Fun in the Fog With the Hand Held Sony 200-600 G Lens

Your Favorite?

Which of today’s three featured images do you like best? Please leave a comment and let us know why you made your choice.

What’s Up?

I enjoyed a fun early morning in the fog on Monday. When it cleared, I did lots of vulture flight. Joe Casey and Jenny came over in the afternoon. We had a great time down by the lake. They got to see lots of new birds and Joe got to make some good images. The highlight was a pair of Crested Caracaras. As Joe loves blurs, we stayed until well after sunset. He learned when and why it is OK to use Shutter Priority with Auto ISO and Exposure Compensation to create blurs.

Jim prepared a great pool deck meal for us: grilled veal burgers, baked butternut squash, and a nice salad. The Caseys stayed overnight in their Winnebago Travato camper van parked in my driveway. We will be heading down to the lake at 6:45am sharp.

Today is Tuesday 28 December 2021. The morning forecast is for mostly sunny with a gentle southeast breeze. I am hoping for some more fog to start! 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, including the time spent on the three image optimizations. This post makes 48 consecutive days with a new one.

Please 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.

Your Pick In-the-Field Sessions

The beauty of the Your Pick In-the-Field Sessions plans below are that I am free most days from now till mid-January. We can schedule sessions to coincide with the perfect weather forecast. They are ideal for central Florida locals or folks visiting the region for whatever reason. Interested? Get in touch via e-mail or better yet, try my cell at 863-221-2372. Please leave a message and shoot me a text if I do not pick up. Inquire for couples and group rates.

Joe Casey and his wife, visiting from Texas, will be joining me tonight and Tuesday morning for two In-the-Field sessions plus a pool deck dinner. We are all looking forward to having fun.

Indian Lake Estates In-the-Field Sessions

Two hours of intensive instruction: $300.00. Add a working brunch with image review: $100.00. Sunset shoot: $100.00. Guest room lodging available. Mix and match.

Sunny mornings with east winds are best. Likely subjects include ridiculously tame Sandhill Cranes along with Black and Turkey Vultures, Crested Caracara, Limpkin, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, and more. Bald Eagle possible; chicks coming soon.

Lakeland or Circle B Bar Preserve

Two hours of intensive instruction: $325.00. Add a working brunch with image review: $100.00. Mix and match.

Sunny mornings with east winds are best at Lakeland. Likely subjects include point-blank American White Pelican, Anhinga, Limpkin, Common Moorhen, White Ibis, a variety of wintering ducks including Ring-necked and Wood Ducks, and lots more.

Cloudy mornings or afternoons (shooting session only) are best at Circle B Bar Preserve. Likely subjects include Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Little Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Tricolored Heron, White Ibis, Common Moorhen, Osprey, Red-shouldered Hawk, American Alligator, Wild Boar, and more. If you wish to mix and match, loving at ILE is available.

Sony Alpha 1 Bodies in Stock at Bedfords/free card offer!

Steve Elkins of Bedfords let me know late yesterday that he had several Sony a1 bodies in stock. If one of them has your name on it, please click here and be sure to enter the BIRDSASART coupon code check the box for free shipping to enjoy free Second Day Air Fed-Ex. Right now, in lieu of the 3% credit refunded to the card you used for your purchase, you will receive a Sony 160GB CFexpress Type A TOUGH Memory Card, a $399.99 value!

Brand New and As-Good-As-Ever Bedfords BAA Discount Policy

Folks who have fallen in love with Bedfords can now use the BIRDSASART coupon code at checkout to enjoy a post-purchase, 3% off-statement credit (excluding taxes and shipping charges) on orders paid with a credit card. The 3% credit will be refunded to the card you used for your purchase. Be sure, also, to check the box for free shipping to enjoy free Second Day Air Fed-Ex. This offer does not apply to purchases of Classes, Gift Cards, or to any prior purchases.

Money Saving Reminder

Many have learned that if you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H and would like to enjoy getting 3% back on your credit card along with free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex 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 check the box for Free Shipping. That will automatically upgrade to free 2nd Day Air Fed-Ex. 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 a 1, 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.

Important Note

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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 (still!) save 3% on every order and enjoy free second-day air shipping. In these crazy times — I lost about fifty thousand dollars in income due to COVID 19 — 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.

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. If you are desperate, you can try me on my cell at 863-221-2372. Please leave a message and shoot me a text if I do not pick up.

