How (and Why) I Shoot the Fewest Eagle Flight Images

Your Fave?

Which of today’s two featured images is your favorite? All are invited to leave a comment and let us know why they made their choice.

What’s Up?

Photography on the 2nd Homer/Kachemak Bay Bald Eagle continues to be excellent. On Tuesday afternoon, we got to photograph in a heavy snow squall. It has been so spectacular up here, that I will be doing three Homer/Kachemak Bay Bald Eagles IPTs next season. Dates to be announced in about a week. We have not missed a single day due to bad weather. Even though I have been on the boat for ten straight days already, I am super-excited about going out today. I am planning on driving back to Anchorage on Thursday, but we may move that up because of the weather forecast.

Keep reading to learn how and why I am creating fewer flight images than anyone else on this trip. Even if you never make it to Homer, what you learn will help you become a much better flight photographer.

Today is Wednesday 2 March 2022 and the forecast is calling for temperatures just below freezing with light winds. This blog post took about 90 minutes to prepare and makes 1 day in a row with a new one.

Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links on this page and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords. And please consider joining a BAA IPT.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-gCoypNdvU

Ja Morant

If you are in any way a sports fan, and even if you’re not, you’ve just got to check out the antics of Ja Morant. Temetrius Jamel “Ja” Morant plays in the NBA for the Memphis Grizzlies. He played college basketball for the Murray State Racers, where he was a consensus first-team All-American as a sophomore in 2019. At 6′ 3″ and 174 pounds, he is relatively tiny as a professional basketball player, yet he is the most sensational, most athletic, and most explosive player I have ever seen. And he has a wicked cool hair-do that make his high-flying exploits even more dramatic.

This image was created on 20 February 2022, the first day of the Homer/Kachemak Bay Bald Eagle IPT. I used the hand held Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens (at 200mm) and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. The exposure was determined via Zebras with ISO on the thumb wheel. ISO 1600: 1/1600 second at f/2.8 (wide open). AWB at 4:38.23pm on a then-cloudy bright afternoon. Tracking: Zone AF/C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #1: Bald Eagle landing

How (and Why) I Shoot the Fewest Eagle Flight Images

During most of our 3-4 hours sessions, the IPT crew of five creates 30,000 or 40,000 (or more!) Bald eagle images. As usual, I am always low hook, averaging about 3000 images (with a single day high of more than 7,000). Why so few? as I try to anticipate the good situations. On most fly-bys I created only from three to ten images while others are pounding the shutter button and creating 30 or 40 or 50 images. These are some of the principles that guide me:

• 1- I get on the bird early and wait until it fills one-third to one-half the frame before firing.
• 2- I only photograph eagles that are either banking or wheeling or upside down or those that are flying towards you.
• 3- I never make an image when the bird’s tail is closer to me than its head. I’ve yet to see a great or even very good eagle image where the bird is flying away from you.
• 4- Since we are feeding the birds cut-up, partially thawed herring, my personal decision is to never make images of birds carrying or eating chunks of fish.
• 5- When I know that the backgrounds will be butt-ugly, I do not even raise my lens.

In short, I am being selective.

This image was created on 24 February 2022, the fourth day of the Homer/Kachemak Bay Bald Eagle IPT. I used the hand held Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens with the Sony FE 2x Teleconverter (at 244mm), and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. Multi-Metering +2 1/3 stops in Shutter Priority Mode with Exposure Compensation on the thumb dial. AUTO ISO set ISO 2500: 1/2500 sec. at f/5.6 (wide open). AWB at 4:15:59pm on a very cloudy afternoon. Tracking: Spot S AF/C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy a high-res version. Image #2: Bald Eagle beginning dive

Z9 Shooter Warren Hatch

Long-ago IPT veteran Warren Hatch, like all diehard Nikon shooters, is thrilled — as they should be — with the AF performance of the Z9. He really loves the camera, and though he has had it for only two months, he has made many stunning images with it. On Monday, he sat with me as I went through some eagle flight images and was pretty much amazed by both the sharpness of the images and the seemingly perfect exposures frame after frame after frame (can you say Zebras?). And when I reviewed the images in A7INFO, he was stunned by what he saw with regards to the performance of Sony’s Bird-Eye/Face Detection autofocus.

I hope to be sharing some of Warren’s very fine images with you here soon.

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

The hand held Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II lens with one of my three a1 bodies has been my workhorse rig in Homer. In extreme low light situations, I’ve been going with the lens alone unless I am attempting to create pleasing blurs in which case, I add the 1.4X TC. Why? When I am using slow shutter speeds I do not need to be concerned about using unduly high ISOs. In cloudy-bright conditions, I almost always go to the 1.4X to get some extra reach while keeping the ISO relatively low — usually below 1600 and almost always no greater than 3200. On sunny days I often go with “just” the 1.4x, but I always have the option of putting the 2X on the 70-200. I was forced to do that one day when I accidentally left all three of my 1.4X TCs in the room.

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. The group is now up to an astounding 111 lucky and blessed folks. Early on, we discussed the myriad AF options. I gave my opinion as to the best one for flight and general bird photography. The best news is that all who wish, can request an e-mail that includes a .DAT file with my a1 settings on it, and explicit directions on how to load my settings onto your a1; talk about convenience! I am now offering a .DAT file compatible with firmware update 1.20. I finally finished the consolidated Sony a1 CAMSETA2 INFO & GUIDE and distributed it yesterday. New a1 folks will now receive three e-mails instead of the previous 28! It is a lot easier on me and is an incredible resource for folks new to the a1.

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 group 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.