Spoonbills Two Ways: with nesting material & cartoon-like

What’s Up?

I spent a long and wonderful day in Lakeland on Thursday and discovered a gorgeous trail at Circle B Bar Reserve. With lots of tame birds. Details and photos soon. It rained all day on Friday. As noted below, dates and details on the BAA Stick Marsh IPTs will be announced here soon. For information on the San Diego IPT, please click here and be sure to check out the YouTube video here.

Please take a moment and leave a comment letting us know which of today’s two features images is your favorite, and why.

Today is Saturday 6 November 2021. It is a stormy, cloudy-black morning with strong northwest winds forecast for the weekend as the front goes through. Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about 90 minutes 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.

Nikon D850 dSLR

David Rice is offering a Nikon D850 dSLR in excellent plus condition for a very low shutter count of 1611 for a very low $1,850.00. There are some very light signs of use on the base of the camera but it looks great overall and functions perfectly.The sale includes the original box, one battery and the charger, the body cap, a RRS L Bracket (a 140.00-dollar value), and insured ground shipping via UPS to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact David via e-mail.

When I shot Nikon, I used and loved my two D850 bodies while my D5 sat on a shelf in the garage, unused … artie

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

David Rice is offering a Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 16-35mm f/4G ED VR in excellent condition for a silly-low $449.00. The sale includes the original box, the front and rear lens caps, the lens hood, and insured ground shipping via UPS to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact David via e-mail.

When I shot Nikon, I used and loved my two D850 bodies while my D5 sat on a shelf in the garage, unused … artie

Covering a versatile array of wide-angle focal lengths, the AF-S NIKKOR 16-35mm f/4G ED VR from Nikon is a flexible zoom ideal for landscape, cityscape, and interior photography. Its constant f/4 maximum aperture maintains consistent illumination throughout the zoom range and suits working in a variety of lighting conditions. The optical design contains three aspherical elements and two extra-low dispersion elements, which greatly reduce distortion and aberrations for a high degree of sharpness, clarity, and accurate rendering. A Nano Crystal Coat has also been applied to control flare and ghosting for greater contrast and color accuracy in harsh lighting and backlit conditions. Additionally, this lens also sports a Silent Wave Motor for fast and accurate autofocus along with VR II image stabilization to minimize the appearance of camera shake by 2.5 stops. Nikon & B&H

This versatile zoom lens is great for landscape folks. As it sells new for $1,096.95, you can save an incredible $646.95 by grabbing David’s lens today. artie

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED Lens

David Rice is offering a Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED lens in near-mint condition for a very low $650.00. The sale includes the original box, the front and rear lens caps, the lens hood, and insured ground shipping via UPS to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact David via e-mail.

The widest of Nikon’s f/2.8 zooms, the AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED presents a flexible ultra-wide-angle range of focal lengths, well-suited for landscape, nature, and interior photography. Besides its broad angle of view, this lens is characterized by its f/2.8 constant maximum aperture, which affords consistent performance and illumination throughout the zoom range. Similarly impressive, the optical design contains three aspherical elements and two extra-low dispersion elements, which greatly reduce distortion and aberrations for a high degree of sharpness, clarity, and accurate rendering. A Nano Crystal Coat has also been applied to control flare and ghosting for greater contrast and color accuracy in harsh lighting and backlit conditions. Additionally, a Silent Wave Motor enables fast, near-silent autofocus performance. Nikon & B&H

The super-wide zoom lenses are lots of fun. This one sells new for $1,746.95; you can save an amazing $1096.95 by purchasing David’s near-mint copy. artie

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR ED Lens

David Rice is offering a Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR lens in excellent condition for a very low $899.00. The sale includes the original box, the front and rear lens caps, the hood, the tripod collar, the lens strap, the carrying case, and insured ground shipping via UPS to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact David via e-mail.

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. The Nikon version sells new for $2,346.95 so you can put $1447.95 in your pocket by grabbing David’s lens. artie

ps: You can see what you can do with a 70-200 in the blog post here.

Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art Lens

David Rice is offering a Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art Lens in like-new condition for a very low $759.00. The sale includes the original box, the front and rear lens cap, the hood, the soft lens case, and insured ground shipping via UPS to lower-48 US addresses only. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact David via e-mail.

Both fast and wide, the Nikon F-mount 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM from Sigma is a unique wide-angle prime designed to produce high-resolution, well-corrected imagery. As part of the Art line of lenses, this lens has a focus on image quality and rendering, and utilizes both FLD and SLD glass elements to control chromatic aberrations and color fringing for notable clarity. Four aspherical elements, including the front large-diameter precision-molded glass element, also contribute to reducing distortion and spherical aberrations for improved sharpness and accuracy. Additionally, a Super Multi-Layer Coating has been applied to individual elements to suppress lens flare and ghosting for greater contrast when working in strong lighting. Well-suited to astrophotography and low-light outdoor shooting, this lens presents a unique blend of a broad perspective and fast, flexible performance.
Complementing the optical performance is an equally adept Hyper Sonic Motor, which provides fast, smooth, and near-silent autofocus performance. This focusing motor also enables full-time manual focus override at any time just by rotating the focus ring for refined manual control and focusing as close as 10.6″. Nikon & B&H

