What Bugs Me About This Spoonbill Image?

What’s Up?

I was about to jump in the pool late on Monday afternoon when I heard a Barred Owl calling in front of my home. I delayed my swim and spent a wonderful hour photographing the owl. Photos and details soon.

Enjoy today’s spoonbill flight image and see if you can figure out what bugs me. I will be announcing details on the March 2022 Stick Marsh BAA Instructional Photo-Tour in about a week.

Today is Tuesday 2 November 2022. I woke early and headed to Circle B Bar Reserve in Lakeland to try for some warblers. I saw lots of Blue-grey Gnatcatchers and Palm Warblers. I had a few of them in the frame at one point but never made a single image. I did a make some nice images of a cooperative Great Blue Heron and did some macro near the parking lot. Next I tried the Otter Trail and photographed some young wild boars. A quick stop in Lakeland was very productive. All of the locations and lots more mentioned above are detailed in the BAA Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide that I did with Joe Przybyla. If you own a copy of the guide and would like the skinny on what’s up right now in Lakeland, shoot me proof of purchase via e-mail with the word’s “Latest Info on Lakeland” in the Subject line. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took nearly three 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.

Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART

Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission on items priced at $1,000 or more. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charged a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. They went out of business. And e-Bay fees are now up to 13%. The minimum item price is $1000 (or less for a $50 flat-fee). If you are interested, please scroll down here to read the terms. Stuff that is priced fairly — I offer pricing advice only to those who agree to the terms — usually sells in no time flat. Over the past years, we have sold many hundreds of items. Do know that prices for used gear only go in one direction. Down. You can always see the current listings by clicking here or on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.

If you would like to learn about selling your used gear on the BAA Used Gear Page, click here.

Sony a9 Mirrorless Digital Camera Body

Multiple IPT veteran Jim Dolgin is offering a Sony a9 in excellent plus condition for a very low $1848.00. The sale includes the original box, the manual & the strap, one battery, the charger, and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower-48 US addressees only. The rear LCD has been covered with a Screen Protector since new.

Please contact Jim via e-mail or by phone at 201-819-3728 Eastern time zone.

As things worked out, the a9, and then the a9 ii turned out to be life-changers for me. From the moment I tracked that first incoming Brandt’s Cormorant at LaJolla, I knew that at that time, the SONY a9 series bodies featured the world’ best AF. I upgraded to the a9 ii as soon as it was released for the slightly larger body size. At one point I owned two a9 ii bodies. A new a9 ii sells for $4,498.00 so, if you wish to transition to Sony, you can save an amazing $2650.00 by grabbing Jim’s a9 I ASAP. Not to mention that the new Sony Alpha 1 sells for $6498.00 … artie

Important Note

As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small percentage when you purchase from Amazon after using any of the links on the blog (including the logo-link immediately above). My link works with Amazon Prime and using it will not cost you a single cent. Huge thanks, BTW 🙂

Diehard Nikon Folks

Z9 Pre-orders…

Diehard Nikon folks might wish to pre-order their Nikon Z9 from Bedfords by clicking here. It appears that Nikon may finally have a mirrorless body that works well for bird photography. For those who can lift it … Your best chances of getting what will be a hard-to-get-your-hands-on battery is to pre-order now at Bedfords, use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout to save 3%, and e-mail Steve Elkins as below to make sure that you get on the list. I heard from a guy yesterday who ordered a Canon 100-500 RF lens from B&H in July and still has not gotten it. Heck, Bedfords has shipped many dozens (if not hundreds) since then. There are times when the B&H wait lists can be endless …

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.

I created this image on 20 March 2021 at Stick Marsh. While standing, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 374mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 640. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/3200 sec. at f/6.3 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that this image was about 1/3 stop under. AWB at 9:00am with a faint cloud passing by the sun. Zone AF-C Bird/Eye Detection AF was active at the moment exposure and worked just fine. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the hi-res version. Image #1: Roseate Spoonbill incoming flight

What Bugs Me?

We have a beautiful pink bird, sweet light, a sharp image, a dynamic flight pose, and a sweet blue background. Click on the image to see the hi-res version and leave a comment if you see anything that bugs you. Only one thing bugs me. What is it?

I will be announcing details on the March 2022 Stick Marsh BAA Instructional Photo-Tour in about a week.

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 :).