s effectively new lens asap. artie

FE Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens

Price Reduced $200.00 on 2021 OCT 2021

Arthur Morris — hey, that’s me!, is offering an FE Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens in near-mint condition for a very low $1248.00 (was $1448.00). But for two tiny blemishes on the lens hood finish, this would be like-new. The sale includes the original box, the hood, the lens case, the front lens cover, the rear lens cap, and insured shipping via Fed Ex Ground. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact artie via e-mail e-mail or by phone at 1-(262) 269-8628 (Eastern time zone).

The 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses have long been the very versatile favorites for nature photographers. They are great for landscapes especially with fall color peaking in many areas. I have used this lens with Canon and Nikon and SONY. I used my Canon version to photograph granddaughter Maya’s dance recitals and to create bird-scapes and pre-dawn blast-off blurs at Bosque del Apache NWR in New Mexico. They are fast and sharp and have 1000 uses. The 70-200 f/2.8 lenses are a specialty lens for bird photographers. Like the bad little child, when they are good, they are really, really good! I’ve used mine mostly for flight photography at point blank range where their performance is unmatched, especially in low light. I’ve killed with these lenses on the gannet boat in the UK, in Homer for eagles, pre-dawn and blizzard blast-offs at Bosque, and at Merritt Island on huge feeding sprees right next to the road.

This super-fast lens weighs only 3.26 pounds and is easily hand holdable by just about everyone. As it sells new right now for $2,598.00, you can save a cool by grabbing $1350 by grabbing artie’s lens now. artie

Important Note

As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small percentage from qualifying purchases when you purchase from Amazon using any of the links on the blog. Huge thanks, BTW 🙂

Please Remember Also

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.

This image was created on 18 October 2021 at Sebastian Inlet. I used the hand held Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera (while standing –double gasp!). ISO 640. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/3200 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that this exposure was perfect. AWB at 9:00am on a variably sunny morning. Tracking: Zone AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #1: Osprey ready to dive — dorsal view

The Dorsal View

Dorsal views of raptors, images showing the upper surfaces of the wings, are hard to come by. I loved the out-of-focus dune and beach background with this one. In addition to the bird’s piercing eyes.

This image was created on 18 October 2021 at Sebastian Inlet. I used the hand held Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera (while standing –double gasp!). ISO 1000. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/3200 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that this exposure was perfect. AWB at 8:58am on a variably sunny morning. Tracking: Zone AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #2: Osprey rising after missed strike — mis-framed!

Before You Scroll Down

You have a lovely bird in sweet light with a killer background to go a long with a pleasing pose. But the bird is poorly framed at best. Before you scroll down, ask yourself, “How would I re-craft this image in post?”

Before You Scroll Down…

Before You Scroll Down…

Before You Scroll Down…

Before You Scroll Down…

Before You Scroll Down…

Before You Scroll Down…

Before You Scroll Down…

Before you scroll down, considered what you would have done to save this image …

This image was created on 18 October 2021 at Sebastian Inlet. I used the hand held Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera (while standing –double gasp!). ISO 1000. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/3200 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that this exposure was perfect. AWB at 8:58am on a variably sunny morning. Tracking: Zone AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #2A: Osprey rising after missed strike — re-crafted as a vertical!

What I Did

Since I loved the green dune vegetation at the top of the frame (as well as the rest of the background colors and tones), I immediately thought, “vertical.” Was it possible? Obviously it was. But how? Simple: I added canvas below using the Content-Aware Crop Tool.

SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group

The SONY Alpha a1 Set-up and Info Group is going great guns as more and more folks chime in with thoughtful questions and experience-based answers. As the a1 is becoming more readily available, more and more folks are getting their hands on this amazing body. With two folks joining yesterday, we are now up to an astounding 83 lucky and blessed photographers! 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, folks can call Jim weekdays 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.