This lens is a dream lens for both night-sky and interior photographers. It sells new for $1599.00. Save $840.00 on this great, like new buy. 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

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 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 30 March 2021 at Stick Marsh. While standing, I used the Induro GIT304L Grand Series 3 Stealth Carbon Fiber tripod/Levered-clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera). ISO 1250. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/5000 sec. at f/4 (wide open) in Manual mode. RawDigger showed that this exposure was less than 1/3 stop too dark. AWB at 8:55am on a cloudy-bright morning. Center Zone AF-C Bird/Eye Detection AF was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Click on the image to see a larger, hi-res version. Image #1: Roseate Spoonbill carrying nesting material

Roseate Spoonbill With Nesting Material

Every Stick Marsh morning, dozens and dozens of spoonbills are in the air carrying nesting material back to the colony. The problem is that most of the time the birds are angling away from you. Join one of the upcoming Stick Marsh IPTs — dates and details TBA soon, to learn exactly where you need to be, what lens to use, and what wind and sky conditions make it possible to create images like #1 above. The basic Stick Marsh IPT schedule will be different and unique. If you would like to learn the dates and details in advance, please shoot me an 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 277mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. AUTO ISO: 500. Multi Metering + 2 1/3 stops. Exposure determined via Zebras with Exposure Compensation on the rear dial: 1/40 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open) in Shutter Priority mode. RawDigger showed that this image was about 1/3 stop under. AWB at 7:29am with clouds on the eastern horizon. Zone AF-C Bird/Eye Detection AF was active at the moment of exposure and worked just fine. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the hi-res version. Image #2: Roseate Spoonbill incoming vertical flight blur

A Cartoon-like Roseate Spoonbill

Image #2 was created from a horizontal original. The pupils were darkened using Digital Eye Doctor techniques as detailed in Digital Basics II (along with tons of other great workflow and Photoshop tips).

Many folks come to their first IPT totally unaware of pleasing blurs. Many leave enthralled with both the process and their pleasingly blurred images.

Blurs often fit into the necessity-is-the-mother-of-invention category. When it is early or late, or cloudy-very-dark, creating sharp images of birds in flight or in motion usually requires astronomically high ISO settings due to the extremely low light levels. The pleasing blur option allows us to use much lower ISOs.

For Image #2, I employed one of the several low light, pleasing blur techniques that I teach when working with backgrounds of consistent tonalities:

• 1- Work in Shutter Priority and set the desired shutter speed.
• 2- Set AUTO ISO.
• 3- Assign Exposure Compensation (EC) to the rear dial.
• 4- Set the EC as needed.
• 5-Fire at will and create lots of images.

Of special note in the EXIF here is the Exposure Compensation value of +2.3 stops (could have been 2.7 stops!). With the white sky/white water low light conditions, folks will typically under-expose by miles. All IPTs concentrate on teaching folks how to properly expose to the right in a variety of conditions.

Using the method described above allows you to have absolute control over shutter speed. On an IPT, you will learn when to choose super-low blur shutter speeds in the 1/4 to 1/20 second range, and when to work with somewhat faster blur shutter speeds in the range of from 1/30 to perhaps 1/125 sec. or even higher. With Image #2 I just love the cartoon-like look of the spoonbill as well as the degree of blurring.

If you are at all intrigued by the thought of learning to create dramatic pleasing blurs, check out the e-guide immediately below.

A Guide to Pleasing Blurs

Learn everything there is to know about creating pleasingly blurred images in A Guide to Pleasing Blurs by Denise Ippolito and yours truly. This 20,585 word, 271 page PDF is illustrated with 144 different, exciting, and artistic images. The guide covers the basics of creating pleasingly blurred images, the factors that influence the degree of blurring, the use of filters in creating pleasing blurs, and a great variety of both in-the-field and Photoshop techniques that can be used to create pleasingly blurred images.

Artie and Denise teach you many different ways to move your lens during the exposure to create a variety of pleasingly blurred images of flowers and trees and water and landscapes. They will teach you to recognize situations where subject movement can be used to your advantage to create pan blurs, wind blurs, and moving water blurs. They will teach you to create zoom-blurs both in the field and during post-processing. Artie shares the techniques that he has used and developed for making blurred images of flocks of geese in flight at his beloved Bosque del Apache and Denise shares her flower blur magic as well as a variety of creative Photoshop techniques that she has developed.

With the advent of digital capture, creating blurred images has become a great and inexpensive way to go out with your camera and have fun. And while many folks think that making successful blurred images is the result of being a sloppy photographer, nothing could be further from the truth. In “A Guide to Pleasing Blurs” Artie and Denise will help you to unleash your creative self.

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 87 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

Feel free to e-mail me or leave a comment regarding any typos or errors in this blog post.