I created this image on 27 December 2021 at Indian Lake Estates, FL. 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 400. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/1250 sec. at f/8 (stopped down 2/3 stop) in Manual mode. AWB at 7:26:50am on a foggy morning. Tracking: Spot (S) 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: What is It?

What is It?

If Image #1 is not a photograph of a dead tree, and it is not a photograph of a fog-muted sun, then what the heck is it? Hint: it is a riddle of sorts …

I also created this image on 27 December 2021 at Indian Lake Estates, FL. Seated in the driver’s seat of my SUV, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (this time at 559mm), and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 500. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/1600 sec. at f/8 (stopped down 2/3 stop) in Manual mode. AWB at 7:38:31am on a foggy morning. Tracking: Spot (S) AF-C Bird/Eye Detection AF was active at the moment exposure and worked perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the hi-res version. Image #2: Sandhill Crane foraging — backlit by mild fire in the mist

Seeing the Situation

I hustled down to the lake to look for some more foggy situations. I saw a family of three cranes feeding on the edge of the South Peninsula. The background was ground fog in the canal that separates the South Peninsula from the South Field. I created 156 images of the backlit cranes and kept seven. When you are working with a 30fps body, you need to edit brutally.

I also created this image on 27 December 2021 at Indian Lake Estates, FL. Again, Seated in the driver’s seat of my SUV, I used the hand held Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (this time at 332mm), and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless digital camera. ISO 640. Exposure determined via Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/5000 sec. at f/8 (stopped down 2/3 stop) in Manual mode. AWB at 7:41:58am on a foggy morning. Tracking: Spot (S) AF-C Bird/Eye Detection AF was active at the moment exposure and worked perfectly. Be sure to click on the image to enjoy the hi-res version. Image #3: Bald Eagle nest tree in backlit fog

The Sitting Eagle

Viewed at 400%, I can just make out the top of the eagle’s head and the upper part of its bill. Is there another bird in the frame? What is it?

I did a lousy job of framing the original; I should have zoomed in more. I did my best with a crop from three sides (all but the right). I’d love to make a similar foggy image with a large eaglet flapping its wings on the edge of the nest while facing me …

The BAA Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide You can purchase your copy here in the BAA Online Store.

The BAA Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide

126 pages, 87 photographs by Joe Przybyla and Arthur Morris

The PDF for this e-Guide is an electronic download sent via e-mail.

Purchase your copy here in the BAA Online Store.

I had thought about doing a guide to some of the great but little-known photo hotspots around central Florida for about a decade, but those plans never came to fruition. I met Joe online in the Avian Forum at BirdPhotographer’s.Net about two years ago. Joe’s photography has improved tremendously over the past few years; he credits the BAA blog, my books and PDFs, and his participation on BPN. The one thing that I learned right from the get-go about Joe is that he is a hard and tenacious worker, always striving to improve his skills and to grow his knowledge base. As he knew of more than a few good spots in central Florida, I broached the idea of us doing a photographic site guide that covered many of the little-known photographic hotspots from Brandon to Lakeland to Joe Overstreet Road to Indian Lake Estates (my Florida home for the past 20 years or so). After more than many, many dozens of hours of effort, The BIRDS AS ART Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide is now a reality. Thanks to Joe’s wife Dottie for her review of our writing. We all learned once again that writing is a process, a back and forth process. All thanks to the white pelicans of Lakeland. Here are the locations that are detailed in this e-Guide:

• Indian Lake Estates: Sandhills Cranes with chicks and colts, lots of vultures, and Ospreys up the kazoo!
• Gatorland, Kissimmee: Learn to make great images of wading birds in a cluttered rookery.
• The Brandon Rookery: Great for nesting Wood Storks, Great Egrets, and more.
• Circle Bar B Reserve, Lakeland: Here you will find a great variety of avian subjects in a great variety of habitats.
• Lake Morton, Lakeland: There are lots of silly tame birds here including and especially American White Pelican during the colder months.
• Lake Mirror, Lakeland: Tame Anhingas, Limpkins, and a zillion White Ibises at times.
• West Lake Parker, Lakeland: Here you will have a chance for two difficult birds, Snail Kite, and Purple Gallinule.
• Joe Overstreet Road, Kenansville: Crested Caracara, meadowlarks, Loggerhead Shrike, and much more on the fenceposts and barbed wire.

Each location includes a map, a detailed description of the best spots, best season, light and time of day instructions, the expected species, and an educational and inspirational gallery that is designed to open your eyes as to the possibilities.

You can purchase a copy here in the BAA Online Store.

Typos

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